AppleVis Unlimited: What's New and Noteworthy for July-September 2024

By AppleVis, 30 September, 2024

Welcome to a special edition of AppleVis Unlimited, your monthly digest of the latest and most notable content on the AppleVis website. This edition covers July-September 2024 and features a curated selection of community-submitted content, including new app entries; updates; news; popular discussions; and podcasts. We hope you will find it to be both helpful and informative.

An Opening Thought

It has been an incredible month here at AppleVis. At the end of July, it looked like AppleVis' closure was a certainty.

But thanks to a tremendous outpouring of community support and the team at Be My Eyes, that was not to be. AppleVis fully reopened on September 9, 2024. It has been wonderful to see so many familiar names on the site, and it has been even more wonderful to hear the stories of how AppleVis, and the community and resources that we offer, has impacted peoples' lives. Thank you for your very kind support of the work that we do.

Later in October, we will be launching our first annual community survey. We want to hear about your experiences using AppleVis and how we can best serve you in the coming year. Please watch our blog, social media channels, and your email inbox for more details once the survey is launched.

Wishing you every good thing in the month ahead,

The AppleVis Editorial Team
www.AppleVis.com

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Azmar Quest (Old School RPG) (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

Azmar Quest is an Old School RPG, offering both a Text RPG adventure and a Turn Based RPG strategy game experience. It's set in a fantasy world called Azmar, where the danger is around the corner.

You can play Azmar offline (single player story) or online (PvP and Co-op).

Current Version: 1.3.11 (September 16, 2024)

Azmar Quest's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Azmar Quest's App Store page

FableAI - Endless RPG (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

Dive into unique adventures in any genre, shape the narrative through your choices, and immerse yourself in a world of endless possibilities.

Welcome to FableAI – Your Gateway to Limitless Adventures!

Are you ready to dive into an adventure where the only limit is your imagination? FableAI lets you experience unlimited, dynamic stories tailored by your creativity. Download FableAI now and embark on your journey into worlds of infinite possibilities!

Current Version: 0.2.2 (September 5, 2024)

FableAI's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry FableAI's App Store page

Natulang - Language Learning (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

Is your goal to ACTUALLY SPEAK a new language? Tired of gamified tapping apps that just waste your time? Try Natulang! While other language-learning apps may focus on tapping and typing, Natulang is all about speaking. Our cutting-edge voice generation and recognition capabilities allow you to learn real-life dialogues by speaking them out loud, giving you the confidence you need to speak with native speakers. With Natulang, you'll spend most of your time speaking, which is the key to mastering any language.

Current Version: 1.5.17 (September 29, 2024)

Natulang's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Natulang's App Store page

Ranger Legend (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

A popular ARPG for visually impaired and sighted players. Become a legendary ranger in a vast world with 147 maps, battling monsters and enhancing your abilities!

—— Lead-in —— This is a game designed with accessibility features for the visually impaired, allowing both sighted and visually impaired players to play together. Therefore, the operation and interface design may differ. We sincerely hope for your understanding and support!

—— Introduction ——

The most anticipated visual ARPG masterpiece designed specifically for visually impaired friends, offering two sets of controls for both visually impaired and sighted players.You will become a legendary ranger in a grand epic world composed of over 140 maps, spanning from East to West, from the demon realm to the heaven, against thousands of evil monsters through various battles, your attributes will be significantly enhanced. Ultimately, you will determine your talent among the three Classes of Warrior, Mage, and Illusionist. Challenge monsters in thrilling explorations to acquire rich items; join alliances and engage in various PvP battles with hundreds of players on the same screen. Start your legend now with players all around the world!

Current Version: 1.1 (September 26, 2024)

Ranger Legend's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Ranger Legend's App Store page

Speakaboo (iOS, Free)

Discover more about your surroundings with Speakaboo. Get quick AI-powered descriptions and answers with simple gestures.

Speakaboo is a revolutionary app that uses advanced AI to provide real-time descriptions and answers about your surroundings. Whether you’re visually impaired or simply want a hands-free way to interact with the world around you, Speakaboo makes it easier than ever to stay informed and connected.

