Intro
Apple held its annual fall media event today, announcing new iPhones, Apple Watches, and Apple TV. As usual, we’re here to recap what was shown off, so you know just how close to all your money Apple will be getting this year.
iOS
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Remember my blog posts about the issues surrounding the accessibility of American Heritage English Dictionary? It all started almost four years ago when exciting efforts to make it accessible commenced. Then the efforts came to fruition and this worthwhile application
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We are extremely pleased to announce that we are now able to significantly relax our rules covering what can and cannot be said about beta versions of Apple software on the AppleVis website.
Previously, our rules covering new features or changes in a forthcoming software release have only permitted sharing of information which has already been made public by Apple itself. This typically included information made available at events such as new product launch announcements, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, and on the preview pages of Apple’s website.
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In the upcoming releases of iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2, Apple is adding a new People Detection feature to its Magnifier app on liDAR-equipped devices that will enable blind and low vision users to determine the distance between themselves and nearby people.
With the introduction of People Detection, Apple is delivering the first example of how the LiDAR Scanner's ability to quickly and accurately scan and map nearby objects can be harnessed to offer significant added value to blind and low vision users of iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and the 2020 iPad Pro.
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Apple has officially confirmed that several bugs in iOS 5 are negatively affecting battery life.
In their statement they acknowledge the problem and said that they will "release a software update to address those [bugs] in a few weeks." Apple haven't provided any information on the specifics of the bugs, nor have they offered any temporary work arounds or advice for those experiencing poor battery life.
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Ahead of tomorrow's “California streaming” event, Apple has released iOS 14.8, iPadOS 14.8, macOS 11.6, and watchOS 7.6.2. The main changes in these releases are two security updates. Apple has also released a security update for macOS Catalina, however, this has just the one security fix.
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I am pleased to say that the major problems we reported with the App Store in the Gold Master release of iOS 6 have now been fixed by Apple.
This is great news, and our thanks go to everybody at Apple who has been busy working on these last minute fixes.
Those who said that this would happen have been proved correct, and I have no problem in saying that I am very pleased that they were!
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Apple has today released iOS 8.4, bringing with it Apple’s new music streaming service and the usual "under the hood" fixes and enhancements.
The focus for this release has clearly been on making sure that everything is in place for the introduction of Apple Music and Beats 1. Consequently, we were not surprised to hear from Apple that it includes no accessibility-related changes or fixes.
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Apple is now offering hands-on accessibility training workshops at many of its retail stores.
As originally reported by Access iQ, Apple is now offering workshops for users of its assistive technology software at many Apple Store locations. Accessibility workshops include those for users with vision, hearing, and physical disabilities and cover both iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks.
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Update: since posting this article we have recorded an interview with Sarah Herrlinger, Director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives at Apple; and Dean Hudson, Accessibility Evangelist at Apple, who discussed the enhancements mentioned below and shared a few others which we didn't already know about.
These include:
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At its annual Worldwide Developer's Conference this week, Apple previewed some of the new accessibility features coming to its iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS platforms later this year. At this point, it's worth noting that this software is still in beta form, and not all features--particularly, the specifics of how they will be implemented--are finalized. With that said, below is what Apple has announced will be coming for users of accessibility features:
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Apple is once again celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) by offering [a preview of accessibility features coming later this year.
For VoiceOver users, improvements include new voices, a flexible Voice Rotor, custom volume control, and the ability to customize keyboard shortcuts on Mac.
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Update 2: Apple has just pulled the iOS 8.0.1 update, and it is no longer available for download. (Via Mac Rumors.
Update 1: It appears that the loss-of-cellular-service and Touch ID issues with iOS 8.0.1 are limited to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, according to Mac Rumors.
Just over a week after releasing iOS 8, Apple today has released iOS 8.0.1 to the public with various bug fixes and improvements.
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Apple has today issued the first preview releases of iOS 10 and macOS Sierra for members of its public beta testing program.
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Apple has today released iOS 10, proudly claiming this latest iteration of the software to be “more personal, more powerful and more playful”:
Everything you love is now even better with iOS 10, our biggest release yet. Express yourself in bold new ways in Messages. Find your route with beautifully redesigned Maps. Relive memories like never before in Photos. And use the power of Siri in more apps than ever.
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Apple has today released iOS 10.0.2 to address some bugs introduced in last weeks public launch of iOS 10.
According to the release notes via AppleInsider, the full list of changes spotlighted by Apple are:
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Apple has today released iOS 10.0.3 for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users.
The release notes via 9to5Mac for iOS 10.0.3 are:
- Fixes bugs including an issue where some users could temporarily lose cellular connectivity.
According to 9to5Mac the specifics of this problem are:
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Apple has today released iOS 10.1 to the public, bringing with it a range of bug fixes, changes and improvements.
For blind and low vision users, our initial testing suggests that Apple has made limited progress towards addressing the accessibility bugs present in iOS 10. Specifically, we believe the following bugs have been resolved in this release:
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Apple has today released iOS 10,1,1, a minor update that fixes a problem that could prevent some users from viewing data in the native Health app.
According to 9to5Mac, this was an isolated problem that did not effect all users.
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Apple has today released iOS 10.2.1 to the public.
At the time of posting, release notes are not yet available; however, it’s likely that this release will mostly bring under-the-hood improvements with no major changes in regard to features and operation. We will update this post if this proves not to be the case and there are outward-facing changes of note.