As we reported in December 2015, Apple was rumored to begin selling accessories related to accessibility in early 2016. Those rumors are now coming to fruition, At the time of posting, the Apple website lists a total of 15 accessories available for purchase.
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Apple has today released tvOS 9.1.1 for the fourth-generation Apple TV, bringing with it bug fixes, performance tweaks and a new Podcasts app.
According to MacRumors, tvOS 9.1.1 focuses on under-the-hood improvements and the addition of the new Podcast app.
No release notes are currently available from Apple, so the complete list of improvements and changes in this update is unknown.
If you encounter any accessibility-related changes, please be sure to let us know in the comments.
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Apple this week launched the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. One of the headline features introduced on these is 3D Touch, a slight variation on the Force Touch seen on the Apple Watch and newest MacBooks and heralded by Apple as “the next generation of multi‑touch”.
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Shortly after announcing the release of the new Apple TV and launching the tvOS operating system, Apple has today published a new webpage detailing the accessibility features of the new set-top box.
According to the Vision section of the tvOS Accessibility webpage, the new Apple TV will include both VoiceOver and Zoom, as well as a number of other standard accessibility features for blind and low vision users.
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Apple has published some information on setting up and using the accessibility features available on their new mixed reality Apple Vision Pro headset. This includes a guide specifically for VoiceOver users and a guide to setting up and using Zoom.
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In an annual meeting of shareholders notice and proxy statement filed this week with the U.S.
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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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To mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Apple has today launched a special App Store collection of accessibility apps beneficial to users with a variety of disabilities.
For blind and low vision users, Apple has included the following apps in the new Accessibility collection:
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Ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 19, Apple has today launched a new room in iTunes dedicated to highlighting audio-described movies for blind and low vision users.
The room, available at http://www.iTunes.com/AudioDescription, for the first time makes available a listing of all audio-described movies on iTunes in one central location.
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Apple has today announced that its HomePod speaker will Launch in the United States, UK and Australia on February 9, with orders beginning Friday, January 26 via Apple's online store or the Apple Store app.
HomePod will also be available from select resellers in each country, such as Best Buy in the United States, John Lewis and Argos in the UK, and Harvey Norman and Telstra in Australia.
In it's press release, Apple had the following to say about HomePod:
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Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, bringing a 6.1-inch display, Face ID, USB-C, the A18 chip, an upgraded camera, and more to the company's lowest-cost iPhone model. With the new design and display size, Apple no longer sells iPhone models with Touch ID or a physical Home button.
With a starting price of US$599, the iPhone 16e replaces the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 in Apple's lineup. Curiously, however, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, which includes the Dynamic Island and MagSafe, but lacks a chip capable of supporting Apple Intelligence, remains available for US$699.
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Apple has today introduced Invites, an app available on iOS, iPadOS, and the web for creating and managing invitations to events. Users who have a paid iCloud storage plan can invite others to events, and anyone can RSVP, regardless of whether or not they pay for iCloud storage or have an Apple device.
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As spotted by MacRumors, Apple has today introduced the next generation of its AirTag, bringing increased finding range and a louder speaker to the device.
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Apple has today released new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models, as well as a new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air and an updated entry-level iPad.
The new iPad Air comes in 11-inch and 13-inch screen sizes and features the Apple M3 Chip. According to Apple, the iPad Air with M3 is nearly 2x faster than iPad Air with M1 and up to 3.5x faster than iPad Air with A14 Bionic.
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Apple today introduced the new 7th generation iPad Mini, refreshing the tablet with the A17 Pro chip, (the same chip that powers the iPhone 15 Pro) as well as faster USB-C data transfer, Wi-Fi 6E support, support for the Apple Pencil Pro, and an upgraded camera.
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Apple this week updated several of its Mac product lines, as well as the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad accessories. These Macs have been updated with variants of the M4 chip, the same chip that was introduced with the 2024 iPad Pro. In addition, the base configurations of these updated Macs now include 16GB of ram.
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Apple has today launched AirPods Pro, featuring an all new lightweight in-ear design, active noise cancellation, and a transparency mode to keep you in touch with the world around you..
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Apple has today announced the launch of a second-generation iPhone SE featuring a 4.7-inch Retina HD LCD display, A13 Bionic chip, Touch ID and a single 12-megapixel camera.
Although visually similar to the iPhone 8 and sharing the same physical dimensions, the new iPhone SE features some upgraded internals to the iPhone 8 (which has been discontinued today). Probably the most notable of the upgrades is the A13 Bionic chip introduced with iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.
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Apple marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December by launching a major redesign of the Accessibility portal on its website, released additional resources for users of the accessibility features of its products, and took part in a virtual interview at the Sight Tech Global conference.
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Apple has today launched the second generation of its popular AirPods, available with the long-promised wireless charging case, a new H1 chip designed specifically for headsets, hands-free “Hey Siri”, longer battery life, and faster connections to devices.
According to Apple, the new H1 chip delivers performance efficiencies, faster connect times, up to 50% more talk time compared to the first generation, and the convenience of hands-free “Hey Siri”.