Welcome to the September 2022 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly summary of what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of content posted to AppleVis by members of the community - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.
New and Noteworthy App Entries
Brain Wave: 35 Binaural Series (iOS/iPadOS, US$8.99)
35 Advanced Binaural Brainwave Entrainment Programs for Focus, Relaxation, Sleep, Anxiety, and Meditation. Includes 'Focused and Alert' program to target 40 Hz.
Advanced Brainwave Entrainment combined with Ambient Music, Nature Sounds, Other Audio Apps or your own iTunes Music * Includes Binaural Programs for Sleep, Focus, Memory, Energy, Positive Mood, Motivation, Confidence, Anxiety Relief, Stress Relief, Relaxation, Meditation and much more! * Headphones or Earbuds must be worn for Binaural Tones to be effective * Use the Included Playlist Creator to create an iTunes Playlist for each Program * Can also run alongside other audio apps like Spotify or Audio Book Readers when Background Mode is set to 'Other App' or 'Ambience + Other App'.
Current Version: 9.4.1 (September 7, 2022)
Read Brain Wave: 35 Binaural Series' AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Brain Wave: 35 Binaural Series' App Store page
Foodlapse (iOS/iPadOS, Free With In-App Purchases)
Foodlapse lets you rapidly track days where you have a lapse in judgment.
Everyone has them, days where we don't eat the way we should. Having bubble tea is fine. Having it three days in a row? Not so much. That's a lapse in judgment called a Foodlapse. Using the app you can rapidly track these days and easily see if maybe you should "cool it" or see that it’s time to treat yourself!
FEATURES
- Rapidly log days where you've had a lapse in judgment.
- Siri shortcut support. It’s fastest to log a day with the help of Siri!
- See the history of your logged days in a beautiful calendar or in a list.
- Get a detailed breakdown of your activity over time with charts.
- Voiceover and dynamic text support
- No subscriptions (Pro is a one-time purchase)
- No advertising in the free or Pro version
- Clean and playful design
- Dark Mode support (can be automatic)
- Numerous settings to configure the user interface
Current Version: 1.7 (September 25, 2022)
Read Foodlapse's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Foodlapse's App Store page
Letterfull (iOS/iPadOS, US$2.99)
Have you always wanted to play a game where you wish you could make up your own words but you can't?
welcome to Letterfull! The game where you must manage to form words without filling the five by five game grid.
The mechanic of the game is quite simple. The game board consists of five rows of five columns, which may contain letters that appear faster every level. With the letters that appear, you must form words by touching the letters with your finger. When you touch a letter, it will move to the bottom of the board, after the separator, i.e. the word you are trying to form. To submit the word and check if it is correct, (must have at least 3 letters and be in the dictionary of the chosen language -more on that later), you can tap the submit button (or double-tap with 2 fingers if you use VoiceOver). If you want to send all the letters back to the end of the game board, either because you made a mistake or because you saw another letter that can form a better word, you can tap the move all button or, if you use VoiceOver, do the back gesture (2 finger scrub). You can also tap one letter of the letters you have in your word to send it back to the end of the game board.
The game is available in English, Spanish, Catalan and Italian, and changing the language does not involve any change in the game interface, only in the dictionary used to check if the words are correct. For people learning English, Catalan or another language available in the game, it can be very useful.
Current Version: 1.0 (September 6, 2022)
Read Letterfull's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Letterfull's App Store page
All recent app entries posted to AppleVis can be found at:
iOS/iPadOS
Mac
Apple Watch
Apple TV
Notable App Updates
Dolphin EasyReader (iOS/iPadOS, Free With In-App Purchases)
EasyReader is a reading app that enables people who are blind, partially sighted or dyslexic to read books in ways that suit their vision and preferred reading style.
EasyReader offers convenient access to your favourite accessible book libraries and talking newspaper stands, in one place.
Designed for accessibility, EasyReader enables blind and partially sighted readers to read with magnified text, audio, or a combination of both - where each word is highlighted on screen as it’s read aloud. It also links to braille displays for braille readers.
EasyReader is compatible with VoiceOver and supported braille displays.
Current Version: 10.0.1 (September 22, 2022)
Changes in Version 10.0.1
- Customers who are subscribed to EasyReader Premium can now sign in to Google Classroom and Microsoft Education in EasyReader App for Windows. Once signed in, subscribers can view a list of supported files and open them in the Reader.
- Bookshare. Teachers can now download titles from the Bookshare library on behalf of students.
- Legimus. Cover images for titles from the Legimus library are now displayed as expected.
- PassendLezen. Text-only newspapers and magazines from Passendlezen are now downloaded as expected.
- Reader. After re-opening EasyReader, the Reader now resumes text-based books from the last word read (not from the start of the paragraph).
- Translations. Updates have been made to the German translation of the app.
- VoiceOver. The speed slider for audiobooks can now be adjusted whilst using VoiceOver.