Current Version: 1.0

Speakaboo's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Speakaboo's App Store page

Winamp (iOS, Free)

Play it right

The new Winamp Player offers the best of everything, bringing your local music files, fanzone tracks, podcasts, and radio stations together.

Enjoy all your audio content in one place, and customize your listening experience with the legendary Winamp Player.

Current Version: 1.4 (September 23, 2024)

Winamp's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Winamp's App Store page

Unread: An RSS Reader (macOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

Rediscover the joy of reading your favorite writers with Unread. Unread is an RSS reader with beautiful typography, great handling of summary-only feeds, and a variety of color themes.

Capabilities include:

SYNCING: Unread Cloud keeps your devices in sync. Unread also syncs with Feedbin, Feedly, Fever, Inoreader, and NewsBlur.

AUTOMATIC WEBPAGE TEXT: For feeds that contain only article summaries, Unread will display the full article text from the webpage. You can easily switch between feed text and webpage text for any article, or make webpage text the default for individual feeds.

SUBSCRIBE IN UNREAD: This share extension lets you subscribe to a website’s feeds while visiting that website from Safari or any other web browser.

SAVE TO UNREAD: This share extension creates an article in Unread with the contents of the webpage you are visiting from Safari or any other web browser. (Subscription required.)

COLOR THEMES: Unread provides a variety of color themes. Choose one theme for light mode and another for dark mode.

WIDGETS: Unread’s widgets display your most recent articles or unread article counts.

CACHING: Unread caches webpage text and images for instant loading and offline access. (Subscription required.)

READ-LATER SERVICES: Unread provides native support for saving articles to GoodLinks, Instapaper, Omnivore, Pinboard, Plinky, Pocket, Raindrop.io, Readwise, and Safari Reading List. (Subscription required.)

Current Version: 4.2.1 (September 25, 2024)

Unread's AppleVis Mac App Directory entry Unread's App Store page

All recent app entries posted to AppleVis may be found at:

iOS/iPadOS
Mac
Apple Watch
Apple TV

Notable App Updates

Aira Explorer (iOS, Free, Subscription Available)

What is Aira?

Aira is an app that provides on-demand, remote visual interpreting for the blind and low vision community to enhance independence and efficiency. With one tap, connect with a professional Visual Interpreter and work together to accomplish a wide range of tasks. Anytime you encounter an obstacle related to visual information, Aira can assist. It is a trusted and secure tool that can support every realm of your life—on your own terms.

Current Version: 2.6.4 (September 20, 2024)

Combined App Store Release Notes for Versions 2.5.1-2.6.4

Apple Sign-In

Merge Account Feature: Easily merge multiple accounts to consolidate your data.

Updated App Color Theme

Improved high contrast palette and minor color role adjustments for better accessibility and visual consistency.

A new confirmation dialog appears when you attempt to log out, preventing accidental logouts.

Enhanced functionality with support for autolinks.

Hold Call Before Launching WhatsApp

Bug Fixes and Improvements

A new session expired dialog will now be displayed when your session ends.

Automatic Keyboard display when editing phone number or email address

The "Access AI Preference Page" has been moved from the Preference tab to the Access AI section for better navigation.

Access AI Profile Restrictions

General performance optimizations and bug fixes.

Performance improvements and bug fixes.

Aira Explorer's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Aira Explorer's App Store page

Bookshare Reader (iOS, Free to Download, Bookshare Subscription Required to Use)

Listen to books and read your way!

Get the official Bookshare Reader app. Access millions of ebooks from Bookshare, the world's largest library of ebooks for people with reading barriers like dyslexia, blindness, low vision, and physical disabilities. Listen to books in high quality audio and customize your reading experience in ways that work for you. Read bestsellers, new releases, textbooks and educational books, children’s books, young adult, mysteries, biographies, and more.

Current Version: 1.23.0 (September 19, 2024)

Version 1.23.0 App Store Release Notes

“My Library” Updates:

Updated Button Label: The "Recent books" label is now "My History" for improved clarity.

