AppleVis Blog

Welcome to the August 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

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Apple has today released iOS 13.6.1, iPadOS 13.6.1, and a supplemental update to macOS Catalina 10.15.6.

According to Apple's release notes for iOS 13.6.1, via MacRumors this update:

• Addresses an issue where unneeded system data files might not be automatically deleted when available storage is low
• Fixes a thermal management issue that caused some displays to…

I cut my own hair last week. I purchased the Elite Pro electric hair clippers through Amazon, and unpacked the much anticipated and quickly sanitized cardboard box. My overly long, unruly, very silver hair felt yucky and gross. It was time to shed the extra weight. I plugged in the clippers, stripped off my shirt and sat on a low plastic footstool over the tiled kitchen floor. Now, I was poised and personally empowered to do great damage. This was going to be fun! I drove those clippers…

Update 18 August: Apple has today released beta 5 to developers, with the release notes stating that “VoiceOver is now functional.”

Update 10 August: Apple has today released the Public Preview of watchOS 7, and it appears that it does indeed not work with VoiceOver as was the case with last week's developer release.

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Welcome to the July 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

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We are seeking experienced iOS/iPadOS users to join our pilot bug identification and tracking team.

Over the last several years, one of the AppleVis Editorial Team's primary efforts (besides managing the day-to-day operations of the website) has been the identification; reporting; and tracking of bugs with vision accessibility features in Apple software . We do this work with the hopes that fellow blind and low vision users will be able to be better informed about accessibility…

In addition to releasing iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6,, Apple has today released macOS 10.15.6, watchOS 6.2.8, and tvOS 13.4.8. Apple additionally today released new 13.4.8 software for HomePod.

With much of Apple's focus likely being on this fall's software releases, we…

Apple has today released iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6, bringing changes to how software updates are installed, changes to the Health and News apps, and support for Car Key - a feature which allows an iPhone or an Apple Watch to be used to unlock an NFC-enabled vehicle.

We are currently unaware of any changes, fixes or regressions in these releases for blind or low vision users. If you encounter any during your own use of the software, please let us know by posting a comment below.

Introduction

As the number of active Apple devices increases, so too do the different choices that the consumer has. The latest offering from Apple is the new iPhone SE 2020. This iPhone is a mix of the old and new: it retains the build size of the iPhone 8, but has the new A13 Bionic chip offered in the iPhone 11 series. It offers Bluetooth 5.0, but retains the Home…

The Editorial Team and I are pleased to announce a major upgrade and redesign to the AppleVis website.

When I created AppleVis ten years ago, I built it quickly and with little idea of where the site would go... and certainly no expectation that it would become as popular, valuable, and successful as our community has made it.

AppleVis has surpassed all of my hopes and expectations, and I truly thank everybody in our community for this.

Over the past decade, the…

Welcome to the June 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

BBC…

WWDC 2020: New Software and Fresh Chips

As usual in June, Apple has recently concluded the opening presentation of WWDC. This year brought us version 14 of iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS, as well as watchOS 7 and macOS 11. Yes, macOS 11, not 10.16. The final announcement wasn't just about software, though, but hardware: Apple is moving its entire Mac lineup to custom chips it will be designing itself, and it's starting the process this year. Maybe that's why macOS got a whole new number?…

We are pleased to announce that members of the AppleVis Community have chosen Aira and Envision AI to be the next two inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame.

First opened in 2011, the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is one of the ways in which the AppleVis community seeks to recognize…

We are pleased to announce that voting for the 2020 inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is now open.

Now in its ninth year, the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is one of the ways in which the AppleVis community seeks to recognize developers of accessible iOS applications. Apps in the Hall of Fame can be liberating; empowering; life-changing; provide access to information that sighted users take for granted; or, in…

Apple has today released iOS 13.5.1, iPadOS 13.5.1, tvOS 13.4.6, watchOS 6.2.6, and a supplemental update to macOS Catalina 10.15.5 to the public.

According to Apple's release notes for iOS 13.5.1, watchOS 6.2.6, and macOS Catalina 10.15.5 supplemental update, these updates provide "important security updates" and are recommended for all users. We did not have access to the release notes for tvOS 13.4.6 at the time of writing.

As these releases appear to be only security…

Welcome to the May 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

Amaroq…

Apple has today released macOS Catalina 10.15.5 to the public.

New in macOS Catalina 10.15.5 is a battery health management feature. According to MacRumors, battery Health Management is designed to extend the overall lifespan of a Mac notebook by reducing the rate of chemical aging.

Battery Health Management analyzes the battery health of a laptop and its charging pattern…

Today is the Eighth Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). This day has been set aside "to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital (web, software, mobile, etc.) access/inclusion and people with different disabilities." This according to the above linked web page on GAAD. In recent years on AppleVis, we have supported this day, with posts about…

Apple has today released TVOS 13.4.5 for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV (4th generation).

Outside of the major upgrade each year, tvOS updates are typically minor in scale with a focus on under-the-hood fixes and performance improvements. As Apple does not provide release notes for tvOS updates, we will have to wait and see if tvOS 13.4.5 does include user facing changes. We will update this post if anything of note is discovered.

To install the update, go to Settings > System…

Apple has today released iOS 13.5 and iPadOS 13.5 to the public, with Exposure Notification API, faster Face ID unlocking when wearing a face mask, a new option to automatically share selected health data with emergency services, and more.

Bug Fixes for Blind and Low Vision Users in iOS 13.5 and iPadOS 13.5

Our testing suggests that the following pre-existing accessibility bugs have been resolved in iOS 13.5 and iPadOS 13.5:

• …