- PLUS: A host of additional fixes and improvements.
Read Dolphin EasyReader's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Dolphin EasyReader's App Store page
Just Press Record (iOS/iPadOS, US$4.99)
Just Press Record is the ultimate audio recorder bringing one tap recording, transcription and iCloud syncing to all your devices. You can edit your audio and transcriptions right inside the app and even start a new recording completely hands-free with Siri!
Life is full of moments we would rather not forget - like your child’s first words, an important meeting or spontaneous idea. Capture these moments effortlessly on iPhone, iPad, Mac or for ultimate convenience, Apple Watch.
Current Version: 44.0 (September 12, 2022)
Changes in Version 44.0
New features for iOS 16:
- Start recording with the new Lock Screen Widget.
- Automatically add punctuation to transcripts.
In addition, we’ve added the following features:
- Just Press Record now appears in the share menu so you can send audio files to Just Press Record from other apps.
- You can now print transcripts to compatible AirPrint printers.
- You can now use fixed sample rates, such as 44.1 kHz, as well as allowing Just Press Record to determine the best available sample rate.
Read Just Press Record's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Just Press Record's App Store page
Timecrest (iOS/iPadOS, Free With In-App Purchases)
In Timecrest, where epic fantasy meets interactive fiction, author Lisa J. Skye introduces you to Ash Elden, where together you both must scramble to solve the puzzle of who unfroze the meteors to destroy Ash’s world of Alyncia. You discover that you have access to a forbidden magic–the ability to turn back time.
Every choice you make matters and will change the outcome of this massive 500,000-word interactive story, leading to one of multiple endings. Immerse yourself within the emotional soundtrack and explore the non-linear maps.
With your new incredible powers, who will you choose to live and let die?
Current Version: 3.3.1 (September 23, 2022)
Changes in Version 3.3
- VoiceOver: The Memory Oracles have an all new UI to make them easier to read.
- Fixed a bug where dialogs would suddenly dismiss if you spent a long time in them. In particular, this could be frustrating when History or Memory Oracle would suddenly close.
- Fixed a bug where dialogs would dismiss when backgrounding the app.
- Fixed a bug where sometimes the last few sentences of some Memory Oracle chapters would be cut off.
Read Timecrest's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Timecrest's App Store page
Recent News and Views
Apple News
- The Accessibility Bugs Introduced and Resolved in iOS 16 for Blind and Low Vision Users
- What's New in iOS 16 Accessibility For Blind and DeafBlind users
- Apple Releases iOS 16.0.2 With Bug Fixes for VoiceOver Being Unusable After Rebooting, Copy/Paste, and More
- Apple Releases iOS 16; Bringing Customizable Lock Screens, New Features for Messages and Mail, a Redesigned Home App, and Much More
- Apple Releases watchOS 9; Bringing New and Revamped Watch Faces, a New Medications App, More Voices for VoiceOver, and More
- Apple Releases tvOS 16; Bringing Small and Mostly Incremental Changes for the Apple TV
- Apple Releases macOS Monterey 12.6 and macOS Big Sur 11.7 With Security Updates
- Apple's Far Out Event: iPhone 14, new AirPods, new Apple Watches
Exploring Whether Dual-Frequency GPS on the iPhone 14 Pro Makes a Meaningful Difference to Real-World Navigation
By David Goodwin | September 28, 2022
The marquee features of thee iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are unquestionably upgraded cameras; a new always-on display; and a Dynamic Island’ that changes size and shape to accommodate various types of alerts, notifications, and interactions. For my circumstances and use case, I can roughly appraise these as having some potential utility, no utility, and some curiosity appeal.
However, digging deep in to the new iPhones' technical specifications, I found something that piqued my interest and which I thought could potentially offer me significant utility, and that is their support for “precision dual-frequency GPS.”
Apple's objective with the addition of dual-frequency GPS is a simple one, to improve the precision of GPS data on these new iPhones. For me, this has the potential to translate in to something meaningful when navigating the world around me with either my cane or guide dog - it could result in navigation apps such as Microsoft Soundscape, BlindSquare, and GoodMaps Explore delivering more accurate and reliable information about intersections, destinations, and what's nearby.
Below, I set out the results of some early and rudimentary tests. My intent wasn't to determine whether the iPhone 14 Pro offers more accurate GPS data than a single band iPhone. I take that as a given. The goal of my testing was to determine whether this would make a demonstrable and meaningful difference for my specific use case.
TLDR: Don't buy an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max on the basis that you think that it will enable apps such as Microsoft Soundscape to be more accurate.
In Your Ear, Bud: "What Are You Wearing?"
By Morgan Watkins | September 5, 2022
The odd behavior started more than seventy years ago when my Dad placed Mom's engagement ring on a small porcelain mouse that nestled in a piece of porcelain cheese.
