Lately, blind people and Apple products have been in the news—but mostly for all the wrong reasons.
Reuters recently published an article on the challenges of mobile app accessibility—and what individual users and organizations are doing about the problem. While the Reuters article was at least somewhat balanced, the overall sense of negativity, and the butchery of a…
Update, 7/15/2014, 12:22 PM CDT: Added a link to the official unveiling and demonstration of the KNFBReader app.
K-NFB Reading Technology has today announced a wealth of information about the upcoming KNFBReader iOS app.
The KNFBReader iPhone app, which is expected to be available to the public in late August for $99, was demonstrated at the 74th annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), a membership organization of blind people in the United States.…
Update, 7/5/2014, 4:02 PM CDT: Members of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) have just passed Resolution 2014-12 at their annual national convention. The resolution calls upon Apple to work with the NFB to develop standards and policies to ensure the accessibility of all iOS apps. The full text of the resolution, as well as our original blog post, is below.
Earlier this week, a resolution was proposed at the National Federation of the Blind…
At the end of each month, members of the AppleVis Editorial Team take a look at all the apps that have been posted to the site during that month—either for the first time, or where there has been a significant update—and decide which of these they think is the most noteworthy.
Over the last couple years, we’ve seen a welcome increase in the number of companies and independent developers making their apps accessible. Hardly a week goes by when we don’t hear about a new app being made…
Alongside today’s release of iOS 7.1.2, Apple has also released OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 to the general public.
According to 9 to 5 Mac, OS X 10.9.4 includes the following improvements:
• Fixes an issue that prevented some Macs from automatically connecting to known Wi-Fi networks • Fixes issue causing the background or Apple logo to appear incorrectly on startup…
Apple has today released iOS 7.1.2, bringing with it bug fixes and security improvements.
According to 9 to 5 Mac, the iOS 7.1.2 update contains the following changes:
• Improves iBeacon connectivity and stability • Fixes a bug with data transfer for some 3rd party accessories, including bar code scanners • Corrects an issue with data protection class…
In June 2009, Apple changed the accessible smartphone market forever with the announcement of the VoiceOver screen reader on the iPhone 3GS. The device was officially released to the public on Friday, June 19, 2009; five years later, I thought it would be fun to take a look at my own early experiences with the iPhone, reflect on how much VoiceOver has changed (hint: more than I realized), and offer some thoughts on—and hopes for—the future.
For those new to how VoiceOver works,…
At the end of each month, members of the AppleVis Editorial Team take a look at all the apps that have been posted to the site during that month - either for the first time or where there has been a significant update - and decide which of these they think is the most noteworthy.
Our pick for May is Blindfold Racer, a new game that was created for the blind and vision-impaired with help from students in…
This blog will cover all the cool new stuff Apple just announced during the Keynote presentation of the 2014 WWDC. I will avoid statistics and other "filler" information, and stick only to the things that, I feel, will be of interest and/or benefit to the AppleVis community of iOS and OS X users. If you missed the action and want to see things as they came in, check out our…
With WWDC coming up on June 2, we are very probably about to find out what iOS8 and OS X 10.10 will contain. AppleVis already has an article about our hopes for iOS 8 and Jonathan Mosen wrote up an iOS8 wish list of his own that is…
The June 2 WWDC keynote—and presumably, the first public showcase and beta of iOS 8—is fast approaching. Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been seeing some iOS 8 “feature lists," for lack of a better term, circulating around the internet. Jonathan Mosen from Mosen Consulting even put together a "Top 10 Accessibility Wish List" for iOS 8, which is definitely worth a read if you have not done so already. (…
Apple is now offering hands-on accessibility training workshops at many of its retail stores.
As originally reported by Access iQ, Apple is now offering workshops for users of its assistive technology software at many Apple Store locations. Accessibility workshops include those for users with vision, hearing, and physical disabilities and cover both iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks.
For blind and…
Apple has just released OS X Mavericks 10.9.3, the third update to the OSX 10.9 Mavericks operating system.
According to the release notes, quoted on Mac Rumors, OS X 10.9.3 contains the following updates:
The Sendero Group, developers of the Seeing Eye GPS app and other accessible GPS products has, in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, just launched a fully-featured turn-by-turn GPS app for users in the United Kingdom.
The app, called RNIB Navigator, was developed in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Sendero’s RNIB Navigator webpage lists the main features…
At the end of each month, members of the AppleVis Editorial Team take a look at all the apps that have been posted to the site during that month—either for the first time, or where there has been a significant update—and decide which of these they think is the most noteworthy.
One of the great things about iOS devices is the wide array of information available at the user’s fingertips. With an iOS device and an RSS reader—such as our #1 app pick of the month—one can stay current…
A few months ago, the community of blind and visually impaired iOS users was thrown into an uproar when Fleksy split their apps into a new, updated version that was not Voiceover friendly, and an older version that was. Hundreds of comments, tweets, emails, and boos were posted, with some saying Fleksy was abandoning the blind community that helped it get off the ground by purchasing its original app, and others urging patience as Fleksy went through a transition and promised to reunite the…
Apple today released iOS 7.1.1, an update that brings bug fixes—including a fix for the Bluetooth keyboard issue many VoiceOver users have experienced.
According to Mac Rumors, iOS 7.1.1 contains Touch ID improvements, a fix for an issue that could impact keyboard performance--and a fix for a Bluetooth keyboard issue when VoiceOver is enabled.
iOS 7.1.1 is available via Over-the-Air update and through…
At the end of each month, members of the AppleVis Editorial Team take a look at all the apps that have been posted to the site during that month—either for the first time, or where there has been a significant update—and decide which of these they think is the most noteworthy.
In early December 2013, a developer reached out via our contact form and told us, “We want to make our app fully accessible to people who are blind.” And that is exactly what his team did.
The AppleVis…
Have you ever thought about making the switch from braille notetaker to iOS device? Are you unsure which one you should choose? Do you have both, and can't decide which one to invest in moving forward? I made the switch from a BrailleNote Apex to an iPhone, quite slowly and mostly by accident, and I'm here to tell you why a notetaker is the only way to go, and why that metal and glass frisbee in your hand is nothing but trouble. Then, I'll explain why you should ditch that…