Hi fellow AppleVis members.
Today I did something online I've never done before. I set up an online petition, which is available at petition.mosen.org. . I'm under no illusion. I realise these things don't usually change the world. At the same time, I think the precedent Apple has set with its recent deliberate exclusion of blind people in the watchOS public beta is alarming and that we should stand up and be counted on this. I appreciate that people feel strongly on both sides of this issue, but I hope you will consider the reasons why I think it is necessary that we respectfully express our concern about this. If you agree, please share the petition, and sign it yourself.
When encouraging developers to make their apps accessible, Apple puts it simply. "It's the right thing". And so it is.
As everyone reading this knows from our daily experience, Apple's commitment to accessibility has transformed lives. Each year sees more innovation which results in increased opportunity for disabled people.
However, where VoiceOver, the screen reader built into Apple products is concerned, in recent years serious quality control issues have created difficulty and frustration every time Apple issues a major operating system update. The amazing innovations keep coming from Apple every year and I am very grateful for that, but the quality control issues really are a problem that can affect our productivity, independence and even safety.
It is therefore critical that we can offer constructive feedback when it can make a difference. The earlier we can get our comments in, the higher the chances of there being time for Apple to fix bugs.
Sure, we love being on the cutting edge and trying the latest and greatest, but there is an element of service about beta testing too. We volunteer our time and take the risks inherent in testing beta software because we care and want to make Apple products better for the good of all.
When Apple released watchOS developer beta 4 without VoiceOver working, some people said it wasn’t so bad because it was only a developer beta, so they reluctantly accepted it. Despite a week having gone by when such an impactful bug could have been fixed, the first ever watchOS public beta was released without the ability for blind people to participate.
The implications of this are that any Apple Watch owner can give Apple feedback on watchOS 7, except blind people.
The more time that goes by, the less likely it is that any significant bugs can be fixed before release.
People point out that beta software has bugs, that’s why it’s beta. And of course, that’s true. Beta testing is a jungle out there dude. Things break, and sometimes they break very badly. But it’s a bit more nuanced than that. I’ve been a senior product manager at two IT companies. I know that sometimes a beta build is produced, and it goes to the quality assurance department for testing. If a bug is found that is so severe that it is considered a showstopper, the developers must fix the bug and a new build is spun and sent back to quality assurance for more testing. So, what kind of bugs are impactful like that in the context of the Apple Watch? If a software update broke the digital crown or rendered the touch screen unable to get input or output, that build would never leave Cupertino because it would break people’s devices.
So, there is clearly a list of things that make a software build too bad to release. I contend that VoiceOver not working at all should be in that category. If VoiceOver can’t function at all, you effectively brick the device for blind people and exclude them. It should be considered a build that fails the eligibility criteria for going out to beta. There may be all kinds of issues, VoiceOver may be rough and ready, but to knowingly release a build that renders the feature completely inoperable is in my view a step too far. It sends the signal that our bug reports aren’t important enough.
Because of the quality issues blind people have experienced with Apple in recent years, to many this feels like yet another slide down a slippery slope.
I respectfully urge Apple never again to release a beta build when they know it renders a device totally inaccessible to any group of disabled people. It undermines confidence and tarnishes Apple's brand.
An unequivocal, public commitment from Apple's Chief Executive on this matter will help restore confidence in the quality of Apple software. Ensuring we can all participate in building better products is a win for us and a win for Apple.
Thanks for reading, and I would be grateful for you signing and sharing. Petition.mosen.org.
And for those of you missing your Apple Watch, perhaps because you didn’t turn automatic updates off so you got updated to developer beta 4, don’t forget there’s a song by Chicago from the 1970s called “does anybody really know what time it is”. It’s on Apple Music.
Comments
I feel like this is a bit of an over-reaction
Hello,
First, I'd like to preface by saying that I understand that it can be frustrating when we're unable to access the public beta of WatchOS. However, as many people have pointed out before, betas don't always work correctly. The fact that they've already released a beta to fix it should be enough to convince people that Apple is committed to accessibility. I don't think it's right to assume that we were willfuly excluded from this. They left a warning to not install the fourth beta. We're such a small community, which unfortunately means that there are larger priorities that have to be dealt with. However, VoiceOver's usability was fixed, which still shows that we are a top priority.
This petition, in my opinion, is repeating the same bit of history that seems to permeate throughout the blind community. When people feel like things aren't becoming accessible fast enough, even though progress has been made, a vocal portion of the blind community become overly agitated and whine and complain on social media. I agree that advocacy is necessary, especially when no ahssibility progress seems iminent or forthcoming. However, I believe that there are time to be patient, and this is one of those times.
Agreed. I keep an eye on…
Agreed. I keep an eye on things as I'm a beta tester for iOs 14 things, and apple fixed the issue in 2 weeks. Take the petition down and kill it! It is not needed anymore.
The need continues to exist
While I respect that people will have a range of opinions regarding the petition, if you believe that there is no need for it simply because VoiceOver was restored to watchOS in the current beta, you fundamentally misunderstand its purpose.
The petition did not ask Apple to restore VoiceOver to watchOS. It was almost inevitable that this would happen with the next beta which of course is now the current one.
The issue relates to blind people being able to contribute to the test process at a time when our bug reports can make the release build better.
The petition asks for a commitment to that. The watchOS build was the catalyst, but it was not the purpose.
Very grateful to the nearly 1,200 people who understand the importance and equity of this principle.
I also signed the petition…
I also signed the petition. Another option would be reporting these issues by sending an email to Accessibility@apple.com.
Other companies need this more.
So, petition on making TalkBack on Android worth using when? petition for Samsung smart watch accessibility when? Petition to make Samsung's Voice Assistant better when? Petition to have TalkBack open source so community can make it better when?
My point is, Apple is pretty good about accessibility. Even I, on my most cynical days, know this quite well. I mean, yeah the Mac has its list of issues, and hey you could have made one about that too but oh no you use Windows of course. If your whole point is about making things better, sure this petition is about betas but you could branch out, why not use your voice to take Google, Samsung, and other companies to task? Then again, maybe you should just focus on the small, simple stuff that'll be fixed in a few weeks or so. Maybe you should focus on the things that Apple was already in the process of fixing before you even began the petition, because of your divisive language which only serves to rile people up and get them angry for no reason. Then again, Google and Samsung actually deserve such anger. Apple, though, not so much for iOS, WatchOS, and TVOS. Well then again go after them on Apple Arcade, definitely. You can actually use Apple Arcade, it's on the iPhone and all. And yes, Apple does control which games go on there, it's their market place after all.