Welcome to the March 2025 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, your monthly digest of the latest and most notable content on the AppleVis website. This edition features a curated selection of community-submitted content, including new app entries; updates; news; podcasts; how-to guides; and popular discussions.
New and Noteworthy App Entries
ally, everywhere ai assistant (iOS, Free)
meet ally – your AI assistant, always by your side
ally is your personal AI assistant, ready to help—anywhere, anytime. Whether you're at home, on the go, or using the smart glasses, ally grows with you and adapts to your needs.
built with accessibility in mind
ally is created by the brilliant minds at Envision, a trusted name in accessibility. Envision is known for its flagship product, Envision Glasses, and the Envision App—both empowering people who are blind or have low vision with greater independence. Built with the same philosophy, ally prioritizes accessibility at its core, ensuring it's an essential feature, not an afterthought.
using ally is very effortless and intuitive
- Download & access – get the app
- Make it yours – tell ally about your interests and what matters to you. The more you share, the better ally adapts to your style. You can do this by filling in the "about you" section.
- Choose or create your ally – pick a pre-made ally or build your own from scratch!
- Give it a name – something fun? something mysterious? You decide.
- Shape its personality – Want your ally to be quirky, confident, or a little dramatic? Go wild. Just fill in the "ally personality is" section.
- Set its tone – should ally be funny, no-nonsense, or totally deadpan? You're in control. Just fill in the "ally communication style" section.
- Start talking – just talk away! Try the walkie-talkie Mode to stop ally from responding to background noise. You can also mute your mic and control when you are speaking to ally.
- Type it out – in a loud place? Prefer texting? No problem—have a text chat with ally and get the same great responses.
Current Version: 1.0.2 (March 31, 2025)
ally's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry ally's App Store page
City Clicker – Bird Plus (iOS, Free)
A refreshingly simple “idle clicker” game with robust screen reader support. Players can be visited by an augmented reality bird and take pictures with it!
Features:
- A screen reader friendly interface that is totally inclusive of blind players
- Retro pixel graphics
- A cute 3D bird that lets you take AR photos of it
- Soothing music and sound effects
- Completely free of ads and distractions
- A relatively short, engaging “grind” that aims to help keep your mind just busy enough, without frustrating you
How to play:
The whole game, including AR functionality, is fully playable via VoiceOver!
You can either tap the screen to earn “money” or sit back and earn it over time.
Invest back into your city by getting upgrades, and enjoy the graphical changes as your city gets nicer.
If you can make your city nice enough, a bird will come visit. You can take AR pictures with the bird for fun!
If you reach the end of the game, you can reset it to zero and start over as many times as you like.
There’s no ads, no tracking, no gacha, no nonsense. Just a simple little old school mobile distraction.
Have fun!
City Clicker – Bird Plus' AppleVis iOS App Directory entry City Clicker – Bird Plus' App Store page
Joplin (iOS, Free)
Joplin is a open source note taking, Capture your thoughts and securely access them from any device.
Privacy-first app
Capture your thoughts freely and without distractions, tracking, or ads. With Joplin’s end-to-end encryption and open-source code, you can concentrate on your ideas and tasks without worrying about your privacy.
Capture multimedia notes
Capture multimedia notes effortlessly. In Joplin you can :
- create manuscript notes,
- transcribe speech to note,
- add multimedia: photos, videos, PDFs, and images,
- insert documents as attachments,
- create math expressions, add tables, write code and insert diagrams,
- create to-dos and add reminders.
Current Version: 13.2.5 (January 15, 2025)
Joplin's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Joplin's App Store page
Life Ready Games (iOS, Free)
Life Ready Games are a series of games designed to entertain and educate. Play through a series of stories and games, learning life skills for children with vision impairments to grow independence.
Pick up and practise life skills from a variety of life skill areas, such as independent living, compensatory access, orientation and mobility, assistive technology, sensory efficiency, social interaction, career education, self determination, and recreation and leisure. Life Ready Games will also introduce a range of accessibility tools to children, to better prepare them for today’s digital age.
Life Ready Games is developed in partnership with Vision Australia, and ties into content on their existing Life Ready Hub, where children go to further their learning and skills growth.
