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If you’ve read my previous blogs, you know I enjoy deep dives into non-intuitive user interfaces—Discord, GarageBand, and Google Docs, to name a few. Documenting these beasts comes with some peril. Software is mutable. After I post my detailed description of (fill-in-the-complicated-app-…

Welcome to the May 2023 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, your monthly digest of the latest and most notable content on the AppleVis website. This edition features a curated selection of community-submitted updates, including new app entries, updates, news, and podcasts.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

BookPlayer (iOS/iPadOS, Free With In-App Purchases)

A wonderful player for your M4B/M4A/MP3 based audiobooks.

Import

• Using…

Ahead of its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starting 5 June, Apple has today announced the 36 finalists for this year's Apple Design Awards; and it's great to see that in the running for the Inclusivity category are a number of apps which will be familiar to many in our community.

The awards honor excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design. This year, Apple is dividing the…

We are thrilled to announce the induction of GoodMaps Explore and lire: RSS Reader into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame.

First opened in 2011, the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is a way for our community to honor developers who are committed to making their apps fully accessible to blind and low vision users. The inductees transform lives, empower individuals, provide invaluable information, and bring joy and entertainment to users. They represent the very best in accessible iOS…

Apple has today released macOS Ventura 13.4, watchOS 9.5, and tvOS 16.5 to the public.

The release notes for macOS Ventura 13.4 say that it “addresses a VoiceOver issue with navigating to landmarks on webpages.” Additionally, we are aware of the following new bug:

• In System Settings > General > Software update > Beta updates, nothing happens when…

Apple has today released iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 to the public. While these updates seem to be relatively minor, they do introduce two changes. The first one is the Sports tab in the News app that allows users to easily access news, scores, and schedules for their favorite teams and leagues. The second is a new wallpaper option named "Pride Celebration."

These updates introduce an enhanced version of a feature initially introduced in iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 for Braille users. In…

It was more than thirty years ago. My professional feelings were hurt. I had worked very hard for a long time and I was being passed over on something that felt important to me. The more I thought about it, the more it just didn't sit right. I trudged up the hill to my boss's office. No one had been nasty to me. No one had tampered with my budget, and no one had cut my salary. I walked in and shut the door. My boss could tell I was not a happy camper. He asked me what was the matter…

Dear AppleVis community,

We have always embraced a "light touch" approach to moderating our site, placing our trust in the incredible individuals who make up our community to maintain a positive and welcoming atmosphere.

Recently, however, we have noticed a significant increase in off-topic comments and posts that contribute little or nothing to the conversations at hand. We understand and accept that a certain degree of this kind of interaction can foster a natural and…

Apple is once again celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) by offering a preview of upcoming software features designed to enhance cognitive, vision, hearing, and mobility accessibility. These features, scheduled for release later this year, aim to empower individuals with disabilities and make it easier…

We're thrilled to announce that the voting for the 2023 inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is now open, marking the twelfth year of this esteemed event. Our Hall of Fame is a way for our community to honor developers who are committed to making their apps fully accessible to blind and low vision users. The inductees transform lives, empower individuals, provide invaluable information, and bring joy and entertainment to users. They represent the very best in accessible iOS…

Welcome to the April 2023 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, your monthly digest of the latest and most notable content on the AppleVis website. This edition features a curated selection of community-submitted updates, including new app entries, updates, news, and podcasts.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Aiko (iOS/iPadOS, Free)

High-quality on-device transcription. Easily convert speech to text from meetings, lectures, and more.

The…

Apple's HomePod and HomePod mini smart speakers can now recognize the sound of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and send a notification alert to your iPhone or iPad.

The feature, known as Sound Recognition, was first announced in January 2023, alongside the launch of the second-generation HomePod. However, it required the revamped HomeKit architecture, which was released in November 2022 but then pulled in December. Following the release of macOS Ventura 13.3 and iOS 16.4, the…

Apple has today released iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1, and MacOS Ventura 13.3.1 to the public.

According to Apple's release notes, iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1 bring fixes for the following bugs related to emoji and Siri:

• Pushing hands emoji does not show skin tone variations
• Siri does not respond in some cases

In addition to the emoji bug fix mentioned above, MacOS Ventura 13.3.1 also includes the following bug fix:

• Auto Unlock your Mac…

Welcome to the March 2023 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, your monthly digest of the latest and most notable content on the AppleVis website. This edition features a curated selection of community-submitted updates, including new app entries, updates, news, and podcasts.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Blind Quest 2 (iOS/iPadOS, US$5.99)

In this stand-alone adventure, “THE FROST DEMON”, you will guide Nathan the mercenary in a NEW ADVENTURE in the…

Apple has today released macOS Ventura 13.3, watchOS 9.4, and tvOS 16.4 to the public.

Based on our experience, it appears that the following accessibility-related bugs have been resolved or significantly addressed in macOS Ventura 13.3:

• VoiceOver now speaks the contents of headings on Youtube.com in Safari.
• …

Apple has today released iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 to the public.

Based on our experience, it appears that the following accessibility-related bugs have been resolved or significantly addressed in iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4:

• When using a Braille display and invoking the Control Center, the display will no longer be disconnected.
• …

The Be My Eyes app is set to gain a new feature called the Virtual Volunteer, powered by OpenAI's recently announced GPT-4 model. This new tool has the potential to be a game changer for people with visual impairments, providing a virtual sighted assistant that can generate context and understanding for images in the same way as a human volunteer can.

Be My Eyes has been providing technology for the blind and low-vision…

Whether on my iPhone or my Mac, I encounter accessibility issues pretty much daily.

Yes, much of it is the usual---mouse-centric controls, unlabeled buttons, and images without ALT text---commonplace issues that have been highlighted for years. I don’t want to minimize these issues, but I view them as minor. They are well-known. They have names. We can talk about them in discussions with developers. Free utilities are readily available…

Welcome to the February 2023 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, your monthly digest of the latest and most notable content on the AppleVis website. This edition features a curated selection of community-submitted updates, including new app entries, updates, news, and podcasts.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Clusiv (iOS/iPadOS, Free)

Clusiv is an online learning platform for the blind and visually impaired that teaches occupational training, technology…

We are thrilled to unveil our inaugural Apple Vision Accessibility Report Card, which provides valuable insights into the experiences and opinions of visually impaired community members who rely on VoiceOver, Braille support, or the low vision features on Apple devices.

To gather the ratings and comments contained in the report card, we conducted a…