Getting Started With iOS and iPadOS

Did you know that you can change to other voices for Siri? In this podcast Thomas Domville shows us how to change Siri voice on iOS.

In this episode, Thomas Domville shows us how to change the speaking rate for Siri on iOS and iPadOS. This feature allows you to adjust the speed at which Siri speaks, which can be helpful if you find Siri's default speaking rate too fast or too slow.

To change the speaking rate for Siri, Go to Settings > Accessibility > Siri, and adjust the slider under the "Speaking rate" heading to your desired speed.

Once you have changed the speaking rate for Siri, you can test it out by asking a question or giving it a command. Siri will now speak at the speed that you have set.

In this podcast, Thomas Domville shows us how to check a battery status of all of your iPhone bluetooth accessories.

In this podcast, Thomas Domville shows us how to check the various weather information with Siri in iOS.

The various Siri commands used in this podcast:

get current weather
"What's the weather going to be like today?"

Get a weekly weather
"What is the forecast for the next week?"
"What is the forecast for this weekend?"

Get the Current Temperature
"What is the current temperature?"
"What is the Perceived Temperature"

Get the Current Conditions
"What is the Current Weather Condition?"
"Do I need an umbrella?"

check sunset and sunrise
"What time is sunrise tomorrow?"
"What time is sunset tonight?"

Get the Humidity Index
"What is the humidity Index?"

Get the Wind Speed
"What is the current wind Speed?"

In this podcast from his series looking at some of what's new and notable in iOS 15, Thomas Domville Shows us how you can now configure a number of accessibility settings on a per-app basis.

This feature allows you to enable or disable certain accessibility settings for a specific app or set of apps, including the Home screen. All you need to do is choose an app, toggle on the accessibility settings you want, and you'll then get options like larger text, reduced transparency, and smart invert in only the places you want them.

In this episode, Thomas Domville Shows us VoiceOver's Quick Settings feature on iOS and iPadOS.

Activated with a 2-finger quadruple tap, the Quick Settings panel offers fast and easy access to a number of VoiceOver's settings and options, allowing you to streamline the VoiceOver rotor. You can change what's included in this panel, and the order settings are presented in, in Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Quick Settings.

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to configure your iPhone or iPad with Touch ID to bypass the Lock Screen and open immediately after authenticating.

By default, after authenticating with Touch ID, you should hear what sounds like a lock opening, at which point you can either press the Home button if the device has one, or slide up from the bottom if it doesn't. However, if you'd rather the device opened immediately once you placed your finger on the Touch ID sensor, you can configure it to do so by going to Settings > Accessibility > Home button, and double-tapping the "Rest finger to open" switch.

In this podcast, Thomas Domville shows us How to contact Apple for accessibility inquiries.

Topics Covered in this Podcast

Apple Accessibility Web Page:
https://www.apple.com/accessibility/

Apple Product Feedback Web Page:
https://www.apple.com/feedback/

Accessibility Support - Official Apple Support Web Page:
https://support.apple.com/accessibility

Today at Apple - Accessibility - Apple Web Page:
https://www.apple.com/today/collection/accessibility-collection/

Apple Accessibility and Assistive Technology Email Address:
[email protected]

In this podcast, Thomas Domville shows us How to control the various volume levels in iOS.

In this podcast, Thomas Domville discusses and explores how in iOS 13 users have the capability to create custom VoiceOver configurations for different tasks. For example, having a Different VoiceOver voice, speaking rate, and verbosity level for when using a specific app.

Don't want new iOS updates to be installed or downloaded automatically? Take back your power to say no to the updates. Listen as Thomas Domville shows us how to customize iOS automatic updates.

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to customize the lock screen on iOS, specifically how to remove the flashlight and camera buttons and replace them with other controls.

In addition to viewing the time, date, and notifications, the Lock Screen can be customized to remove or replace the camera and flashlight buttons with other controls, or show certain types of information at a glance, such as upcoming calendar events or current weather conditions. To customize the Lock Screen, perform a one-finger triple-tap on either the time or date, double-tap Customize, and then double-tap “Customize Lock Screen wallpaper.” From here, you can double-tap the Remove buttons for default controls, the “add quick action” button to select alternative controls, or the “Add widget” button to select a widget.

In this episode, Thomas Domville discusses and explores how to customize VoiceOver gestures in iOS and iPadOS.

To do this, go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Commands > Touch gestures, double-tap the gesture whose function you want to modify, and select an alternative VoiceOver function in the list. Note that this list is organized by heading for ease of navigation.

In this podcast, Thomas Domville discusses and explores how in iOS 13 users have the capability to customize the haptic feedback given when performing VoiceOver gestures.

Are you getting strange Airdrop request from people you don't know? Don't use Airdrop? Follow along with Thomas Domville as he discusses how to disable Airdrop on your iPhone in iOS. Make sure that your Airdrop is configured to your liking.

With Always On Display, your iPhone 14 Pro or later pro-model iPhone will dim the Lock Screen while still showing information, such as the time, widgets and wallpaper, all while using new technologies that make the display power efficient.

There is likely to be no utility to this feature for blind and some low vision users, so in this episode Thomas Domville shows us how to disable it.

To disable Always On Display, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display, and double-tap the "Always On Display" switch. This Apple support page provides more information on Using Always-On display with your pro-model iPhone.

In this episode, Tyler shows us how to disable Raise to Wake an iPhone feature that displays the Lock Screen whenever the device is raised, like when it is removed from a bag or pocket. While this feature may be convenient for quickly unlocking your iPhone, some VoiceOver users find it annoying, as even small movements can wake the device and cause VoiceOver to start speaking.

To turn this off, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and double-tap the “Raise to Wake” switch. iPhones without a Home button also include a feature called tap to wake, where a tap of the touch screen will cause the Lock Screen to be displayed. This can be turned on and off by going to Settings > Accessibility > Touch and double-tapping the “Tap to Wake” switch.

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to enable audio descriptions for the TV app, as well as for videos on supported websites in Safari on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Note that not all apps and websites that offer audio described content detect this setting, meaning you'll have to manually enable audio descriptions through the playback interfaces of such services.

To enable automatic playing of audio descriptions for the TV app and Safari on iOS and iPadOS, go to settings > Accessibility > Audio descriptions, and enable the "Audio descriptions" toggle. To do the same on macOS, go to System Settings > Accessibility > Descriptions, and enable the "Play audio descriptions when available" toggle.

Be sure to listen in as Thomas Domville shows us how to enable caption panel for VoiceOver in iOS and why you would want to do that.

In this podcast from his series looking at some of what's new and notable in iOS 15, Thomas Domville Shows us the improved image description capabilities for VoiceOver users.

Here’s how Apple describes this feature:

Building on recent updates that brought Image Descriptions to VoiceOver, users can now explore even more details about the people, text, table data, and other objects within images. Users can navigate a photo of a receipt like a table: by row and column, complete with table headers. VoiceOver can also describe a person’s position along with other objects within images — so people can relive memories in detail, and with Markup, users can add their own image descriptions to personalize family photos.