Apple has today released iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 to the public.
These releases are relatively minor in regard to user facing changes and enhancements, instead focusing on under-the-hood improvements and bug fixes.
Apple's release notes simply state that iOS 15.3 includes ”bug fixes and security updates for your iPhone.”
Apple lists 10 security fixes in iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3, including patches for vulnerabilities affecting Safari, root privileges, and more. Among these is a fix for a recently discovered Safari bug that could cause the leaking of users’ browsing history and Google ID.
Our experience is that none of the active bugs we currently have listed in the AppleVis Bug Tracker are resolved or significantly addressed in iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3.
At the time of writing we are unaware of any new bugs or regressions for blind and low vision users in these releases.
As we always stress, we can make no claims on the completeness or accuracy of our testing. We are only a small team, and it is simply impossible for us to test all devices, configurations, applications, and use cases. Accordingly, to help us ensure that the information on this page is as complete and accurate as possible, please let us know in the comments of any additional fixes; enhancements; or regressions that you find in your own use of iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3.
How to Update
iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 are available via Over-the-Air Update (Settings > General > Software Update) via Finder on a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, or via iTunes on a PC or Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier.
Before updating, we strongly recommend making a full and complete backup of your device (either locally or in iCloud, depending on personal preference). This will ensure that, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong during the update process, you will have a current backup on hand in case a device restore becomes necessary. Also, if using OTA update, we recommend plugging your device into a power source for the duration of the download/installation process, so as to prevent the unlikely event of your battery going dead during the update.
More information on how to update the software on your device is available on this Apple Support page.
As always, we look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences of these releases, so please let us know by posting a comment below.
Comments
Call focus bug perhaps fixed?
Hello all
Anyone know if the call focus bug some have been experiencing might be fixed? It occurs on the recent and I thought the favorites screens, when double tapping a name, a random name will be called instead. I'd understand if this wasn't in the bug tracker since not everyone is experiencing it.
Thanks.
internet navigation
I really hope they fix this soon. my internet experience was flawless in 14.8, whereas now working in pages with images and anything other than standard links is a chore. VO gets stuck, sometimes clicks prematurely, it's a mess. Has anybody else had issues with these things?
braille display bugs
I hope they fix the braille display bugs. I'm hesitant to update.
My email to Apple accessibility today
You might want to write to accessibility@apple.com.
I wrote:
Hi. Any idea when Apple expects to address all the accessibility bugs for the blind in IOS 15?
Thanks,
Bruce Harrell
P.S. Nothing personal. I'm still using IOS 14. I learned the hard way in years ago not to upgrade until Apple finally addresses the accessibility bugs it ignores for most of the year following each annual major IOS upgrades.
Time spoken twice on the lock screen
When I receive a notification and I wake the phone up, it will say, for example, 6 06 p.m. 1 notification. When I swipe to read the notification, it will say the time once more after reading it. I don't remember noticing this behaviour before. I'm using an iPhone 13.
A notice will be read twice
I really can't stand that VoiceOver reads a notification twice, both in the lock screen screen and when reading notifications in the notification center, I really don't know why there is such a bug.Also I can't run any of the commands in Shortcuts since 14.7, finding the item and double clicking on it will open the command edit page directly.
I am really too disappointed.
Mute does not work
When using the mute button and putting it on off, VO still reads notification. To avoid them, got to put phone screen facing down. Sad. Sad.
can anyone confirm braille display fix?
Hi, guys! I just heard on the Brailliant BI X users email list that there seems to be a fix for the braille display freezing issues. Can anyone else confirm this? The email said that the freezing issues with chamillion, Mantis Brailliant BI X users, and other displays seemed to; fixed. Thanks! :-)
braille display fix?
I can say it's sort of fixed. I just got a qbraille xl and was able to pair the keyboard connections and the braille display connections with the iphone 12 and the ipad pro which is the 2020 version. However sometimes it takes a bit for one or the other connections to kick in, and sometimes I still get the message about this device not being supported, but both don't happen all the time. When the display does connect it is solid. One thing I noticed is that if you turn off networking and wireless in privacy -> location services -> system services, it makes bluetooth performance much worse, and I don't know why. What does having my location have to do with the speed of my network or bluetooth? I find that having that switch sometimes negatively affects wifi performance as well, though not as much as bluetooth. My normal inclination would be to disable all the location services in system services, because I don't understand why I'd need any of them really. But doing that screws up performance, and that's strange since I don't use siri and tend to turn off almost all features of the phone unless some app requests that something is enabled, then I'll enable that.
it's fixed
Hi, I have the Brailliant BI 40 X also, and simnce iOS 15.3 it's fixed. I haven't any problems related to that. My Braille Display not freezing untill now.
thanks guys!
Thanks guys! I updated yesterday. I'm beyond happy to know that it's fixed!! :-) It's was really starting to annoy me! Especially when my Ipad would freeze up right along with it! Which would then require a hard reset. Here's to hoping that this bug stays dead!
if anyone's hearing underscore
Hey guys! Not sure if anyone's having this issue, but, if you are, I've got a workaround. I'm talking abVo. saying underscore after EVERY LETTER! If you go to settings, accessibility, Voiceover, caption paneling and turn it off, underscore will be no more. I just got off the phone with tech support about this after noticing this. Now, I have no more underscore! It's not a bug, but a new way of reading things in this latest update. Haven't seen any comments about this on here, but, wanted to post it here in case anyone starts seeing this.
They fixed notification…
They fixed notification summary. Now it reads the way it used to.
if anyone's hearing underscor
Yes. I was experiencing the same problem. But, now it has been fixed while turning off captioning panel. 😊🙌
whistling UK Siri female
Hi all,
So I commented on this upon the release of IOS15.2.1 but it doesn't seem anyone's experiencing the issue apart from me. UK Siri female whistles every few words or so when using Voiceover! It's not quite a whistle, perhaps somewhere between a whistle and bleeping out a swear word. Updating to 15.3 did no good, it's still the same. Deleting and redownloading the voice did no good. Restarting Voiceover, restarting the phone, neither did no good. Using an iPhone 13 and I have no idea what has caused this. I have switched to the UK male which means this issue isn't the end of the world but is anyone else experiencing this issue? Does anyone have any idea what i can do to resolve it?