Hi all, I am wondering if there is an email list, RSS feed , twitter account or something we can subscribe to that would let us know when a new version of iOS 8 is out that handles at least some of the major bugs with accessibility.
As it looks like it may be a while, I don't want to keep checking in with applevis every couple of days to see if the bug thread has been updated if it can be avoided. If there is a recommended twitter handle folks are following, etc. that would be great, ditto for an email list with info. I love Applevis and all they do, but checking back here all the time to see if any fixes are out is not a very efficient use of time, if there are other simpler solutions.
Thanks much for any suggestions. I'm not hip to all the accessible Apple stuff online, any pointers appreciated.
By Blind Adrenaline, 10 October, 2014
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Comments
Browsing the Internet might be a pain in the neck
Hello, You may either look at the notification centre to see whether a new update is released or go to settings/general/update and check if the new version of iOS is available for download. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Needing source for full info
Hi, thanks for the suggestion, but I would like a source that tells me there is a new update and what that update does as far as accessibility changes and fixes. I never just update iOS as I know accessibility is not on the top of their order list of things to get done.
I thought maybe someone out there knows of a twitter feed or other source that would update when apple has made strides in releasing a new version that fixes a lot of the significant bugs in ios8 onwards.
I want to upgrade phones to the six, but I'm not willing to take that step until I know the major bugs with voiceover and accessibility are out of the operating system.
any suggestions for email lists, someone to follow on twitter, etc. would be appreciated.
Thanks.
IMO That's Easy
Why not just wait till Apple notifies you that a new iOS update is available and, before updating, check back with Applevis? By the time you're notified that an update is available, there is sure to be a surfeit of comments about it on this site.
AppleVis Is A Great Accessibility Resource
Hello Blind Adrenaline,
Here at AppleVis, we do our best to provide users with information about accessibility changes in iOS updates. If there are accessibility changes in an iOS software release, please rest assured that they will be posted to the site and to our Twitter timeline (@AppleVis).
Unfortunately, Apple does not highlight accessibility changes, so our lists are more or less generated by user testing and observations. So, as time goes on after an update, please keep checking back on the AppleVis website to see what our users have found.
I follow @macroomers and the
I follow @macroomers and the imore blog. I also follow apple hot news on rss I don't have that feed, but there's tons of stuff also look for anything apple's twitter account as well and @techdelight
Hope some of this helps.
Thanks all
K, thanks for the info all.
One last question, has Apple stated a reason why they do not inform their customers about accessibility fixes? This seems really odd to me for the customers to have to poke around and then have to self publish problems and improvements.
Probabl reason
Probably because those customers who use accessibility products is such a small group. That is just my guess.
Changelogs not in Apple’s culture
Apple doesn’t detail all of what’s new and changed in what might be termed ‘mainstream’ features, so I don’t think that it’s a case of them thinking that too few people use the accessibility features to make them worth specifically mentioning. It’s simply not their practice to publish a complete changelog like you might expect and see from other software companies when they release updates. What they do publish, is a User Guide for each device which is usually updated in conjunction with software updates. So, you can either trawl that to spot changes, or rely on the community here at AppleVis to spot and report what’s new.
this is the place to be
If you want a place that gives you stuff related to apple and accessibility, especially when new updates are released, you're on the right website. Watch out because iOS 8.1 is currently in beta, and when it gets released you'll have no trouble telling wat people are thinking, they'll post it right here on Applevis.
Apple's release notes
As stated above, Apple does not put much detail in their release notes for updates. They highlight the more significant fixes and improvements, especially those that get mainstream attention, but a lot of things change that don't get mentioned.
It is not true that Apple ignores accessibility in their release notes. It's just that, more often than not, they are not significant enough to warrant mention. Occasionally there is an accessibility improvement mentioned in the notes, such as when a VoiceOver bug with Bluetooth keyboards was fixes in I believe iOS 7.1.1, but don't expect to see it on a regular basis.
Whenever a new version of iOS comes out, there is a blog post about it here, so I would look for that. Either there will be information in the blog post itself, or there will be info in the comments, or both.