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Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5, and tvOS 14.6. These appear to be relatively minor updates for single dot releases, focusing on the groundwork for the upcoming addition of Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio to Apple Music, adding paid podcast subscription support for channels and individual shows, and some other mostly under-the-hood…

Apple has today released iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6. These appear to be relatively minor updates for single dot releases, focusing on the groundwork for the upcoming addition of Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio to Apple Music, adding paid podcast subscription support for channels and individual shows, and some other mostly under-the-hood enhancements.

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We are pleased to announce that voting for the 2021 inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is now open.

Now in its tenth year, our 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 some cases, they can just be good fun.

To be eligible for induction…

Ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 20, Apple has previewed a number of accessibility Features coming later this year for those with mobility, vision, hearing, or cognitive disabilities.

“At Apple, we’ve long felt that the world’s best technology should respond to…

Apple has today announced that Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio are coming to Apple Music subscribers beginning June 2021 at no additional cost.

Apple describes Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos as a “revolutionary, immersive audio experience that enables artists to mix music so the sound comes from all around and from above,” with the resulting listening…

Apple has today released iOS 14.5.1, iPadOS 14.5.1, macOS Big Sur 11.3.1, and watchOS 7.4.1.

Apple's release notes for iOS 14.5.1 state that the update fixes an issue with App Tracking Transparency (ATT) where some users who previously disabled Allow Apps to Request to Track in Settings may not receive prompts from apps after re-enabling.

According to the full security notes for the macOS Big Sur 11.3.1 release, it…

Welcome to the April 2021 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which highlights what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of 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

DreamLab (iOS…

After two years of rumour, speculation, and hype, Apple's AirTag has finally arrived; and my early impressions and experience suggest that it might have been worth the wait if you are blind or low vision - most particularly so for those who use an iPhone 11 or iPhone 12.

For those unfamiliar, AirTag is Apple's new Bluetooth tracker announced at its recent “Spring Loaded” event. It's a button…

Computer pioneer Alan Turing’s famous Turing Test quantified a machine’s ability to behave intelligently. In the test, a judge would communicate with a human and computer via a text-based communications medium. The computer would pass the test if the judge couldn’t’’ tell them apart. It sounds like something straight out of Blade Runner, in which Harrison Ford played a detective tracking down rogue androids posing as humans.

The Turing Test has real-world applications. The…

Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.3, watchOS 7.4, and tvOS 14.5; bringing support for AirTag, new features, security enhancements, and bug fixes.

macOS Big Sur 11.3

Our testing suggests that the following issues have been addressed in macOS Big Sur 11.3:

• It is once again possible to trigger and access context menus on Dock items…

Apple has today released iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5; bringing support for AirTag, new features, security and privacy enhancements, and bug fixes.

Bug Fixes for Blind and Low Vision Users

Our testing suggests that the following pre-existing accessibility bugs have been resolved in iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5:

• The “turn pages while…

Today, Apple held its first product launch event of the year: “Spring Loaded”. True to its title, the event was “loaded” with product news and announcements - there's new iPad Pro models, a much-needed update to the iMac, the arrival of Apple's long-rumored AirTag item tracker, an updated Apple TV 4K with a redesigned Siri remote, and much more.

Read on for the highlights of today's product launches and news.

iPad Pro

As widely anticipated, the iPad Pro was the main…

Welcome to the March 2021 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which highlights what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of 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

Blind Drive (…

Apple has today released iOS 14.4.2, iPadOS 14.4.2, iOS 12.5.2 for older devices, and watchOS 7.3.3 with a critical Webkit security fix

As these updates appear to have been released to address a specific issue, our expectation is that they do not contain any accessibility changes for blind and low vision users; however, if you notice any changes, improvements or regressions in your own use of these releases, please post a comment with your findings.

Release Notes

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Apple has today released iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1, macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 , and watchOS 7.3.2.

Though these updates appear to have been primarily released to address a specific security issue, a bug introduced in iOS 14.4, appears to have been resolved. This was the bug concerning connectivity issues for the Mantis Q 40, Chameleon 20, and both the Brailliant BI20S and bi40X models. Both…

Welcome to the February 2021 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which highlights 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

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Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.2.2, introducing safeguards to prevent MacBooks from being damaged by non-compliant USB-C hubs and docks.

As macOS Big Sur 11.2.2 appears to have been released to address a specific issue, our expectation is that it does not contain any accessibility changes for blind and low vision users; however, if you notice any changes, improvements or regressions in your own use of this release, please post a comment with your findings.

macOS…

Apple has today released watchOS 7.3.1 for Apple Watch Series 5 and SE, reportedly to fix an issue that prevented the watch from charging when in Power Reserve mode.

As watchOS 7.3.1 is only available to select models to address a specific issue, our expectation is that it does not contain any accessibility changes for blind and low vision users; however, if you notice any changes, improvements or regressions in your own use of this release, please post a comment with your findings…

Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.2.1, bringing a fix for an issue that prevented some 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models from charging, and reportedly addressing several security vulnerabilities in the operating system.

As macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 appears to have been released to address a small number of specific issues, our expectation is that it does not contain any accessibility…

Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.2; a relatively minor bug fix release that resolves bluetooth issues, brings some M1 Mac fixes, and more.

Our testing suggests that the following VoiceOver issue has been addressed in macOS Big Sur 11.2:

• VoiceOver no-longer crashes when attempting to use Disk Utility in Recovery mode.

The issue which…