VoiceOver Enhancements: The button now announces "My History button" or "Downloads button" correctly. Upon selection, it indicates the "Bookshelf" heading, enhancing navigation.

Visual Indicators: Added a checkmark icon to indicate the selected option, with VoiceOver support for better accessibility. Also, the "My History" or "Downloads" button now includes a chevron icon to show it's clickable.

Reading Experience Improvements:

VoiceOver Enhancement: Eliminated the unnecessary "book loaded" announcement for a smoother experience.

VoiceOver Enhancement: Fixed issue where tabs under "Book Navigation" were being announced twice, now providing a seamless navigation experience.

“Discover” Updates:

Users can now pull down to refresh their recommendations list, making it easier to find new content.

Other Bug Fixes & Enhancements:

Resolved an issue where some books were not playing.

AirPods Functionality: Improved Bluetooth performance—audio will pause if an AirPod is removed, both in-app and on the lock screen.

Bookshare Reader's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Bookshare Reader's App Store page

Envision AI (iOS, Free)

Envision is the fastest, most reliable and award-winning OCR app that speaks out the visual world, helping people who are blind or have low vision lead more independent lives.

Envision is developed for and together with the blind and low vision community. The app is simple, gets things done and brings the best assistive experience to blind and low vision users.

Simply use your phone camera to scan any piece of text, your surroundings, objects, people or products and everything will be read out to you thanks to Envision’s smart artificial intelligence (AI) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

Current Version: 3.4.1 (August 22, 2024)

Version 3.4.1 App Store Release Notes

Follow-up questions improvements using the Describe scene, ‘Ask Envision about Images’.

Checking for product availability improvements using the Scan barcode.

Overall app performance crash fixes.

Overall stability and localization update.

Envision AI's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Envision AI's App Store page

Land of Livia: An Epic Fantasy (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

Escape your daily life with a fully accessible epic fantasy adventure designed for relaxed gameplay. Grow your character through exploration and questing from a modest farm hand into a worldly adventurer. Venture across land and sea to uncover the beginnings of a dark conspiracy afoot in the Land of Livia.

Gameplay inspired by great games like World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, Diablo and Planescape Torment, but distilled down into a primordial form. This one-of-a-kind game allows you to quest and loot all throughout your day for months on end with no predatory microtransactions.

Current Version: 4.1.3 (September 21, 2024)

Combined App Store Release Notes for Recent Versions

Accessibility: Refined Lore Research to be more intuitive to play and added a difficulty setting in the Help menu so players can choose their own pace. Try it out!

Accessibility: Added Lore Research sound effects and sound volume settings in the Help menu.

Accessibility: Added separate Music volume control in the Help menu.

Prelude revised to provide more robust experience, improve progression and reduce confusion in several areas where players often get stuck. Let us know what you think!

Fixed a bug where side goals involving Lore Tomes got stuck in an uncompleted state even after completing all the required quests.

Fixed a player migration issue from the previous release. This may have resulted in missing quest items, locations, or journal entries. Please update to resolve and let us know if you experience any further issues.

Added back the Settings options to the Help screen after it was accidentally removed in the previous release.

Fixed an issue where Raid the Snook Mine would not complete when you first finish the required quest

Land of Livia's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Land of Livia's App Store page

Oko - Cross streets and Maps (iOS, Free)

Oko is a AI driven navigation app that helps you navigate and explore your environment with confidence. Simply search your destination to receive detailed, turn-by-turn directions. When approaching an intersection, oko will inform you about intersection information. If you need visual assistance just raise your phone, and oko will notify you when the walk sign is on. Start discovering places and remember to go with oko.

Current Version: 4.5.0 (September 4, 2024)

Combined App Store Release Notes for Versions 4.4.0 and 4.5.0

We have listened to your feedback! * You can now choose which flavour of the app you want on startup. You can choose between the camera for detecting te pedestrian signal or the map view to start navigating. * Improved point of interests information and making asking questions even smarter.

Oko's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Oko's App Store page

Please Don't Rain (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

Please Don’t Rain is a fun, convenient way to track whether rain (or snow) will affect a day that’s important to you.