My parents were married in 1952. They didn't yet own a television and no one had game consoles or iPads. Nothing to do. So, my mom began to collect mice. Lots of mice. Not hyperactive rodents that required the cleaning of cages, or a hungry cat, but the kinds of inanimate mice you might find at a gift shop. Or a jewelry store. Or at Woolworth's.
Along with mice, my parents also collected children. I'm the oldest of the five and I saw Mom's mouse collection impact us all.
"Gee, what should we give Mom for Mother's Day?" A mouse! "How about her birthday?" A mouse! "Christmas?" A mouse? "What should I make in my art class?" Always a mouse. They were often handmade from popsicle sticks, bits of felt, and construction paper. Over the decades, my Mother collected more than 700 porcelain, metal, plastic, glass and child-made mice. She was easy to buy for.
Unsurprisingly, all of us kids began to collect our own stuff. Crystals, camels, armadillos, frogs and lots of Smurfs. Over these many years, we've all geared back a bit. However, my younger brother seems to collect power tools and I still collect things to hear by.
I love my eclectic collection of headphones, ear buds and nowadays, my Made For iPhone hearing aids. These days, I keep six different pairs of listening devices in my immediate vicinity.
The most important? My hearing aids. I began wearing my Oticon Opn S 1 miniRITE hearing aids more than three years ago and they are the first thing I put on every morning and the last things I put away at night. Because they do seamlessly connect to my iPhone, they are almost always in constant use. I'm lucky because the minuscule hearing aid speakers rest deep inside my ear canals which means I can use all my other devices in tandem if I wish.
Read more: “In Your Ear, Bud: "What Are You Wearing?"”
This Month in Podcasts
AppleVis Unleashed September 2022: We Didn’t Hear That Podcast
In this month's edition of AppleVis Unleashed, Thomas Domville, Randy Rusnak, and Mike Malarsie discuss recent Apple news and other topics of interest. Topics featured in this podcast include:
- Post Discussion on the Apple Far Out Event
- Apple October Event: New iPad Pro, iPad 10, M2 Macs, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura
- Thoughts on the iOS 16 and other iOS News
- iPhone hardware subscription service still in the works by Apple, could launch later this year
- Apple Pay Later could be delayed to 2023 as it faces ‘significant technical and engineering challenges’
- Mailbag
- What's in this month AppleVis News
Listen to “AppleVis Unleashed September 2022: We Didn’t Hear That Podcast”
AppleVis Extra #88: Post Discussion on the Apple 'Far Out' Event
In this podcast, Thomas Domville, Dave Nason, and Tyler Stephen get together to discuss Apple's 'Far Out' event (September 2022).
Listen to “AppleVis Extra #88: Post Discussion on the Apple 'Far Out' Event”
Podcasts by Thomas Domville
- A quick Tour of Notable New and Enhanced Accessibility Features in iOS 16
- A Whistle-Stop Tour of Notable New Features and Enhancements in iOS 16
- Quick Tip: How to Make Siri Wait Longer for You to Finish Speaking on iOS
- Quick Tip: How to Enable Severe Weather Notifications in Apple's Weather App for iOS
- Quick Tip: How to Prevent the Side or Lock Button From Ending the Current Call
- Quick Tip: View and Manage Previously Used Wi-Fi Networks and Their Passwords on iOS
- Quick Tip: How to Unsend a Sent iMessage on iOS
- How to Setup Sound Recognition to Alert You to Custom Sounds
- Quick Tip: How to Report Junk SMS and MMS Messages in iOS
- Quick Tip: How to Locate and Use the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro
- Quick Tip: How to Turn on iPhone 14 Startup and Shutdown Chimes
- Quick Tip: How to Disable Always-on Display on Your iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max
- Quick Tip: How to Skip the Confirmation Step When Sending Messages With Siri on iOS
- Quick Tip: How to Recover Deleted Conversations in the iOS Messages App
- A Deep Dive in to Setting Up and Using a Focus on iOS
Hot AppleVis Content
Here are some of our posts which have got people talking in the past month:
- 24 hours with AirPods Pro 2... Blind perspective
- Massive unsyncing and voiceover speech delay with AirPods Pro second GEN
- What are people's opinions on Eloquence
- Tom's voice quality in iOS 16
- Voices in iOS 16
- I made an iOS 16 app and would appreciate feedback about my a11y support
- Which Apple Watch should I buy as a first-time purchaser?
- YouTube, VoiceOver and iOS.
Club AppleVis
Club AppleVis offers members and friends of our community a means of directly contributing towards the financial costs of operating AppleVis—thus ensuring that we can continue to deliver the information, help, and support that so many people have come to value and rely on since our launch in 2010. These contributions support our mission and the continued success of AppleVis - and this is your chance to be part of this special donor community!
To learn more about Club AppleVis; the perks of membership; and how you can join, please visit www.applevis.com/club-applevis