In June 2009, Apple changed the accessible smartphone market forever with the announcement of the VoiceOver screen reader on the iPhone 3GS. The device was officially released to the public on Friday, June 19, 2009; five years later, I thought it would be fun to take a look at my own early experiences with the iPhone, reflect on how much VoiceOver has changed (hint: more than I realized), and offer some thoughts on—and hopes for—the future.
For those new to how VoiceOver works,…
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.
Our pick for May is Blindfold Racer, a new game that was created for the blind and vision-impaired with help from students in…
This blog will cover all the cool new stuff Apple just announced during the Keynote presentation of the 2014 WWDC. I will avoid statistics and other "filler" information, and stick only to the things that, I feel, will be of interest and/or benefit to the AppleVis community of iOS and OS X users. If you missed the action and want to see things as they came in, check out our…
With WWDC coming up on June 2, we are very probably about to find out what iOS8 and OS X 10.10 will contain. AppleVis already has an article about our hopes for iOS 8 and Jonathan Mosen wrote up an iOS8 wish list of his own that is…
The June 2 WWDC keynote—and presumably, the first public showcase and beta of iOS 8—is fast approaching. Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been seeing some iOS 8 “feature lists," for lack of a better term, circulating around the internet. Jonathan Mosen from Mosen Consulting even put together a "Top 10 Accessibility Wish List" for iOS 8, which is definitely worth a read if you have not done so already. (…
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.
For blind and…
Apple has just released OS X Mavericks 10.9.3, the third update to the OSX 10.9 Mavericks operating system.
According to the release notes, quoted on Mac Rumors, OS X 10.9.3 contains the following updates:
The Sendero Group, developers of the Seeing Eye GPS app and other accessible GPS products has, in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, just launched a fully-featured turn-by-turn GPS app for users in the United Kingdom.
The app, called RNIB Navigator, was developed in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Sendero’s RNIB Navigator webpage lists the main features…
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.
One of the great things about iOS devices is the wide array of information available at the user’s fingertips. With an iOS device and an RSS reader—such as our #1 app pick of the month—one can stay current…
A few months ago, the community of blind and visually impaired iOS users was thrown into an uproar when Fleksy split their apps into a new, updated version that was not Voiceover friendly, and an older version that was. Hundreds of comments, tweets, emails, and boos were posted, with some saying Fleksy was abandoning the blind community that helped it get off the ground by purchasing its original app, and others urging patience as Fleksy went through a transition and promised to reunite the…
Apple today released iOS 7.1.1, an update that brings bug fixes—including a fix for the Bluetooth keyboard issue many VoiceOver users have experienced.
According to Mac Rumors, iOS 7.1.1 contains Touch ID improvements, a fix for an issue that could impact keyboard performance--and a fix for a Bluetooth keyboard issue when VoiceOver is enabled.
iOS 7.1.1 is available via Over-the-Air update and through…
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.
In early December 2013, a developer reached out via our contact form and told us, “We want to make our app fully accessible to people who are blind.” And that is exactly what his team did.
The AppleVis…
Have you ever thought about making the switch from braille notetaker to iOS device? Are you unsure which one you should choose? Do you have both, and can't decide which one to invest in moving forward? I made the switch from a BrailleNote Apex to an iPhone, quite slowly and mostly by accident, and I'm here to tell you why a notetaker is the only way to go, and why that metal and glass frisbee in your hand is nothing but trouble. Then, I'll explain why you should ditch that…
I got my first iOS device, an iPod Touch (fourth generation), for Christmas in 2010. I was resistant at first, but eventually warmed up to it and grew to rely on it more than the braille notetaker I had used for over eight years. Given that positive experience with Apple, and all the comments about VoiceOver on the Mac I'd been hearing, I decided to give the Mac a shot. In 2011, I purchased the cheapest Mac I could, a low-end Mac Mini.
Having been trained on…
Macs have been fully accessible since 2005, but those who have never used one may still believe the myths about VoiceOver that have been around almost as long as VoiceOver itself. Even long-time users may be doing extra work, not even realizing that there are shortcuts or steps they can skip. I would like to take this opportunity to dispel these long-standing myths, and maybe make you more comfortable with the idea of switching to, or at least trying out, a Mac.
Papa Sangre II, the wildly popular audio game, will be free to download in the app store for one day on Thursday, March 27, 2014 local time.
Somethin Else, the developers behind Papa Sangre II and The Nightjar, recently announced that last week, Papa Sangre II won the “Excellence in Sound Design” award at the 2014 International Mobile Gaming Awards. Papa Sangre II was also rated the #1 iOS game of 2013 by MetaCritic.
In celebration, the developers at Somethin Else are making…
In this post, we will discuss the importance of reporting accessibility-related bugs to Apple and the best way to do so.
AppleVis is a great platform for discussing VoiceOver, Braille, and low vision related issues in Apple products, allowing you to confirm with others if what you are experiencing is indeed a bug, find and share workarounds, and express your frustration. However, it's important to make sure that the Accessibility Team at Apple is aware of these bugs so they can…