Life Ready Games' AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Life Ready Games' App Store page
All recent app entries posted to AppleVis may be found at:
Notable App Updates
Adventure To Fate: Core Quest (iOS, US$4.99)
The Follow-up to TouchArcades 2024 Game of The Year!
Descend into the Core of the Dungeon, where the dark entity Thanatos awaits, spreading corruption and chaos.
Adventure To Fate: Core Quest is a casual yet deeply strategic turn-based RPG featuring roguelike gameplay, endless customization, and thousands of hand-crafted NPCs, skills, and loot. Uncover the secrets of six immersive environments, collect powerful spirits, and wield legendary weapons forged by your own hands. The fate of the dungeon is in your hands, can you survive the quest to the Core?
Current Version: 1.46 (March 31, 2025)
App Store Release Notes for March 2025 Updates
Version 1.44 (March 3, 2025)
A casual yet strategic turn-based RPG featuring roguelike gameplay, endless customization, and immersive content!
Adjustments and Fixes
- Forged Items are now more powerful!
- Mystic classes stats have been slightly increased
- If you quit or close the game while finding a spirit or skills you can now find them again by researching the location.
- Fixed Sandstone Staff spelling (the old Standstone staff is still in the game to avoid errors if you already had it but you cannot get it anymore)
- Reduced potion finds in the desert and later zones(free your bags!)
- Fixed soul unlocks (meta progression list) text and image on the character creator
- Fixed a rare bug where the silver key on floor 8 might not drop.
- Assassinate now correctly has a 5% chance to obtain shadow souls
VoiceOver Fixes
- Your current spirit in spirit book now reads correctly (instead of saying pet)
- Fixed a bug where VoiceOver was crashing on the bestiary page.
Version 1.46 (March 31, 2025)
New Battle Arena Mode Has Arrived!
Ready to skip the grind and dive straight into combat? The brand new Battle Arena play option is here!
- Choose Battle Mode when creating a character – jump right into the action!
- Face monsters directly from the Battle Arena hub
- Forge custom items with personalized stats, names, and even pictures – they’ll become part of the world for all your characters to discover!
- Unlock skills through the three Skill Shrines to fine-tune your build
- Grab powerful loot from the endlessly refilling treasure chest
- Check out the shopkeeper’s latest gear – including your past forged creations
- Battle Arena-exclusive leaderboards and achievements
This mode offers a faster-paced, combat-focused alternative to the full adventure!
General Improvements
- Increased drop rates for ultra rare items and spirits
- Shadow Ranger now starts with more Endurance (and more HP as they level)
- Shadow Spirit now correctly unlocks for all classes after being found by the Assassin
- Option added to disable spinning/flashing reward screens
- Game code input option added
- Multiple crash fixes for better stability
VoiceOver & Accessibility Updates
- Fixed bug where forge said only 3 stats could be added – now correctly allows 4
- VoiceOver now reads your selected class aloud
- Hints now properly indicate selected classes
- iPad VoiceOver hints now include room numbers
- Battle selection screen optimized for clarity and accessibility
As always, thank you for supporting Adventure To Fate! If you’re enjoying the new Battle Arena, leave a review – it helps more than you know
Adventure To Fate: Core Quest's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Adventure To Fate: Core Quest's App Store page
Eter: Streaming Internet Radio (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)
Eter Radio is an app for listening to Internet radio stations. Eter Radio is available in a universal version for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS.
Eter Radio uses the publicly available radio-browser.info database, which contains a collection of free and publicly available Internet radio stations. You can also add any stream by URL.
Eter for iOS, iPadOS and macOS offers a hand-crafted list of recommended stations and the ability to search radio-browser.info for other radio stations. To be able to save favorite stations, you must unlock the program with a one-time In-App Purchase. (The price in the App Store may vary depending on the country and the local currency rate). Eter on tvOS and watchOS works as a companion app. If you've upgraded to Premium, you can play your favorites on these platforms too.
Curious what that song is? You can optionally use Shazam automatic song recognition to know what’s playing. (Available for all users.)
Enjoy unlimited listening with Eter on any Apple anything, including CarPlay, for free.
We strive to provide an outstanding internet radio experience to all users, including those using VoiceOver. If you spot shortcomings, please reach out to [email protected] so we can work together to improve things.
