Nature Soundscapes update adds VoiceOver support

By Nick Culbertson, 9 August, 2017

Forum

iOS and iPadOS

Hello Everyone,

I’m Nick Culbertson, an indie dev that makes music apps and games. Previously a musician in Nashville, I try to share my love of music in the apps I create.

I recently received an email from a user saying he loved my Tuner app, but he was hoping for some modifications to accommodate his blindness. Thanks to VoiceOver’s built-in support, he was already using the app, but as I began testing with VoiceOver, I quickly found room for improvement and optimization. I was surprised to find certain features that were previously easy and intuitive were suddenly hidden when you couldn’t see the interface. This has completely shifted my perspective in designing apps.

I’ve stayed in contact with this user, who also happens to be a musician, and he is now helping me add accessibility to my other apps, starting with Nature Soundscapes for iOS and Apple TV (https://itunes.apple.com/app/id971949061). Nature Soundscapes is an app of serene nature and ambient audio loops including ocean, rain, and more to relax and recharge. For me, making apps is about improving people’s lives, and accessibility is becoming integral to that.

I’m proud to be serving this community, and I’d love to hear any feedback you have on the app. If you REALLY like the app, please consider adding it to AppleVis iOS App Directory: https://www.applevis.com/node/add/ios-app-directory

Here is the link to Nature Soundscapes now with full VoiceOver support: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id971949061

Thanks for reading,
Nick

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Comments

very nice job!

just got the app a couple minutes ago. very nicely done! I have no complaints at all, but would like to make a suggestion. you should have a morning one that has the birds with no water sounds if that makes since. do you plan on adding other sounds? I just purchased the rest of the sound packs for the .99 pricetag.

Thanks Jarrod!

Thank you Jarrod for your support!

I don't have immediate plans for adding new soundscapes, but I'll put that idea along with the suggestion of birds without the water in the feature backlog for future updates. Prior to this version the app had 8 samples which was just raised to 15, but I'd be happy to explore adding new scenes. Thanks for posting and the great suggestions!

I hope enjoy the app,
Nick

I have the AppleTV version

Does the AppleTV version now have 15 sounds if I purchased it? Also, I see you are not doing new sounds at this time, but one sound that I think really makes an awesome background would be a desert sandstorm. Any chance we could ever see that?

It Does!

Hey Sockhopsinger,

The Apple TV version also now has 15 sounds (5 free + 10 IAP). I'll add the idea of a sandstorm to the feature backlog also. I think I might actually have a sample in my library that might work for that.

Currently, I'm updating my other apps to include VO accessibility, and then I'm going to circle back in a few months for adding new features to Nature Soundscapes after iOS 11 is released.

Thanks,
Nick

are sound scapes stored locally?

Hi, Nick:
Are the sound scapes stored locally on the device, or is this a streaming app? I was thinking of downloading this to use for sleep and relaxation when I am out of town and have no access to wi fi. I'd rather not chew up my data by streaming audio all night long. :)

Thank you.

They are stored locally.

Hi flcomputergeek,

The data is all stored locally. I hope it comes in handy!

Thanks,
Nick

Thank you so much for working

Thank you so much for working on accessibility for your apps! So many apps are inaccessible and it is discouraging when you have to hold your breath when you install one because you know there is a good chance it is unuseable. I hope other devs follow in your footsteps!