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One of the things I have always admired about Apple technologies, because of the Continuity and Syncing features, they become usable in combinations when you have more then one device. Having a Mac and an iPhone and an iPad all signed into the same Apple ID account creates an "environment" of sorts, with many features able to work together in ways that provide more functionality. Features like making or answering phone calls from any device. Using AirDrop for moving entire files or folders…

I've used an iPhone since 2007. I should know how to use the alarm feature by now. No such luck. My spouse and I use our Bose Wave Radio as our main alarm. I use my iPhone alarm only on rare occasions when I get up earlier than she does.

When Blind and Sighted Worlds Collide

One of those rare occasions happened last week. My phone alarm went off at the ungodly hour of 6 AM. My instinct was to find the stop button on the screen and double-tap it, which was the only way I…

My book collection takes up no space. With my phone in my pocket, and wearing my AfterShokz headset, I have hundreds of books to keep me occupied wherever I go. And when I buy new books, I don't need to worry about whether I have enough room for them on the shelves.

That's quite different from the braille books I was given to read as a child, where even the shortest novel took up several massive volumes. Wading through all those volumes was daunting. Later on, I learned…

Welcome to the March 2018 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis - 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

AMI-tv (iOS, Free)…

Apple has today released iOS 11.3 to the public. In addition to some new features and enhancements, this release also brings a number of improvements for blind and low vision users.

Accessibility Improvements in iOS 11.3

In iOS 11.3, Apple has made continued progress towards addressing the accessibility bugs in iOS 11. Based on our testing, we believe the following issues have been resolved in iOS 11.3:

• …

Apple has today released software updates for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

According to Apple's release notes via Mac Rumors, iOS 11.2.6 includes the following bug fixes:

iOS 11.2.6 includes bug fixes for your iPhone or iPad. This update:

Fixes an issue where using certain character sequences could cause apps to crash

Fixes an issue where some third-party…

Welcome to the January 2018 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis - 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

Geekbench 4 (iOS, US$0.…

Introduction

Apple's iOS operating system doesn't suffer from a paucity of ebook readers. In fact, the situation is so exemplary that one might ask for advice when it comes to selecting between the $14.99 Voice Dream Reader and the free but feature-rich Dolphin EasyReader. And I haven't yet mentioned Apple's very own…

Apple has today released iOS 11.2.5 to the public.

According to Apple's release notes, via MacRumors, this update includes the following changes.

HomePod support

• Setup and automatically transfer your Apple ID, Apple Music, Siri and Wi-Fi settings to HomePod.

Siri News

• Siri can now read the news, just ask, "Hey Siri, play the news". You can also ask for…

Apple has today released iOS 11.2.2 and macOS 10.13.2 Supplemental Update, bringing a software fix for the 'Spectre' vulnerability reported last week.

According to Mac Rumors, both iOS 11.2.2 and macOS 10.13.2 Supplemental Update contain software fixes for the 'Spectre' vulnerability.

As iOS 11.2.2 and macOS 10.13.2 Supplemental Update appear…

What does it mean to make a truly accessible app? How can you go beyond meeting minimum accessibility standards and make something that VoiceOver users will find intuitive and enjoy using? In this post, I want to try to answer those questions from a user's perspective. I will not be covering the code you should use; instead, I am trying to describe what makes an app easy to use for me, as a VoiceOver user, and I encourage members of the community to add their own views in the comments.…

Welcome to the December 2017 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis - 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

Cyberduck (macOS, Free…

When I’m not listening to punk rock, helping my dad set the thermostat, or reading audiobooks, I do occasionally make an attempt to contribute to society. I talk at local blind support groups about using technology.

Most of the groups I visit are at…

Apple has today released iOS 11.2.1 to the public, bringing a fix for a zero-day security exploit in iOS 11.2 that allowed unauthorized access to HomeKit accessories.

This vulnerability was patched server-side last week by Apple, but today's release now fixes this on the operating system itself.

As iOS 11.2.1 appears to be mainly a security update, we do not expect this release to contain…

Apple has today released iOS 11.2, which brings a number of fixes; enhancements; and changes for blind and low vision users.

This release appears to have been rushed out by Apple to address a rather nasty bug related to some notifications generated after 12:15 a.m. local time on December 2 causing devices to enter a soft reset loop. AppleInsider has more on…

Apple has today released iOS 11.1.1, which according to Apple's release notes via MacRumors fixes the following two bugs:

• Fixes an issue with keyboard auto-correct
• Fixes an issue where Hey Siri stops working

With this being a double-dot release, we do not anticipate that it will include any fixes to the…

This time last year, those potentially in the market for a new iPhone were probably caught up in the hand-wringing that followed Apple's decision to drop the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

12 months on, and most of us would probably look back and wonder what all of the fuss was about.

Of course, this should come as no surprise, as Apple has…

Welcome to the October 2017 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis - 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

Blindfold Millionaire (…

Apple has today released iOS 11.1, which brings a number of fixes; enhancements; and changes for blind and low vision users.

Fixes

• The VoiceOver Rotor once again consistently defaults to the Actions Menu when on an element that has Actions available.
• You can once again use the Actions Menu to delete conversations from the Messages app.
• Navigating and reading of PDF files is much improved.
• Alternative characters on the onscreen keyboard can…

If you’re like me, there’s no way you can resist reading an article with a title like 5 TECH STANDARDS APPLE MURDERED AND 5 MORE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK.

I found the five murder victims quite noteworthy. Some seem obvious, like the demise of the floppy disk and CD-ROM. Back in the ‘90s, PC manufacturers were a lot like lemmings that would’ve followed each other over the floppy disk cliff were it not for Apple’s bold leadership…