Current Version: 2.4 (March 6, 2025)
App Store Release Notes for Version 2.4 (March 6, 2025)
- Simplified Shazam music recognition: toggle off and on in the Player view
- New in Search: add a favorite right from Search, search results now persist without reloading, and more
- Cleaner display of song metadata
- Fixed a bug when sometimes songs did not get added to the History view
- Continued improvements to VoiceOver
Eter's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Eter's App Store page
Ivory for Mastodon by Tapbots (iOS, Requires Subscription)
Ivory is a brand new app that brings over a dozen years of experience building the award-winning Tweetbot for Twitter, over to the Mastodon network. We obsess over every detail and put good design and experience first. Download and experience it for yourself. If you liked Tweetbot, you’ll love Ivory!
We are very excited about the future of Ivory and have so many great plans for it. Here’s what you can expect in Ivory now:
- Beautiful visual and sound design
- Blazing fast performance and super smooth scrolling
- Many theme and app icon options
- Support for multiple accounts
- Create and view content warnings
- Create and participate in polls
- Easily search for and post gifs
- Customizable push notifications and viewable notifications tab
- View post statistics for the day and graph for the week in the stats tab
- Powerful mute filters with regex support
- Ability to follow hashtags and create hashtag lists
- Bookmark posts to refer back to privately
- View local and federated timelines as well as trending posts
- Powerful timeline filters to quickly show/hide posts of different criteria
- Never lose your place in the timeline across Ivory on multiple devices including iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
Current Version: 2.3.3 (March 12, 2025)
App Store Release Notes for March 2025 Updates
Version 2.3 (March 5, 2025)
- New Grouped Notifications tab.
- Mentions and Notifications are now merged into a single tab.
- Support for AlphaNumeric Post IDs.
- Accessibility Improvements.
- Fixed the bug where the compose window wouldn’t remember your last set size/position.
Version 2.3.1 (March 5, 2025)
- New Grouped Notifications tab.
- Mentions and Notifications are now merged into a single tab.
- Support for AlphaNumeric Post IDs.
- Accessibility Improvements.
- Fixed an issue with timeline filter options being disabled.
- Fixed the bug where the compose window wouldn’t remember your last set size/position.
Version 2.3.2 (March 11, 2025)
- New behavior setting to ungroup notifications.
- Changes to the refresh rate of the Explore tab so chances of it refreshing at a bad time is decreased.
- Adjusted the width of the Notifications tab segmented control when there’s less horizontal space on smaller devices.
- Support for AES 128 GCM Push Notifications.
Version 2.3.3 (March 12, 2025)
- New Behavior Settings for the Notifications tab. a) Only show unread notification dot for new mentions. b) Display notifications as a flat list (ungroup).
- Various bug fixes.
Ivory's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Ivory's App Store page
Jacket.fm — Social Audio
Jacket.fm is the audio-first platform where creators of all kinds can express themselves, connect with others, and build meaningful communities. Whether you’re sharing stories, hosting live conversations, or reflecting privately, Jacket.fm is your space to be your authentic self and find your people.
Express Yourself: Record and share audio posts, stories, or shows – or keep them private. - Discover New Voices: Explore trending posts and find creators who inspire you. - Connect in Real-Time: Live audio booths give you a space to chat, laugh, and share ideas with people who get you. - Build Community: Create and follow panels, grow your audience, and connect with like-minded people. - Keep an Audio Journal: Record private journals with AI summaries and automatic emails to track your thoughts, moods, and growth. - Voiceover Compatibility: Designed from the ground up with accessibility for the blind and visually-impaired in mind.
Current Version: 1.3.30 (March 27, 2025)
App Store Release Notes for March 2025 Updates
Version 1.3.17 (March 2, 2025)
This release fixes an issue with removing panel members, addresses voiceover issues with recordings, and includes other quality-of-life updates.
Version 1.3.18 (March 3, 2025)
This release significantly improves connectivity for live rooms. An update to the latest app is required for compatibility.
Version 1.3.19 (March 4, 2025)
This release includes minor accessibility improvements as well as enhanced live functionality including muting and sound effects.
Version 1.3.20 (March 5, 2025)
This release includes the ability to set speaker preference when recording solo, 'request to speak' in live booths, and various bug fixes.
Version 1.3.21 (March 6, 2025)
This release features various accessibility improvements and a confirmation dialog when leaving a live booth as the leader.
