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Welcome to the January 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 watchOS 7.3 and tvOS 14.4 to the public.

For low vision users, watchOs 7.3 brings a fix for an issue where Control Center and Notification Center may be unresponsive when Zoom is enabled.

At the time of posting, we are unaware of any additional fixes or changes for blind and low vision users in these releases. Likewise, we are unaware of any new bugs. If you discover any fixes, changes or regressions in your own use of the software, please let us know…

UPDATE: American Printing House for the Blind (APH) has issued a warning that there are connection issues for the Mantis and Chameleon braille displays after upgrading to iOS 14.4; and recommend that you turn off automatic updates and do not upgrade until a resolution has been found:

The basic issue is that once you upgrade to 14.4, as soon as you lock your iPad or iPhone with the…

In an annual meeting of shareholders notice and proxy statement filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Apple says that beginning in 2021 a new “environmental, social, and governance modifier” will be used to increase or decrease bonus payouts to its executives by up to 10% based on an evaluation of their’ performance with respect to the company's six core values:…

Welcome to the December 2020 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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Much as I love VoiceOver and everything it has done for me, at times, it doesn't quite behave as I'd like it to. Those are the times when I think VoiceOver should be put on Santa's naughty list. Sometimes, it gets distracted, like the time when I was editing a document in pages on my iPad, and VoiceOver kept getting excited about the page thumbnails. Yes, VoiceOver, I'm aware that page thumbnails exist, and I'm sure they're the most awesomely amazing thing ever, but can we please stop…

Apple has today released macOS Big Sur 11.1, watchOS 7.2, and tvOS 14.3; bringing support for Apple Fitness+ and AirPods Max, new features, security enhancements, and bug fixes.

macOS Big Sur 11.1

Our testing suggests that the following issue has been addressed in macOS Big Sur 11.1:

• VoiceOver now correctly speaks the contents of folders when…

Apple has today released iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3; bringing support for Apple Fitness+ and AirPods Max, new features, security enhancements, and bug fixes.

Bug Fixes

Our testing suggests that the following pre-existing accessibility bugs have been resolved in iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3:

• When creating a new list in the Reminders app, the text field for the list title is once again…

We are pleased to announce that the winners of the ninth annual AppleVis Golden Apple Awards are Weather Gods and Untold RPG.

Since their launch in 2012, the AppleVis Golden Apple Awards have afforded blind and low vision users of Apple products an 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…

Ending months of speculation, Apple today announced the release of its US$549 AirPods Max high-end, over-ear wireless headphones offering Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and spatial audio. AirPods Max come in five colors, and are available to order starting today, with availability beginning Tuesday, December 15.

AirPods Max…

We are pleased to announce that voting for the AppleVis Golden Apple Awards of 2020 is now open.

First launched in 2012, the AppleVis Golden Apples is an opportunity for blind and low vision users of Apple products to recognize and acknowledge the hard work and dedication which developers have put into making and maintaining great and accessible applications over the last twelve months.

Past winners of a Golden Apple include…

Apple marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December by launching a major redesign of the Accessibility portal on its website, released additional resources for users of the accessibility features of its products, and took part in a virtual interview at the Sight Tech Global conference.

Apple's Accessibility portal showcases the range of accessibility features available on devices such as the iPhone, Mac, and…

Welcome to the November 2020 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

A…

I found a cure for the pandemic lockdown blues. Online shopping. I started clicking the buy button back in early November, bogging down Safari with megabytes of product page HTTP cookies. But after buying gifts for my spouse and grandson, I found it difficult to stop.

I felt a sudden urge to buy the iPhone SE 2020. I mean, that iPhone XR stretching the lining of my pocket just seemed so heavy. And how could I sleep at night knowing I could never upgrade my 2012 MacBook Pro to Big Sur…

For years, my early childhood only included me and my younger sister. We lived with our parents near Lake Michigan in a small Indiana town. We enjoyed the temperate summers and were buried in snow each winter. It was an idyllic time, nary a care, just us two little kids being adorable.

In the second half of 1958, life morphed in a new direction. My Mom began to expand. She had always been tall, slim and athletic, but now she waddled about with what appeared to be a watermelon hidden…

In 2020, Apple has given consumers the widest ever selection of iPhones to choose from. From the 2nd generation iPhone SE with its legacy home button design and a 4.7 inch screen, to the four new iPhone 12 models which range from 5.4 inches to a massive 6.7 inches, there really should be something in the line up to suit everyone’s preferences.

Why the 12 mini?

I won’t recap all of the ins and outs of the various options here, but I will say that from the earliest rumours…

Apple has today released iOS 14.2.1 to resolve a small number of notable issues specific to the iPhone 12.

Here are the release notes for iOS 14.2.1;

• Some MMS messages may not be received
• Made for iPhone hearing devices could have sound quality issues when listening to audio from iPhone
• Lock Screen could become unresponsive on iPhone 12 mini

As iOS 14.2.1 is a limited release for the iPhone 12 only and addresses issues specific to these…

Apple has today released macOS 11 Big Sur to the public. As usual, we won’t cover the mainstream features here, concentrating instead on what's new and changed for blind and low vision users. For an overview of the mainstream changes, we recommend that you read this in-depth review by MacStories.

Please remember to check the section about bugs to see if now is the right time to upgrade. There’s no…

Intro

Today, Apple held what is probably its final live event of the year: "One More Thing". True to its title, this announcement consisted of one thing: the M1, Apple's first custom chip, and the new Macs that will be powered by it.

If you regularly read my summary articles, you'll know that I'm not afraid to editorialize a bit. Well, be ready for more of that than usual. I'll tell you what Apple said, as…

Alongside the release of iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2, Apple has today released watchOS 7.1, tvOS 14.2, macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Supplemental Update, and new 14.2 software for HomePod to the public.

In watchOS 7.1, our testing indicates that Apple has resolved an issue which saw the 2-finger 'Magic Tap' gesture not work to answer a phone call. Now, to answer…