AppleVis Blog

Welcome to the March 2020 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 by members of the community - 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

Like most folks, I have always been a bit of a social animal. I delighted in dining with friends at our local Periodic Table Supper Club. I liked walking around the block with a neighbor friend and talking to others in their front yards. I enjoyed traveling with my wife wherever and whenever we wanted. And, we absolutely loved it when our kids dropped by the house. That was then, this is now.

A new abnormal has descended upon all of us. An unwanted virus has invaded our lives. It was…

In addition to iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4, Apple has also today released macOS Catalina 10.15.4, watchOS 6.2 and tvOS 13.4 to the public.

Our testing of macOS Catalina 10.15.4 suggests that it resolves the following bugs:

• In the Messages app, VoiceOver…

Apple has this week released the Gold Master versions of iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4 to developers, and announced that these updates will be available to the public on March 24. In addition to bringing some new features and enhancements, these releases will bring fixes…

In addition to a new MacBook Air and updated Mac Mini, Apple today has also announced a new iPad Pro powered by the A12Z Bionic chip and featuring a new dual-camera, a LiDAR scanner for Augmented Reality, and trackpad support.

According to Apple, , the new…

Apple has today announced the launch of a new MacBook Air featuring the Magic Keyboard, up to two times faster CPU performance, twice the storage, and a new lower starting price of $999.

The new MacBook Air features the latest 10th-generation Intel CPUs, which Apple says allows the new MacBook Air to deliver faster everyday performance:

Offering quad-core…

Apple's Beats subsidiary today announced the launch of Powerbeats, an updated version of its Powerbeats 3 wireless earphones.

According to 9to5Mac, the US$149 Powerbeats have been upgraded on multiple fronts over the previous generation Powerbeats 3:

Powerbeats now use the same H1 chip as second generation AirPods, Powerbeats Pro, and AirPods Pro, boosting battery life…

Over the past few days, 9to5Mac and MacRumors have posted details of several iOS features that are reportedly in development at Apple.

Based upon findings in supposed unreleased iOS 14 code, one of these reports is of a new developer framework named VoiceProvider, which could let developers replace built-in speech voices on iOS with custom text-to-speech synthesizers.

Information on how this might be used is speculative, with…

Also in this series:

• GarageBand Part 1: The Basics
• GarageBand Part 2: Mixing and Mastering

GarageBand makes it amazingly easy to create music. In this blog, I'll show you how to create the following blues-based rock jam. You don't need an instrument. You won't have to play a single note.

Welcome to the February 2020 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 by members of the community - 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…

Apple has today released watchOS 6.1.3 to the public, bringing bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements.

Most notably, watchOS 6.1.3 contains a fix for an issue that Apple says prevented irregular heart rhythm notifications from working correctly for users in Iceland. From Apple's release notes:

This update includes improvements and bug fixes, including a fix for an issue that prevented the irregular heart rhythm notification from working as expected for Apple…

Also in this series:

• GarageBand Part 1: The Basics
• GarageBand Part 3: Drummers and Loops

With no accessible 64-bit Audacity build available, GarageBand has become my new digital recording solution on MacOS. In this series, I hope to fully explore nearly all of GarageBand's many features. In…

Welcome to the January 2020 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 by members of the community - 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…

Apple has today released macOS 10.15.3, watchOS 6.1.2, and tvOS 13.3.1.

MacRumors has previously reported that it didn't find any major changes to macOS 10.15.3 during the beta cycle, suggesting that Apple's focus with this release is on performance improvements, security updates, and bug fixes.

Our own testing of macOS 10.15.3 suggests that there are likely no changes or fixes for…

Apple has today released iOS 13.3.1 and iPadOS 13.3.1.

In these releases, Apple has addressed a number of issues with Smart Invert.

These are the fixes and improvements to Smart Invert that we are currently aware of:

• Smart Invert now works as expected with Safari webpages when Dark Mode is enabled.
• Apps which use a dark on light color scheme should now invert to light on dark when Dark Mode and Smart Invert are enabled.
• The onscreen keyboard…

Also in this series:

• GarageBand Part 2: Mixing and Mastering
• GarageBand Part 3: Drummers and Loops

I've always used Audacity for digital recording projects, including ripping my vinyl collection for use in…

Welcome to the December 2019 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 by members of the community - 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…

The AppleVis community has voted the first generation AirPods the winner of its World Cup of the Decade, beating Apple Pay by 55% to 45% in the final.

Whilst Apple's AirPods weren't the first truly wireless earphones, the combination of ease of use; solid audio performance; long battery life; good call quality; and a price point that compares well with competitors, make them one of Apple's most ground-breaking products of recent years.

Three years on from their launch - and…

We are pleased to announce the winners of the eighth annual AppleVis Golden Apple Awards.

Since their launch in 2012, the AppleVis Golden Apple Awards have afforded blind and low vision users of Apple products the opportunity to recognize and acknowledge the hard work and dedication which developers have put into making and maintaining great and accessible applications over the given year. The response of past nominees and winners to this recognition from blind and low vision users…

Apple has today released macOS 10.15.2, watchOS 6.1.1, and tvOS 13.3.

MacRumors has previously reported that it didn't find any major changes to macOS 10.15.2 during the beta cycle, suggesting that Apple's focus with this release is on performance improvements, security updates, and bug fixes.

Our own testing of macOS 10.15.2 suggests that Apple has resolved the problem which was…