Version 1.3.22 (March 9, 2025)
This release features several layout improvements as well as a 'newest' feed for the latest posts.
Version 1.3.23 (March 11, 2025)
This release introduces granular notification controls and the ability to pin a post to your profile or panel.
Version 1.3.24 (March 15, 2025)
This release introduces panels with closed memberships and engagement stats shown in uploads under your profile.
Version 1.3.25 (March 17, 2025)
This release includes a fix for upload timeout issues, as well as improved commenting including an edit function.
Version 1.3.26 (March 18, 2025)
This release includes improved support for dark mode and larger accessibility fonts, as well as some labeling fixes.
Version 1.3.27 (March 19, 2025)
This release includes improvements to dark mode and Italian translations for some elements.
Version 1.3.28 (March 20, 2025)
This release improves accessibility at larger font sizes and includes a full translation option for the interface, starting with the Italian language.
Version 1.3.29 (March 22, 2025)
This release further internationalizes the app, adding localization support for more components in Italian.
Version 1.3.30 (March 27, 2025)
This release improves the visibility of panels and live booths, and introduces a recommendations feed based on your taste. An issue in live booths where usernames would not show is addressed.
Jacket.fm's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Jacket.fm's App Store page
Land of Livia (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)
“A pioneering title in the realm of inclusive mobile gaming.” – AppleVis
Step into Land of Livia, a story-driven adventure designed for relaxation. Whether you need a break from the real world or just a moment to unwind, Livia is a place where you can slow down and enjoy the journey.
Explore at your own pace, uncover a rich and immersive story, and gather around the Campfire, where players share wisdom and stories.
- Escape into a beautifully crafted world, exploring at your own pace without pressure or time limits.
- Relax with a captivating story filled with mystery and memorable characters.
- Gain rewards throughout your day, making progress no matter how busy you are.
- Solve puzzles and riddles that challenge your mind while keeping the experience stress-free.
- Discover and upgrade items of legend, collecting powerful artifacts along your journey.
- Celebrate discoveries and share the adventure with a welcoming community at the Campfire.
- Experience industry-leading accessibility, designed from the ground up for all players.
- Unlock the full game with one purchase. No loot boxes, no pressure, just a great experience.
Current Version: 5.0.3 (
App Store Release Notes for March 2025 Updates
Version 5.0.0 (March 19, 2025)
It is with great pride and excitement that we release this evolution of Land of Livia, a milestone we’ve been working toward for the past two years! This wouldn’t have been possible without you. The passion of our community continues to inspire us to push the boundaries of what an accessible mobile game can be.
We hope you enjoy this update and have fun exploring!
REMASTERED UI
We’ve given the entire UI a fresh, visually remastered look with a relaxing and calm design that complements the gameplay. Plus, enjoy brand-new unique icons for items and gems!
MAP ILLUSTRATIONS
Each of Land of Livia’s four regions is now beautifully brought to life with handcrafted illustrations by award-winning artist Damien Mammoliti (damie_m.artstation.com).
DARK THEME
A long-awaited change is finally here! The remastered UI embraces a dark theme that not only enhances the experience for all players but also improves accessibility for those with low vision.
SOUND & HAPTIC EFFECTS
We’ve added over a dozen new sound effects to enhance immersion and provide meaningful feedback for key actions. Alongside them, we’ve introduced a suite of custom-designed haptic effects to further enrich the experience.
Haptics have huge potential to improve accessibility in games, and we’re excited to take this first step of including them in Land of Livia. If you prefer to disable sound effects or haptic feedback, you can do so from the in-game Settings screen.
IMPROVED GUIDANCE & SHORTCUTS
We’re always looking for ways to streamline your Land of Livia experience. In this update, we’ve introduced Siri Shortcuts, giving you a quick and convenient way to take key actions in the game. We’re excited for you to try them out and share your feedback!
Once Siri is activated on your device, you can use the following shortcuts:
- “In Land of Livia, auto equip.”
- “In Land of Livia, sell junk.”
- “In Land of Livia, what locations are near me?”
- “In Land of Livia, what should I do next?”
The last shortcut is particularly useful, providing an actionable hint when you’re unsure of your next step. You can also access this guidance from the Help screen.
