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Before there was an iPod or an iPhone, and even before Microsoft had Windows 95, there was the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. In those early years, I was a regular attendee at the WWDC. I was extremely fortunate to make great connections with many Apple employees and other Macintosh developers. I also established very close ties with the event organizers. Instead of sitting in one of the thousands of tightly packed stackable chairs in the main hall, where I would never see the slide…

Intro

Apple has just concluded its annual September media event. This year's, which it titled "By Innovation Only", gave us new iPhones, the Series 5 Apple Watch, and more details on the company's new Apple Arcade and Apple TV Plus subscription services. Innovation, though, wasn't exactly the word I first thought of when I considered how to sum up the announcements. Don't get me wrong: the new iPhones have some great new features, and it will be interesting to see where the new…

Intro

I've used Apple's original AirPods since the fall of 2017. About two months ago, in June of 2019, I found a good sale and upgraded to the second generation. I knew the sound wouldn't be any different, but I was intrigued by other features. I wanted the Hey Siri support, the reduced latency, the better connection, and the automatic speaking of new messages.

Now I'm here, ready to tackle the big question: is it worth upgrading? To make things a little easier, I'm going…

Welcome to the August 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…

Apple has today released updates to all of its major platforms, iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.

According to Apple's release notes for iOS 12.4.1, via MacRumors, the update contains, "Important security and stability updates" and is believed to fix a recently discovered security vulnerability.

According to Apple's release notes for macOS 10.14.6 Supplemental Update, via…

Don and I met during college Orientation in late July 1972. He was 18 and I was 17. Don was blind and I was heading in that direction. I have retinitis pigmentosa and had already lost my night vision. Don and I saw advantages to becoming roommates. He would teach me essential future blindness skills and, per his request, I would hide his bottle of Southern Comfort.

I started my university career with a serious problem. After the sun set, I could not find my way from my dorm in the…

Welcome to the July 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

Apple has today released macOS Mojave 10.14.6, watchOS 5.3, and tvOS 12.4.

According to Apple's release notes via MacRumors, macOS Mojave 10.14.6 brings some enhancements to Apple News and several bug fixes:

This update:

• Makes downloaded issues available in the My Magazines section of Apple News+, both online and offline
• Adds all publications…

Apple has today released iOS 12.4.

According to Apple's release notes via MacRumors, iOS 12.4 includes enhancements to Apple News and a new iPhone migration option to directly transfer data from an old iPhone to a new iPhone:

iPhone migration

• Introduces the ability to wirelessly transfer data and migrate directly from an old iPhone to a new iPhone during setup…

In late 2017, I got my first iPad, and started using it as a laptop replacement. I'm sure this would've been surprising to my younger self. When Apple launched the iPad, I thought it was pointless. It's a big phone that doesn't make phone calls, I thought. But then, I didn't think I'd ever be able to use a touch screen. Apple can prove me wrong.

So why did I decide to get an iPad? I'd been using Windows for many years, but never liked Windows 10 very much. My Windows laptop was…

Welcome to the June 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

We are pleased to announce that the 2019 inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame, as chosen by the AppleVis community, are Voice Dream Scanner and Microsoft Soundscape.

First opened in 2011, the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is one of the ways in which the AppleVis community seeks to recognize developers who prioritize accessibility and take it to the next level. Apps in the Hall of Fame can be liberating; empowering…

We are pleased to announce that voting for the 2019 inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame is now open.

Now in its eighth year, the AppleVis iOS App 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…

I flick around the screen, double-tapping when I want to select something. As I do so, VoiceOver's speech comes through my Aftershokz headset, which I wear most of the time. That makes me a cyborg, or so I'm told. Nothing is showing on my screen. "Is your phone on?" One of the students on my course at university once asked me, as I called a taxi. "The screen is black." Or as one train manager once remarked, as I was searching for my E-ticket to show him, "…

Apple has today released iOS 12.3.2 to address issues with portrait mode.

According to Apple's release notes via 9to5Mac, “iOS 12.3.2 resolves an issue that could cause Camera to capture Portrait mode photos without depth effect on some iPhone 8 Plus devices.”

At the time of writing it is believed that this update may only be available on the iPhone 8 Plus.

As iOS 12.3.2 did not have a public beta…

Update: since posting this article we have recorded an interview with Sarah Herrlinger, Director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives at Apple; and Dean Hudson, Accessibility Evangelist at Apple, who discussed the enhancements mentioned below and shared a few others which we didn't already know about.

These include:

• The use of machine learning in iOS 13 and iPadOS to help VoiceOver users with unlabelled buttons.
• The ability in iOS 13…

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

WWDC is when the world gets a preview of the software coming out of Cupertino in the Fall. We traditionally see the next iterations of Apple's operating systems for all of its main platforms and maybe a new service or cloud-based offering. This year was no exception: iOS 13, macOS Catalina, watchOS 6, and tvOS 13 were all showcased on stage.

Amongst the…

Welcome to the May 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.

Ahead of next week's WWDC, Apple has quietly released a seventh generation iPod touch featuring an A10 Fusion processor.

The upgrade from the A8 chip found in the previous generation iPod touch will bring support for AR games and Group FaceTime to the new model.

In addition to the upgraded processor, the new iPod touch offers a 256GB model for the first time.

The 2019 iPod touch retains the chassis design dating back to…

Apple has today released iOS 12.3.1 to address issues with voice over LTE calls as well as iMessage filtering and reporting.

According to Apple's release notes via 9to5Mac, iOS 12.3.1 includes the following fixes:

• Fixes an issue that could prevent making or receiving VoLTE…