When you have an important day coming up it can be cumbersome having to look up the weather for it over and over again. Not anymore! Choose a place and a day and you’ll get details about the weather for that day that will continue to update automatically if you have the Pro version.

Please Don't Rain is a nominee for the 2023 AppleVis Golden Apple awards for its accessibility support.

Current Version: 4.2 (September 28, 2024)

Combined App Store Release Notes for Versions 4.1-4.2

Happy bug-fixes-after-release day!

The precipitation chart header wasn’t marked to VoiceOver as a header.

VoiceOver was not speaking the full month in the data table for the new monthly rain and snow charts.

A phrase such as “3 days left” at the top of the forecast would be broken into two separate VoiceOver elements.

When looking at details of a nearby day the precipitation chart would always show “none” in the title.

When looking at details of a nearby day without precipitation the precipitation chart would say that there was too little precipitation to show a chart. It should have just said there won’t be precipitation on that day.

When looking at details of a nearby day the button to look at monthly averages should not have been present.

Widgets in Demo Mode Widgets now work when the app is in demo mode. This will let new users get an idea of what they are like without having to start a free trial.

Condition Change Made a minor adjustment to the user interface where the condition is shown. Conditions that are long words, such as “thunderstorm”, will now be less likely to be hyphenated. This happened mostly on the iPad version.

Please Don't Rain's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Please Don't Rain's App Store page

Sonar Islands (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

In this game all relevant things happen in your ears!

Explore more than 10 unique islands, Participate in challenging events, Found a tribe with your friends and chat

Sonar Islands is a MULTIPLAYER ONLINE game, where all relevant events happen in your ears.

Build up your empire, explore and develop 14 different islands with this award winning GAME OF THE DAY 2021.

Current Version: 1.1.7 (August 28, 2024)

Version 1.1.7 App Store Release Notes

New event ISLAND MARATHON

Minor updates and bugfixes

Sonar Islands' AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Sonar Islands' App Store page

VoiceVista (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

VoiceVista is a critical application for the blind and low vision users' community. It is built upon Microsoft's discontinued and open-source project Soundscape (https://aka.ms/ossblog) and is licensed under the MIT License (https://github.com/microsoft/soundscape/blob/main/LICENSE.txt).

The app leverages advanced iOS audio technology and precise location services to empower individuals in developing a heightened sense of their environment. It offers reassurance in unfamiliar settings, assisting users in forming mental maps and confidently navigating their desired routes.

Current Version: 1.6.6 (September 26, 2024)

Combined App Store Release Notes for Versions 1.6.2-1.6.6

Access markers and routes from the location explorer UI

Danish translation updated by Claus Thøgersen

Russian translation updated by Danil Kostenkov

added using machine translation

Armenian translation added using machine translation

Bosnian translation added using machine translation

New setting to automatically unmute beacon sound effects when entering its range

Road name announcements when detecting a name change

VoiceVista's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry VoiceVista's App Store page

Weather Gods (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)

Introducing Weather Gods, a unique weather experience where the elements come to life through the divine powers of Fire, Ice, Water, Air, and Moon. Our revolutionary app redefines weather forecasting with stunning visualizations, dynamic graphics, and immersive audio, allowing you to truly see, hear, and feel the weather around you.

Current Version: 4.7.2 (September 15, 2024)

Combined App Store Release Notes for Versions 4.7.1-4.7.2

Tropical Storms Information on the active tropical cyclones, such as invests, tropical depressions, tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons, across the globe.

Historical Tropical Storms Complimentary archive information for global tropical cyclones, including tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons. This endpoint includes information on an individual storm's name and historical track.

You can now follow individual Tropical Storms and be notified of any changes. Tropical storm current location and forecast include the name of the location if over land.

Tropical Storm bug fixes.

Weather Gods' AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Weather Gods' App Store page

This Month in Podcasts

Apple Crunch September 2024: Where's the Apple Intelligence?

In this month's edition of Apple Crunch, Thomas Domville, John Gassman, and Marty Sobo discuss recent Apple news and other topics of interest.