NEW INTRO
We’ve refined the new player experience with improved visuals, clearer tutorial tips, and smoother early quests. Plus, hero names are now auto-assigned and fully editable!
NEW & MORE ACCESSIBLE FONT
Land of Livia now exclusively uses the incredible Atkinson Hyperlegible font. Named after the founder of the Braille Institute, this font was designed to enhance readability for players with low vision and improve overall text comprehension.
CHANGES
- Updated the app icon to feature Clara Vander, the rugged entrepreneur of the Thardric Frontier Company.
- Recommended Leveling quests now appear in the Map Navigation screen instead of individual locations being marked.
- The Lore Researching minigame now supports iOS’s Differentiate Without Color setting, improving accessibility for players with color blindness.
- Gem Cutting minigame accessibility has been improved for players with low vision.
- Music now plays through tracks consecutively rather than transitioning dynamically between screens.
- Remastered background music to ensure a more consistent volume.
- Refined the first journal goal and tutorial tips to streamline the new player experience.
BUG FIXES
- Fixed an issue where music would stop after voice dictation.
- Fixed a bug where music would stop after losing connection to Bluetooth.
- Improved performance when switching between regions, especially for late-game players.
Starting with this update, Land of Livia requires iOS 17 or later. This change allows us to take advantage of Apple’s latest features, ensuring a better experience for all players.
Version 5.0.1 (March 20, 2025)
It is with great pride and excitement that we release this evolution of Land of Livia, a milestone we’ve been working toward for the past two years! This wouldn’t have been possible without you. The passion of our community continues to inspire us to push the boundaries of what an accessible mobile game can be.
We hope you enjoy this update and have fun exploring! See the 5.0.0 update notes for all changes.
BUG FIXES
- Accessibility: Fixed the significant VoiceOver performance issues that were affecting some players.
- iOS17: Improved the tappable zone for buttons.
- iOS17: Fixed the animation glitch for the current activity in the Map screen.
A huge thank you to those that have helped us identify and resolve these issues!
Version 5.0.2 (March 23, 2025)
It is with great pride and excitement that we release this evolution of Land of Livia, a milestone we’ve been working toward for the past two years! This wouldn’t have been possible without you. The passion of our community continues to inspire us to push the boundaries of what an accessible mobile game can be.
We hope you enjoy this update and have fun exploring! See the 5.0.0 update notes for all changes.
CHANGES
- Added an indication of which locations are New in the Map Navigation screen.
BUG FIXES
- Fixed the issue where the notification badge for the app was not clearing and made it look like there was something new when there wasn’t.
- Fixed a bug that allowed the sale of legendary items from the rewards screen.
- Fixed a bug where recommended leveling quests would suggest locations that are not available.
A huge thank you to those that have helped us identify and resolve these issues!
Version 5.0.3 (March 25, 2025)
It is with great pride and excitement that we release this evolution of Land of Livia, a milestone we’ve been working toward for the past two years! This wouldn’t have been possible without you. The passion of our community continues to inspire us to push the boundaries of what an accessible mobile game can be.
We hope you enjoy this update and have fun exploring! See the 5.0.0 update notes for all changes.
GEM CUTTING CHANGES
- Improved performance and responsiveness of gem cutting.
- Slightly reduced speed in gem cutting for all tiers.
- Gem quality is now rounded up to the nearest 5% increment. This change increases the tolerance of the gem cutting minigame.
- Decreased cost of upgrading rough and smooth gems.
- Increased the sale cost of gems by 8x so not all the gold you invest in gem cutting is lost.
BUG FIXES
- Fixed a bug where the display of gold on the rewards screen was incorrect after selling an item.
A huge thank you to those that have helped us identify and resolve these issues!
Land of Livia's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Land of Livia's App Store page
Speakaboo: Blind AI Assistance (iOS, Free with In-App Purchases)
Speakaboo is an intuitive app designed to help you interact with your surroundings by providing real-time descriptions and answers to questions about the world around you. If you are visually impaired or simply need extra guidance, Speakaboo makes daily tasks easier and more accessible.
