Update, 4/5/2015: Apple has recently updated its Apple Watch Technology page, indicating that the Apple Watch will have VoiceOver, Zoom, and Dynamic Type support built-in.
Update, 3/15/2015: Following the release of the Watch Companion app in iOS 8.2, 9to5Mac has published a series of…
Apple has today released iOS 8.2 to the public, bringing with it a series of performance and stability improvements and support for the forthcoming Apple Watch.
For blind and low vision users, Apple addressed an issue which caused VoiceOver to crash when exiting certain apps. This would result in the iOS device becoming unresponsive for anything up to 60 seconds.
While iOS 8.2 does not contain as many improvements for blind and low vision users as we have seen in some recent…
It’s nearly time for another Apple event, and this one will formally launch Apple’s entry into the wearable sector with the Apple Watch.
First revealed by Apple last September, we’re likely to get confirmation tomorrow that the Apple Watch will be available for purchase in April.
In addition to giving us details…
Welcome to the February 2015 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our new monthly series which aims to highlight what’s new and noteworthy in the accessible app landscape. Below, you’ll find a recap of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to podcasts and blogs. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.
We are pleased and excited to be opening the doors today on a completely new area on AppleVis, one that we hope will help to keep you up-to-date on the current status of accessibility on iOS and OS X.
As AppleVis has grown and evolved over the past 5 years, we’re aware that it’s become increasingly more difficult to keep track of what accessibility-related problems have been reported and discussed on here.
So, to make this easier, we are pleased to announce the launch of…
Welcome to AppleVis Unlimited, our new monthly series which aims to highlight what’s new and noteworthy in the accessible app landscape. Below, you’ll find a recap of the best content posted to AppleVis during the previous month - from new app entries, to app updates, to podcasts and blogs. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.
Update: this giveaway is now closed.
Marconius recently submitted an iOS app called PracticeLooper to our App Directory. This app allows you to loop sections of music that you want to practice and learn by ear at your own speed. You are also able to slow down music without changing the pitch, or transpose without changing the tempo.
Generally, this might not be the type of app…
Apple has today released iOS 8.1.3 to the public.
According to MacRumors, iOS 8.1.3 fixes include a fix for an issue that prevented some users from entering their Apple ID passwords for Messages and FaceTime, a bug that caused Spotlight to stop displaying app results, and a problem that prevented multitasking gestures from working on the iPad.
iOS 8.1.3 also…
Apple today released OS X 10.10.2 to the public. This second update to OS X Yosemite is believed to include a number of VoiceOver fixes.
We keep a running list of Yosemite bugs on our main Yosemite announcement page. You'll find all the new, fixed, and unaddressed bugs there.
Other notable changes and fixes include the addition of iCloud Drive support in Time Machine, a fix for…
Over the last couple years, I’ve come to a conclusion about life as a blind person: it isn’t the physical lack of sight that’s the biggest difficulty I face; but rather, it is attempting to overcome peoples’ negative stereotypes and misconceptions about what I can—and cannot—do that is the real problem.
When I think of situations where negative stereotypes about blind people come into play, the use of technology isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. I tend to think about…
We are pleased to announce that veteran podcaster and content producer Jamie Pauls has joined the AppleVis Editorial Team.
Jamie Pauls brings an impressive resume to the AppleVis community. He is probably best known for his time hosting and producing ACB Radio’s Main Menu radio show; he has also hosted and produced the SeroTalk Podcast, been a voice in SeroTalk Podcast Network convention coverage, and…
Update 2 February: Although not specifically mentioned in the release notes, it’s great to see that version 3.0.1 addresses many of the issues mentioned in the original post below. For example, the Share button is now accessible and you can add topics of interest to your custom feed (although you currently need to use a combination of the 3-finger swipe up/down and exploring by touch to access all available topics, as swiping is not reliable). So, although the…
The developer of Voice Dream Writer, a new and innovative writing app for people with print disabilities, has graciously given the AppleVis community a limited number of promo codes for the app. Voice Dream Writer was released on January 21, 2015, and it currently costs $9.99.
While there are many text editors available on iOS, Voice Dream Writer is unique in that it was designed specifically for blind and print-disabled users. Below…
It's nearly time for the AppleVis community to select the next inductee into our iOS App Hall of Fame, so we’re asking that you take just a moment to nominate any apps which you think should be on the shortlist.
As you should know, the Hall of Fame is where we showcase the apps which our community believes to be the best that the App Store has to offer and to acknowledge the hard work and commitment that…
Yes, the latest rumor to come out of the mill is that Apple is going to introduce a radically re-designed, one-port Macbook Air sometime this year. It will have a 12-inch screen, a keyboard, a trackpad… and a single USB C port, along with the usual 3.5mm headphone jack. That's just one lonely little port for power, printers, external drives or card readers, USB audio peripherals, connecting…
GoodReader, reportedly the world’s top-selling PDF file management, viewing, and annotation app for iPhone and iPad, has recently released an update which adds VoiceOver compatibility.
“We are excited to be able to provide better access to documents on iPads and iPhones to those with visual or reading disabilities,” said Yuri Selukoff, president of Good.iWare. “Our aim is for GoodReader to be…
Here in the UK we have a saying that goes roughly like this - you can wait ages for a bus, to then find that 2 come along at the same time.
Replace ‘a bus’ with ‘an app to help the blind identify objects and situations that they encounter in their daily lives’, and you have what is about to happen in the iTunes App Store.
In the past few days, the respective teams behind Specular and…
Be My Eyes - helping blind see, an iPhone app which aims to connect blind users in need of assistance with sighted volunteers via video-conferencing, will be launching worldwide on January 15, 2015.
According to the Be My Eyes website, the app works as follows:
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 December 2014 are as follows:
New iOS App Directory entry (version 1.1.6); December, 2014.
From the App…
Update 13 January: 9To5Mac reports that some users - presumably those with an excessive number of refunds on file with Apple - are now receiving a notification when they attempt to make purchases. They are being prompted to agree with the dialog before they can proceed with the purchase. By doing so, they…