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It was a Thursday morning, and I was teaching a seminar to first year undergraduate students. I divided the students into three groups, then sent each group into a separate room to spend fifteen minutes discussing the material. Ten minutes later, I was still in the main room. My usual practice was to visit each room in turn, to listen to the students' discussion, answer any questions, and prompt them if everyone was a little too quiet. On this occasion, however, I couldn't find the entrance…

I was sitting in my office. The lease had expired, the air conditioner was broken, and a fly crawled across my arm. I slapped him with the open palm of my hand and sent him out of the game.

Someone knocked at the door.

“It’s open,” I said.

I heard a dog’s claws on my linoleum floor, then a lady in high heels. She smelled pretty as a rose, and her dress swayed like tall grass in a cool summer breeze. The dog led her to a chair. She sat.

“I’m lookin’ for…

Apple has today released iOS 12.5.4 for older devices not compatible with iOS 14, bringing fixes for several security vulnerabilities that could lead to arbitrary code execution if exploited.

As this update appears to have been released to address a small number of specific issues, 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…

Apple has announced the winners of this year's prestigious Apple Design Awards; and it's thrilling that two of these will be familiar to most in our community - Be My Eyes and Voice Dream Reader.

The awards honor excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design. This year, Apple divided the finalists into six different categories:…

Apple today kicked off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with the traditional keynote presentation.

As was the case last year, WWDC 2021 is an all-virtual event, with the keynote consisting of prerecorded video presentations that focused primarily on the next major revisions of Apple's operating systems for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. What we didn't get today, was any hardware news, so those waiting to place an…

Ahead of its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starting next week, Apple has today announced the 36 finalists for this year's Apple Design Awards; and it's great to see that in the running are three apps which will be familiar to most in our community - Be My Eyes, Blind Drive, and Voice Dream Reader.

The awards honor excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design. This year, Apple is…

Welcome to the May 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

AudioRoom -…

We are pleased to announce that our Community has chosen Cash Reader: Bill Identifier and Overcast to be this year's inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame.

First opened in 2011, the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame showcases and acknowledges the passion and hard work that app developers put into creating great iOS apps that are fully accessible to VoiceOver users. These apps place powerful tools into the palms of our hands, and give access to services, information, media or…

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.

…

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…