Free Features:
- Main button: get a quick description or ask a question about your environment
- Choose imperial or metric measurements
- Wider field of view
- Improvements to AI accuracy
- Support for English, Spanish, French, German, and Hindi
- Quick Describe shortcut for use with Siri or Action Button/Back Tap gesture
Premium Benefits:
- Repeat and follow-up button for more detailed interactions
- Voice selection
- Toggle between concise or detailed responses
- Lightning quick responses with Turbo Mode
- Unlimited uses
Current Version: 0.3 (March 13, 2025)
App Store Release Notes for Version 0.3 (March 13, 2025)
We’re excited to launch our new Shortcuts Library, designed especially for you. Quickly and easily create customized shortcuts to get instant answers with just a single tap or voice command
Speakaboo's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry Speakaboo's App Store page
Recent News and Views
Apple Releases iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4; Bringing Enhancements to VoiceOver and Braille
By AppleVis | March 31, 2025
Apple has today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 to the public; bringing new functionality for VoiceOver and braille users; several enhancements to Apple Intelligence, including priority notifications and expanded language support; as well as new emoji characters, a new "Ambient Music" feature in Control Center, Mail categorization for iPadOS, and more. Apple has also released iOS 15.8.4 and iOS 16.7.11 for older devices unable to run iOS 18.
New Features and Changes for VoiceOver and Braille Users
iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 include the following new features and changes for VoiceOver and braille users:
- It is now possible to change when, and if, VoiceOver speaks the type of the control currently in focus, such as heading, link, button, etc. This setting can be found in Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Verbosity > Controls, and allows you to choose whether control types are spoken before or after the contents of the control, or not at all.
- You can now perform an indefinite double-tap and hold on a braille display, useful when, for example, recording an audio message in the Messages app or trying to fast forward or rewind a podcast or other audio material. To do this, double-press Space with dots 3-6-7-8; press this key combination once more to release the hold.
- Performing a three-finger swipe down at the top of a page in Safari will no longer immediately refresh the page when the gesture is first performed, with VoiceOver instead instructing you to "Scroll up again to refresh." If you are scrolling up rapidly through multiple pages, VoiceOver may not speak this instruction, instead playing the "Boundary reached" sound.
- Similar to macOS, VoiceOver on iOS and iPadOS now announces the positions of items when navigating a bulleted list, E.G. "2 of 2." There is currently no way to change this behavior.
Read More: "Apple Releases iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4; Bringing Enhancements to VoiceOver and Braille"
Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4, watchOS 11.4, tvOS 18.4, and HomePod Software 18.4
By AppleVis | March 31, 2025
Apple has today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, watchOS 11.4, tvOS 18.4, and HomePod Software 18.4 to the public.
As with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, macOS Sequoia 15.4 brings expanded language support for Apple Intelligence, as well as new emoji characters, Mail categorization, and several accessibility fixes and refinements for blind, deaf blind, and low vision users.
Changes for VoiceOver and Braille Users
Our experience is that the following accessibility bug has been resolved in macOS Sequoia 15.4:
Also, while it is not something we were able to test, community reports indicate that VoiceOver navigation of collections in Apple Music is more reliable.
We are additionally aware of the following accessibility changes:
- macOS Sequoia 15.4: VoiceOver no longer announces "Writing tools in action menu" or plays the accompanying sound when selecting text.
- macOS Sequoia 15.4: The Escape key once again works to dismiss the Dock.
- macOS Sequoia 15.4: According to Apple's release notes, an issue was resolved with braille displays possibly showing an incorrect line when navigating with Left or Right Arrow keys.
- watchOS 11.4: The two-finger double-tap-and-hold gesture, used to adjust volume, now adjusts all system volume (including VoiceOver).
Read More: "Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4, watchOS 11.4, tvOS 18.4, and HomePod Software 18.4"
Levi Gobin Joins the AppleVis Editorial Team
By AppleVis | March 25, 2025
We are pleased to announce that Levi Gobin has joined the AppleVis Editorial Team.
Levi brings a wealth of experience to the team and to our community. He is both an experienced user of macOS (since 2015) and an avid beta tester. In addition, Levi excels at communication and content creation; as demonstrated by the in-depth guides he regularly shares with the community and his active participation on our forums.
Read More: "Levi Gobin Joins the AppleVis Editorial Team"
Apple Updates MacBook Air with M4 Chip, Mac Studio with Faster Chips, Thunderbolt 5, and More
By AppleVis | March 5, 2025
Apple today updated the MacBook Air and Mac Studio product lines, bringing the M4 chip and an upgraded camera to the MacBook Air, and M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips, Thunderbolt 5 support, and support for up to 512GB of ram to the Mac Studio.
