Apple will soon be receiving another award for the accessibility features in its products.
The American Council of the Blind (ACB) has today announced that Apple will be receiving the Robert S. Bray Award for the company's continued innovations in accessibility.
"The American Council of the Blind applauds Apple for its innovative approach to product accessibility, giving people who are blind equal access to mainstream technology," said Kim…
Sometimes, I suffer from a serious case of the "Stupids." When I was 16, the year when NASA engineers were preparing a lunar rover for the next moon landing, I had enough remaining vision to legally obtain my own Texas Drivers License. Although I knew I was going blind and could no longer see at night, my day vision was still reasonably intact. There were some caveats. Seeing clearly in shadows cast by buildings and trees might prove problematic. Getting stuck in traffic at dusk could be…
We are extremely pleased to announce that we are now able to significantly relax our rules covering what can and cannot be said about beta versions of Apple software on the AppleVis website.
Previously, our rules covering new features or changes in a forthcoming software release have only permitted sharing of information which has already been made public by Apple itself. This typically included information made available at events such as new product launch announcements, Apple’s…
At its annual Worldwide Developer's Conference this week, Apple previewed some of the new accessibility features coming to its iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS platforms later this year. At this point, it's worth noting that this software is still in beta form, and not all features--particularly, the specifics of how they will be implemented--are finalized. With that said, below is what Apple has announced will be coming for users of…
Welcome back to Applevis' yearly summary of Apple's yearly developer conference announcements. There's a lot this year, much of it exciting, some of it very much expected, and a few things long overdue. Instead of a long introduction, let's just start moving!
First up is the Apple Watch. Love it or hate it, Apple is committed to it and feels it's a great way to get people more…
It’s that time of year. With WWDC just one week away, Apple is getting ready to announce new versions of iOS and OS X, as well as possible tvOS and watchOS updates. While concrete information about these future releases is scarce, speculation and feature wish lists have begun popping up on mainstream tech websites.
Here are my top wishes for VoiceOver improvements in the next iteration of the Mac operating system, presumably OS X 10.12.
Several months ago…
Apple has today released iTunes 12.4.1 to the public, bringing bug fixes for VoiceOver and other features.
According to Apple's release notes via MacRumors, iTunes 12.4.1 includes the following improvements:
This update addresses a number of problems where iTunes doesn't work as expected with VoiceOver. It also restores the option to Reset Plays and fixes the…
Welcome to the May 2016 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy in the accessible app landscape. Below, you'll find a recap of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to podcasts and blogs. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.
Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), and to mark this we are urging everybody to use it as an opportunity to reach out to iOS and OS X developers - to either encourage them to make their applications accessible and usable by the vision-impaired; or to show your appreciation for applications which already are.
GAAD was created as a mechanism to reach out to the people who “build, shape, fund and influence…
In addition to releasing software updates for iOS, OS X, watchOS and the fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple has today released iTunes 12.4.
According to Apple’s release notes via 9to5Mac, this update brings a number of design and navigation tweaks:
- Now enjoy all of your music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and more in a simpler design.
- …
Today has seen another flurry of software updates from Apple. In addition to the release of iOS 9.3.2, there have also been updates for the Mac, Apple Watch and fourth-generation Apple TV.
Full release notes for these updates are not yet available, but it is safe to assume that there will be the standard round of bug fixes, security patches, and under-the-hood…
Ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 19, Apple has today launched a new room in iTunes dedicated to highlighting audio-described movies for blind and low vision users.
The room, available at http://www.iTunes.com/AudioDescription, for the first time makes available a listing of all audio-described movies on iTunes in one central location.
Among the…
As we reported in December 2015, Apple was rumored to begin selling accessories related to accessibility in early 2016. Those rumors are now coming to fruition, At the time of posting, the Apple website lists a total of 15 accessories available for purchase. Among those accessories are several…
Since owning my iPhone I have found a world of apps, information and services which I thought that I would never have access to. I am sure any one reading this who is familiar with the accessibility of iOS and Mac will know exactly what I mean, but if you are new to AppleVis or the accessibility of such devices, having a built-in screen reader which gives me access to anything including news, travel, cloud-storage, sat-nav services and audio books to name a few is simply life changing.
…Welcome to the March 2016 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy in the accessible app landscape. Below, you'll find a recap of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to podcasts and blogs. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.
Apple has today released iOS 9.3.1 to the public, bringing a fix for the web link crashing bug that many users have been experiencing since updating to iOS 9.3.
According to AppleInsider, this bug was “related to an iOS 9 feature called Universal Links, which allow third-party app developers to have certain domain names open links directly into their app. This means…
With Apple, most of us are in for some big excitements when it comes to the company's gorgeous events. Of course over the past couple of years, the smorgasbord of leaks prior to the events have spoiled the anticipation phase a bit. However, regardless of what you might or might not have heard about Apple's event which was held this morning, let's focus on what the company debuted. Maybe what was put at our fingertips can form the basis of our next iDevice or…
Apple has today released OS X El Capitan 10.11.4, bringing with it a number of bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements.
The main outward-facing changes that we are aware of in OS X 10.11.4 are Live Photos support in Messages; the ability to password protect notes in the Notes app; and an option to import notes from Evernote.
At the time of posting we are only aware of one accessibility-related change in this release. This is a minor improvement to the App Store, where…
Apple has today released watchOS 2.2 for the Apple Watch, bringing with it new features and bug fixes.
In terms of new features, watchOS 2.2 introduces support for pairing multiple Apple Watches with a single iPhone; this feature requires both watchOS 2.2 and iOS 9.3 on the iPhone. Additionally, the native Maps app has gained support for the Nearby feature first introduced with iOS 9, and also now offers quicker access to directions to home and work.
Though these appear to be…
Apple has today released iOS 9.3, bringing a number of new features, improvements, and bug fixes to the iOS 9 operating system.
For blind and low vision users, Apple has made further progress towards addressing the accessibility bugs still present in iOS 9.2.1.
As we always stress at this point, it is impossible for us to test all devices, apps, and use cases. So, it is entirely possible that we have overlooked some…