Blog

Welcome to the June 2017 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Actiview - Empowered…

My mother used to claim I would lose my head if it were not screwed on. How I have suffered with that ancient rebuke. Dear Mother, I do not lose things. I simply store them in mysterious places.

In May of 2015, my wife and I invited our 27-year-old son to join us on our first trip to Paris. This vacation was especially important to me. I used to be somewhat fluent in the language, having studied French throughout junior high, high school and college. To my great pleasure, after…

I love my Apple Watch. That’s been true ever since I got one in early April of 2016. I wore it every single day, with no exceptions at all, for over a year. I hadn’t worn a watch in years, but as soon as I got my Apple Watch, I didn’t go any longer without it than I needed to. I took it off at night to charge, then put it on first thing the next morning, taking it off again only to shower. I love my Apple Watch.

The day our story begins was just two days ago, on June 24 of…

Update: Applications are now closed.

Are you passionate about the use of Apple products by blind and low vision users? If so, AppleVis may have an exciting volunteer opportunity for you!

We are currently looking to recruit 1 or 2 people with great knowledge, experience and expertise to join our small Editorial Team—to help us take AppleVis to the next level.

This is a wonderful opportunity to inform and engage with thousands of people on the leading…

It is with regret that we must announce the departures of Jamie Pauls and Lisa Salinger from the AppleVis Editorial Team.

Since joining the Team, both Jamie and Lisa have seen changes to their personal circumstances which have resulted in them not being able to devote the time and energy to AppleVis that they had originally desired and anticipated; thus, Jamie and Lisa have decided independently that the time has come where they need to step aside from their voluntary and unpaid…

Every year at its Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC), Apple celebrates and acknowledges through its Apple Design Awards the mobile and desktop apps which raise the bar in design, technology and innovation.

Presented in a ceremony that traditionally follows the WWDC keynote presentation, it was tremendous to see Ryan McLeod - developer of the iOS app Blackbox - think outside the box - winning one of these prestigious awards this year. The award was cited by Apple as recognition…

At its annual Worldwide Developer's Conference this week, Apple previewed some of the new features coming to its iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS platforms later this year. At this point, it's worth noting that this software is still in beta form, and not all features--particularly, the specifics of how they will be implemented--are finalized. With that said, below is what Apple has told us will be coming for users of accessibility features:…

Welcome Back to WWDC

It doesn't feel like a whole year since I covered a WWDC keynote, but it really has been that long. Now we're back here again, reviewing what Apple announced at this year's keynote event. Did Apple reveal a Siri-based smart speaker? A new set of Macs? New iPads? What's in the upcoming macOS, iOS, and other software? Well, I'm here to give you all the highlights so you don't have to watch the full video (though you…

Digital Assistants are becoming standard in most modern homes. They are available on most devices and computers in some form. They are gradually working more and more together as an environment. Looking ahead to the future, I can not yet tell if we are heading towards Star Trek or more towards the Jetsons. With all these 'currently fringe' technologies beginning to overlap, I hope the future focus remains on accessing life, as well as the technology. With this in mind, I thought a more…

Welcome to the May 2017 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Blackbox - think outside…

We are pleased to announce that the 2017 inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame, as chosen by the AppleVis community, are Timecrest: The Door and Nearby Explorer.

First opened in 2011, the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is one of the ways in which the AppleVis community seeks to…

Today is the sixth annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD); when people are encouraged to talk, think and learn about digital access and inclusion. Our own message today for everybody involved in designing and developing software for Apple platforms, is a simple one: Make accessible design a core part of your development philosophy and practice - not just because it is the right thing to do, but because accessible design…

In addition to the previously announced Apple Store sessions and updated App Store collections, Apple has now released a series of seven videos on its YouTube channel to mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day on 18 May…

On May 8, Sprint released a new update to the Sprint IP Relay app. While the description only states that there are "Miscellaneous bug fixes", one of those bug fixes is very significant... it restores access for braille users. Until now, braille users have not had a reliable solution to access relay via their mobile devices.

What is Text Relay Anyway?

For those unfamiliar, text relay allows a deaf or DeafBlind person to access the phone system through a relay operator, who…

Today has seen another round of software updates from Apple. In addition to the release of iOS 10.3.2, there have also been updates for the Mac, Apple Watch and fourth-generation Apple TV.

The release notes for macOS 10.12.5 report the following changes:

• Fixes an issue where audio may stutter when played through USB headphones
…

Apple has today released iOS 10.3.2 to the public.

At the time of posting, release notes are not yet available. However, as a minor 10.x.x update, there are unlikely to be any significant changes to outward-facing features—with the focus of this release being on bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements.

For blind and low vision users, our testing indicates that Apple has made only limited progress towards addressing…

To mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), Apple stores all over the world will be hosting accessibility-related sessions on May 18, 2017—providing people with an opportunity to explore the built-in accessibility features of Apple products.

You can check here to see if your local Apple Store is participating. And, if so, book a place.

Apple will also be updating…

We are pleased to announce that voting for the 2017 inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is now open.

Now in its sixth year, the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is one of the ways in which the AppleVis community seeks to recognize developers of accessible iOS applications. Apps in the Hall of Fame can be liberating; empowering; life-changing; provide access to information that sighted users take for granted; or, in…

A Verbal Prehistory

In an earlier stage of my eyesight I did a lot of zooming in on the screen. My set up was such that the magnified portion of the screen followed the mouse cursor most of the time. I would use Control-2-finger scroll on the trackpad to zoom in and out. While this worked fine, it forced me to use both hands to accomplish the maneuver. Ugh! I felt like a caveman, having to set down my coffee just to navigate with two hands. :-)

I had already been…

In what could soon be coming as the first of its kind, Humanware appears to be developing a new braille display and app for synchronizing notes with iDevices. In late April, an app hit the App Store called Brailliant Sync. According to the description by Harpo, the app is designed "for synchronizing notes between Gmail, IMAP and similar servers and Brailliant 14 Braille…