Apple has today released macOS Ventura 13.5, watchOS 9.6, and tvOS 16.6 to the public.
Given Apple's current focus on its forthcoming major platform updates set for release in the fall, it comes as no surprise that today's updates do not introduce any notable new features or enhancements, instead being performance and stability releases.
As of now, we haven't identified any bug fixes, enhancements, or newly introduced bugs that specifically affect the experience of blind and low vision users in these updates. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates if needed.
According to Apple's release notes for the updates, they include unspecified bug fixes and security improvements.
We strive to provide the most comprehensive and accurate information about the accessibility status of Apple software releases. However, as a small team, it is impossible for us to test every device, configuration, application, and use case. That's why we depend on our community to help us ensure that our information is as complete and accurate as possible. If you have tested macOS Ventura 13.5, watchOS 9.6 or tvOS 16.6 for accessibility, please share any additional fixes, enhancements, or regressions you've discovered in the comments below. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us provide the best information to our community.
To install macOS Ventura 13.5, choose System Settings from the Apple menu, select General in the table, click Software Update in the scroll area, and click the Update Now button to begin the update process. If other updates are available, you can click "More info" to see details about them and select specific updates to install.
watchOS 9.6 is available via Over-the-Air Update (Settings > General > Software Update) or by going to the Watch app on your iPhone and navigating to General> Software Update. To install the update, your Watch must be connected to its charger and have at least 50% battery power.
To install tvOS 16.6 on Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD, go to the Settings channel, then look for the System section near the bottom. From here, look for Software Updates under Maintenance, then select Update Software and Download and Install. Wait for your Apple TV to download the update. Don't disconnect or unplug your Apple TV until the update completes.
Comments
Regression
I am noticing two VoiceOver regressions with the latest macOS update, both of which are getting on my nerves.
The first problem is that, at least with Alex, I am getting weird distortions whenever I navigate to a new element while Alex is still announcing the element I was previously focused on. It's as though some of the audio from the previous announcement is leaking into the new announcement, causing a very distracting bit of distortion at the beginning of the new announcement. I haven't tried other voices yet, so I don't know if this is just an Alex thing or if other voices are impacted as well.
The second is really messing up my workflow. When I hit VO-F to search, sometimes VoiceOver says nothing, and trying to type something causes the system to beep. Trying to navigate with VoiceOver results in either a beep or some cryptic announcement about some helper application having no windows. Pressing Command-Q quits whatever this process is, but if I then try to hit VO-F again, VoiceOver crashes and relaunches. The only way I found to get VO-F working properly is to stop and start VoiceOver and then close and reopen the app I was using. I have to do both of these things, and in the order I mentioned. Even so, this only brings VO-F back to life for a short time. After a while, VO-F stops working again and I have to repeat the process. I've done it at least half a dozen times since updating yesterday.
I'm going to send feedback to Apple about both of these things, but I'm wondering if others are seeing either of my issues first, so I'm posting here.
Num Pad Commander and Passwords
I use Num Pad Commander 4 and 6 to move previous and back like VO+left and VO+right. Since this update, if I move to a password box, then the num pad works like a normal num pad and starts entering characters into the box.
I'm not sure if this is intended behaviour but it's certainly annoying me.
I've noticed this in Safari and Chrome, not tried anywhere else.
Regression
I'm getting the same voice garbling problem on both MacOS and iOS with Eloquence, though seemingly not Nuance voices. I sent an email to Apple, reporting the bug.