Apple Introduces New iPad Air with M3 Processor, New Magic Keyboard Model, Updated Entry-Level iPad
By AppleVis | March 4, 2025
Apple has today released new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models, as well as a new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air and an updated entry-level iPad.
This Month in Podcasts
Finding Your Way Home in a (Home) Buttonless World: Using an iOS Device Without a Home Button the Ears Edition
In this episode, Scott Davert explores the different ways to access the Home Screen on iPhones without a Home Button. With the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple has fully transitioned to a buttonless design, changing how users interact with their devices. For those accustomed to the tactile feedback of the Home Button, this shift may feel challenging. However, several alternative methods can replicate its functionality.
AppleVis Extra 106: Chatting with The Iconfactory, Helping you Weave Your Social Media Feeds and More Together with Tapestry
In this edition of the AppleVis Extra, David Nason and Thomas Domville speak to Ged Maheux from The Iconfactory, the developers behind innovative new universal timeline app, Tapestry. Long time iPhone users will be very familiar with the company, previously responsible for the highly popular and highly accessible app Twitterrific.
Apple Crunch February 2025: The Most Expensive Cheap iPhone Yet
In this edition of Apple Crunch, Thomas Domville and John Gassman discuss recent Apple news and other topics of interest.
Chapters:
- Introduction
- Apple Introduces iPhone 16e with 6.1-inch Display, Face ID, A18 Chip, and More
- Apple finally lets you move your digital purchases to another account
- AppleCare+ for iPhone Gets More Expensive
- Latest News and Updates on iOS 18.4 Beta
- Apple TV is finally available on Android devices – just in time to stream MLS and Severance season 2
- Foldable iPhone Entering Mass Production This Year
- Closing
Listen to "Apple Crunch February 2025: The Most Expensive Cheap iPhone Yet"
Lost in Time: A Journey Through RYFT – A Timely Manor for iOS
In this podcast, Thomas Domville explores RYFT: A Timely Manor for iOS, an immersive audio-based mystery-adventure game designed for hands-free, voice-activated play. Inspired by classics like Myst, Monkey Island, and Zork, RYFT offers a unique experience where players navigate and interact entirely through voice commands.
Listen to "Lost in Time: A Journey Through RYFT – A Timely Manor for iOS"
Helpful How-To's
a guide to creating and running shortcuts on iOS and macOS
By Levi Gobin | March 23, 2025
for iOS 18 and macOS 15
intro
This guide covers how you can create shortcuts on both macOS and iOS, from automation to creating shortcuts that can enhance your workflow, to turning your shortcuts into .app files on Mac.
What's a shortcut?
A shortcut is a set of steps (actions) that can be put together to create a workflow, which can do several things at once, such as sending a text to someone and playing a playlist, to sending the last image in your photos to a contact. Other shortcuts can convert things, do location-specific actions, as well as if statements. Shortcuts can also be used to send images and documents to LLMs like ChatGPT. Shortcuts is very similar to Automator on Mac. In fact, you can import your Automator workflows into Shortcuts.
Read More: "a guide to creating and running shortcuts on iOS and macOS"
Taking Control of the Camera Control! A Guide for Running Any Shortcut with the Camera Control on iPhone 16
By Levi Gobin | March 12, 2025
Intro
If, like me, you have wanted to turn this new extra button into something non-camera related, such as the option to open Be My AI, or a 3rd party voice recording app, there is an easy way to do this.
Requirements:
- In order for this to work, you will have to select an app for the camera control to open before running your custom shortcut.
- This also has the added downside of not allowing you to use said app (except if your device is locked) unless you disable the automation.
- If you really need to use the app you have selected, lock your device and activate the camera control. Activating the camera control button while your device is locked does not activate the custom shortcut, and will instead open the app selected in settings.
- If you choose the magnifier app, you can still use detection mode (Live Recognition) through the roater, and it will work without activating the custom shortcut.
Popular Topics
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Wishing you the best and every good thing in April,
The AppleVis Editorial Team Www.AppleVis.Com A proud member of the Be My Eyes Family