Topics featured in this episode include:

AppleVis Returns and AppleVis Unleashed Gets a new Name

Thoughts on the Apple's "It's Glowtime" Product Line

At Last the iOS 18 is Out

Where's the Apple Intelligence?

Apple working on a cheaper Apple Vision headset, a second gen Apple Vision Pro, and smart glasses

Listen to "Apple Crunch September 2024: Where's the Apple Intelligence?"

What's New in iOS 18 for Accessibility

In this episode, Thomas Domville gives us an overview of new accessibility features for blind, DeafBlind, and visually impaired users in iOS 18. Topics covered include:

Live Recognition Comes to the Rotor

Voices Rotor

Improvements to Audio Ducking

VoiceOver Tutorial

VoiceOver Startup Haptic Feedback

Delay Before Selection

New languages for Lithuanian and Kazak

Using Personal Voice with VoiceOver

Equalizer and Other New Customization Options for VoiceOver Voices

Voice Presets for Siri Voices

A New VoiceOver Gesture for Accessing Siri Text Input

Braille Screen Input Improvements

Motion Queues

New Sound Actions

Assistive Touch Improvements

Eye Tracking

New Background Sounds and Controls

Music Haptics

Live Speech Improvements

Voice Control Improvements

Vocal Shortcuts

Hover Typing

Car Play Improvements: Voice Control, Color Filters, and Sound Recognition

Magnifier Improvements: Assign Action Button to Magnifier Mode and New Reader Mode

Improvements to Accessing Reader Mode in Safari

Listen to "What's New in iOS 18 for Accessibility"

A Demonstration and Walkthrough of VoiceOver Command Customization on macOS

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates some of VoiceOver's command customization capabilities on macOS.

If you find a particular VoiceOver command difficult to perform, or discover a function in the Commands menu that doesn’t have a default command, you can assign your own custom command to it. In addition, you can configure commands to open apps and run scripts, so you don’t have to locate them manually.

Commands can be configured by going to VoiceOver Utility > Commands, selecting the “Command set: user” radio button, and clicking “Custom commands edit.” For ease of navigation, you can choose the type of commands you want to view or change, such as numpad, trackpad, keyboard, etc from the "Filter commands" popup menu, or use the search field to locate a particular command.

In this dialog, commands can be presented in either column view, which organizes commands into categories like general, information, and navigation, or table view, which displays a list of all VoiceOver commands, including user-configured ones, which you can navigate with the up and down arrow keys. To add a command, in column view, locate the command, interact with the table of assignments, and specify your new one using the "Add input" popup menu. To add a command when in table view, click the Add button, interact with the table, and specify the input assignment from the popup menu labeled "None: edited." Then, press VO-Right-Arrow passed an empty cell to another popup menu, and choose the command you want your new input assignment to perform.

Listen to "A Demonstration and Walkthrough of VoiceOver Command Customization on macOS"

How to Customize the Lock Screen on iOS

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.

Listen to "How to Customize the Lock Screen on iOS"

AppleVis Extra 99: Inside the AppleVis Acquisition; A Conversation with Be My Eyes

In this AppleVis Extra, Dave Nason and Thomas Domville engage in a discussion with Bryan Bashin and Hans Jørgen Wiberg from Be My Eyes about the acquisition of AppleVis. They tackle the tough questions, explore how Be My Eyes came to acquire AppleVis, and share insights into the experiences of the AppleVis Editorial Team before and after the acquisition.

Listen to podcast "AppleVis Extra 99: Inside the AppleVis Acquisition; A Conversation with Be My Eyes

AppleVis Extra #100: Review of the Apple 'Glowtime' Event

Join David Nason, Thomas Domville, Michael Hansen, and Tyler Stephen in this AppleVis Extra as they dive into the highlights of Apple’s ‘Glowtime’ Event.

Listen to "AppleVis Extra #100: Review of the Apple 'Glowtime' Event"

Connect with Us

Follow AppleVis on Mastodon
Follow AppleVis on X
Visit and like the AppleVis Facebook Page