AppleVis Blog

Welcome to the March 2021 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which highlights what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of content posted to AppleVis by members of the community - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Blind Drive (…

Apple has today released iOS 14.4.2, iPadOS 14.4.2, iOS 12.5.2 for older devices, and watchOS 7.3.3 with a critical Webkit security fix

As these updates appear to have been released to address a specific issue, our expectation is that they do not contain any accessibility changes for blind and low vision users; however, if you notice any changes, improvements or regressions in your own use of these releases, please post a comment with your findings.

Release Notes

…

Apple has today released iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1, macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 , and watchOS 7.3.2.

Though these updates appear to have been primarily released to address a specific security issue, a bug introduced in iOS 14.4, appears to have been resolved. This was the bug concerning connectivity issues for the Mantis Q 40, Chameleon 20, and both the Brailliant BI20S and bi40X models. Both…

Welcome to the February 2021 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which highlights what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis by members of the community - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

…

Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.2.2, introducing safeguards to prevent MacBooks from being damaged by non-compliant USB-C hubs and docks.

As macOS Big Sur 11.2.2 appears to have been released to address a specific issue, our expectation is that it does not contain any accessibility changes for blind and low vision users; however, if you notice any changes, improvements or regressions in your own use of this release, please post a comment with your findings.

macOS…

Apple has today released watchOS 7.3.1 for Apple Watch Series 5 and SE, reportedly to fix an issue that prevented the watch from charging when in Power Reserve mode.

As watchOS 7.3.1 is only available to select models to address a specific issue, our expectation is that it does not contain any accessibility changes for blind and low vision users; however, if you notice any changes, improvements or regressions in your own use of this release, please post a comment with your findings…

Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.2.1, bringing a fix for an issue that prevented some 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models from charging, and reportedly addressing several security vulnerabilities in the operating system.

As macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 appears to have been released to address a small number of specific issues, our expectation is that it does not contain any accessibility…

Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.2; a relatively minor bug fix release that resolves bluetooth issues, brings some M1 Mac fixes, and more.

Our testing suggests that the following VoiceOver issue has been addressed in macOS Big Sur 11.2:

• VoiceOver no-longer crashes when attempting to use Disk Utility in Recovery mode.

The issue which…

Welcome to the January 2021 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which highlights what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis by members of the community - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

…

Apple has today released watchOS 7.3 and tvOS 14.4 to the public.

For low vision users, watchOs 7.3 brings a fix for an issue where Control Center and Notification Center may be unresponsive when Zoom is enabled.

At the time of posting, we are unaware of any additional fixes or changes for blind and low vision users in these releases. Likewise, we are unaware of any new bugs. If you discover any fixes, changes or regressions in your own use of the software, please let us know…

UPDATE: American Printing House for the Blind (APH) has issued a warning that there are connection issues for the Mantis and Chameleon braille displays after upgrading to iOS 14.4; and recommend that you turn off automatic updates and do not upgrade until a resolution has been found:

The basic issue is that once you upgrade to 14.4, as soon as you lock your iPad or iPhone with the…

In an annual meeting of shareholders notice and proxy statement filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Apple says that beginning in 2021 a new “environmental, social, and governance modifier” will be used to increase or decrease bonus payouts to its executives by up to 10% based on an evaluation of their’ performance with respect to the company's six core values:…

Welcome to the December 2020 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which highlights what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis by members of the community - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

…

Much as I love VoiceOver and everything it has done for me, at times, it doesn't quite behave as I'd like it to. Those are the times when I think VoiceOver should be put on Santa's naughty list. Sometimes, it gets distracted, like the time when I was editing a document in pages on my iPad, and VoiceOver kept getting excited about the page thumbnails. Yes, VoiceOver, I'm aware that page thumbnails exist, and I'm sure they're the most awesomely amazing thing ever, but can we please stop…

Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.1, watchOS 7.2, and tvOS 14.3; bringing support for Apple Fitness+ and AirPods Max, new features, security enhancements, and bug fixes.

macOS Big Sur 11.1

Our testing suggests that the following issue has been addressed in macOS Big Sur 11.1:

• VoiceOver now correctly speaks the contents of folders when…

Apple has today released iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3; bringing support for Apple Fitness+ and AirPods Max, new features, security enhancements, and bug fixes.

Bug Fixes

Our testing suggests that the following pre-existing accessibility bugs have been resolved in iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3:

• When creating a new list in the Reminders app, the text field for the list title is once again…

We are pleased to announce that the winners of the ninth annual AppleVis Golden Apple Awards are Weather Gods and Untold RPG.

Since their launch in 2012, the AppleVis Golden Apple Awards have afforded blind and low vision users of Apple products an opportunity to recognize and acknowledge the hard work and dedication which developers have put into making and maintaining great and accessible applications over the given year. The response of past nominees and winners to this…

Ending months of speculation, Apple today announced the release of its US$549 AirPods Max high-end, over-ear wireless headphones offering Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and spatial audio. AirPods Max come in five colors, and are available to order starting today, with availability beginning Tuesday, December 15.

AirPods Max…

We are pleased to announce that voting for the AppleVis Golden Apple Awards of 2020 is now open.

First launched in 2012, the AppleVis Golden Apples is an opportunity for blind and low vision users of Apple products to recognize and acknowledge the hard work and dedication which developers have put into making and maintaining great and accessible applications over the last twelve months.

Past winners of a Golden Apple include…

Apple marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December by launching a major redesign of the Accessibility portal on its website, released additional resources for users of the accessibility features of its products, and took part in a virtual interview at the Sight Tech Global conference.

Apple's Accessibility portal showcases the range of accessibility features available on devices such as the iPhone, Mac, and…