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Apple Developing New Accessibility Features for iOS 18 and macOS 15
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I know what you mean. Swipe up is the same thing but without an actual button to press a lot of people seem to have trouble.
Personally I wouldn't mind a button sometimes, the bezels don't have to be that big anymore. And TouchID wouldn't hurt.
This stuff and whatever else Apple is working on will probably get revealed in a press release for global accessibility awareness day like they have done the past few years.
I do wish Apple would engage more with their disabled users to better understand what they need. To me at least, it seems like within the blind and visually impaired community, there is a growing consensus that Apple's accessibility is slipping. People are generally not recommending a mac to a blind person because VoiceOver is sluggish even on AS Macs. VoiceOver frequently locks up using Safari, and says that Safari isn't responding--the equivalent of the spinning beach ball--yet it doesn't happen with VO turned off. I don't have a Mac anymore, but that's just one thing I read frequent complaints about.
Yes, people file bug reports about issues like this, sometimes quite a few times. But people feel they are not being acting upon.
I use VoiceOver all day every day on my iPhone and am greatful for it. But count me in the group of people that thinks that for once, Apple shouldn't put in any more fancy emojis and stuff with stickers and just focus more on fixing all the bugs.
I do wish Apple would engage more with their disabled users to better understand what they need. To me at least, it seems like within the blind and visually impaired community, there is a growing consensus that Apple's accessibility is slipping. People are generally not recommending a mac to a blind person because VoiceOver is sluggish even on AS Macs. VoiceOver frequently locks up using Safari, and says that Safari isn't responding--the equivalent of the spinning beach ball--yet it doesn't happen with VO turned off. I don't have a Mac anymore, but that's just one thing I read frequent complaints about.
Yes, people file bug reports about issues like this, sometimes quite a few times. But people feel they are not being acting upon.
I use VoiceOver all day every day on my iPhone and am greatful for it. But count me in the group of people that thinks that for once, Apple shouldn't put in any more fancy emojis and stuff with stickers and just focus more on fixing all the bugs.
Hmmm weird no mention of Live Caption? That’s not coming out of beta? Or maybe they plan for it to leave beta before then(I hope).
I rent a room in a house with an 80 year old man and a 77 year old woman, who are married and own the house. Both have recently switched from two Plus phones with Home buttons.
They are constantly asking me for help and we somehow arrive at the best solution, but I, at 64, cannot remember the inane gestures. I'm sure if I had one of the phones, I would figure it out but it's ridiculous for me that they need so many !@#$ gestures to replace one button.
None of the companies tend to test with anyone outside their doors or anyone unfamiliar with the software in question.
I'm not sure why anyone creating a map wouldn't have the name available in a legible size, especially when you're zooming into the area to see better. I believe that the maps in Japanese are easier to read than those with Roman characters.
Do you know about the bottom swipe down to bring the upper portion of the UI down a bit?
Is that all? That's what Tim Apple calls "incredible breakthrough"??
No wonder why their stock is tanking every day while Nasdaq and S&P500 hit all time high.
No wonder why their stock is tanking every day while Nasdaq and S&P500 hit all time high.
That was a placeholder patch put in the iPhone 6 until they came up with a better idea. They never bothered to update it.
Some people have small thumbs. Some people only have one arm. Children have naturally small hands. Older people have arthritis and cannot do the finger-fu big phones require and nobody makes small ones. I would put money on a high percentage of broken displays being caused by trying to reach uncomfortably high on a display and losing grip. In other words it is a huge invisible problem few people are aware of because they've not been made so.
iOS (and Android) need an ergonomic facelift to allow for at least 80% functionality useable with one hand with all interactions in the bottom third of the display. I have studied and worked in design for 20 years; its a big issue but don't just take my word for it.
As with most mobile OS innovations we have to look back to the Palm Pre for inspiration.
Apple and Google could make better use of the unused space in the multitasking view by having notifications stacking at the bottom of the display under the windows (like on the iOS lockscreen) and moving control center to the RH-side of the top-most app. From the lockscreen it would replace the swipe-left camera gesture to summon because there is already a button for that and repeat interactions on the same screen is a redundancy that can be eliminated.
I don’t use it, but isn’t there a virtual home button somewhere in settings? If you put that on their device, can your relatives press that button in the same manner as they were pressing the home button that is soon to be a thing of the past? Sometimes I think Apple designs with only the younger, buying public in mind. I guess that’s understandable, especially when I hear all the tech enthusiasts say things like how old the large bezels look, but ease of usability is very important too.
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Wouldn't a simple flip phone be a much better option? Why not give her a tablet (I assume she needs a phone to play games, at least that's what my elderly family members do) and a flip phone?
Buttons for older folk can be a mixed blessing, particularly if they suffer from perseveration.
Anyway the things I'd like to see:
Anyway the things I'd like to see:
- The option for maps to enlarge labels when zooming in.
- For those of us who are dyslexic, a decent spellchecker that doesn't use a 1980's-vintage algorithm that checks only one word at at time, so that the spellchecker can recognise that 'tot he' is probably 'to the'.
- A profanity detector linked to AI using reinforcement (or in this case, punishment) learning so that the damned devices do not keep repeating actions the users don't want. Call it the FU Agent.
Agreed with the posters here for some sort of senior mode and retaining a physical button. I didn't think there was a need for those things until my 81 year old father in law needed a phone when he moved to a nursing home. He has my old iPhone 8, and it's not good. He constantly struggles with it, even though I put giant shortcut buttons on his home screen to call the 4-5 numbers he ever calls. It's very difficult. It would be a LOT worse without the physical home button.
You are not missing much. Though I really like the feature, comparatively few apps support it. Even some of Apple’s, native apps. I really wish they would let settings support it.
