News

Welcome to the AppleVis live blog for Apple's September 7, 2016 event. Information in this post was taken directly from the @AppleVis Twitter timeline, as well as quoted from the timelines of MacRumorsLive, 9to5Mac, Macworld, and Apple Insider.

Below is the AppleVis live blog for the September 9, 2015 special event. Information has been taken directly from the @AppleVis Twitter timeline, as well as quoted from the Twitter timelines of [Mac Rumors LiveLive](http://www.twitter.com/Mac Rumors Live). All external information is indicated as such with a source name, and all external tweets are in quotes.

Peek Performance

Apple's first major media event of 2022 has just concluded, and there were a surprising number of big announcements. A new iPhone, new Macs, new iPad, and a new professional monitor--and the year isn't even a quarter over! You can watch it here, or read on for our summary of what was announced.

LookTel have just released a new app that promises fast and accurate recognition of everyday items, such as cans, packages, ID or credit cards and DVDs.

LookTel Recognizer enables you to store images of objects in a library or database. You then simply point your iPhone's camera at an object and the phone will instantly recognize and describe the item. A barcode scanner is also included to provide additional labeling help.

Welcome to Sierra

Today, Apple released a free update to its Mac computers: macOS Sierra. Apart from the new name for this version (Sierra), you'll notice that Apple has re-branded the entire line of the Mac's operating system. No longer is it OS X; it's macOS, to line up with tvOS, watchOS, and iOS. As always, this is a free upgrade, available to anyone with a supported Mac. And, again as always, we urge you to back up important files before upgrading, just in case.

Apple has today released macOS 15 Sequoia to the public. As usual, we won’t cover the mainstream features here, concentrating instead on what's new and changed for blind and low vision users. For an overview of the mainstream changes, we recommend this in-depth review by MacStories.

Apple has today released macOS 14 Sonoma to the public. As usual, we won’t cover the mainstream features here, concentrating instead on what's new and changed for blind and low vision users. For an overview of the mainstream changes, we recommend this in-depth review by MacStories.

Please remember to check the section about bugs to see if now is the right time to upgrade. There’s no harm in holding off a few weeks or months to let Apple address a problem you may find too disruptive to deal with.

Syntellia have just released a new update to Fleksy, which includes a number of significant changes and new features.

We're particularly pleased to see that you can now try the app for free. Although you will need to pay to unlock the full functionality of the app, you can now at least experience what it is like typing with Fleksy before parting with any money.

Here is the press release from Syntellia:

Be My Eyes, the popular iOS and Android app that connects blind and low vision users with sighted volunteers for assistance via live video chat, has today launched an exciting new feature for users needing specialized or technical help.

Following today's update to the Be My Eyes app, users will find a new menu option on the app's main screen titled “Specialized Help”.

Microsoft has today announced that as of January 3, 2023, its Soundscape app will not be available for download and that existing installations will cease to work after the end of June 2023.

At the end of each month, members of the AppleVis Editorial Team take a look at all the apps that have been posted to the site during that month-either for the first time, or where there has been a significant update-and decide which of these they think is the most noteworthy.

The AppleVis Editorial Team app picks of the month for September 2014 are as follows:

Nine months after its launch in the United States, Apple Pay has today finally arrived in the UK. So, geek and early-adopter that I am, I found an excuse first thing this morning to visit my local convenience store to find out if they are among the reported 250,000 UK locations which will support Apple Pay from launch.

The good news is that they are. Even better news is that setting up and using Apple Pay on my Apple Watch really couldn’t have been any easier.

USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the support organization for the advancement and adoption of USB technology, has today announced a new USB HID (Human Interface Device) industry standard that aims to simplify the development of braille displays and allow for an improved user experience.

In it's press release, USB-IF describes this new standard as:

Update, 7/5/2014, 4:02 PM CDT: Members of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) have just passed Resolution 2014-12 at their annual national convention. The resolution calls upon Apple to work with the NFB to develop standards and policies to ensure the accessibility of all iOS apps. The full text of the resolution, as well as our original blog post, is below.

Update, 7/4/2016, 3:25 PM CDT: Members of the National Federation of the Blind have just passed Resolution 2016-04.

Apple has announced the winners of its 2024 Apple Design Awards, which honor excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design across seven categories: delight and fun, inclusivity, innovation, interaction, social impact, visuals and graphics, and a new spatial computing category. The winners were chosen from 42 finalists.

Today is the sixth annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD); when people are encouraged to talk, think and learn about digital access and inclusion. Our own message today for everybody involved in designing and developing software for Apple platforms, is a simple one: Make accessible design a core part of your development philosophy and practice - not just because it is the right thing to do, but because accessible design is synonymous with good design.