by Daniel Parker, RDPFS Contributor:
Apple released its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, MacOS Sequoia, and companion operating systems on September 16, 2024. Previous articles in this Bulletin covered the new Apple Intelligence as well as several accessibility improvements for blind users. However, other enhancements had not been mentioned before, particularly for users with low vision, as reported in this summary by Scott Davert on AppleVis. Of note, the Magnifier app has a new feature called Reader Mode, which converts scanned images to text. This works by first taking a picture of the desired text, which is then displayed in a larger font. Users can also have it spoken aloud by going to Text Formatter and selecting “Listen.” For those with an “Action” button on their device, Magnifier’s Detect Mode, used to detect objects in the vicinity, can be started automatically by pressing this button. A separate enhancement, Hover Typing, displays larger letters when typing with the keyboard. It is enabled by going to Settings and selecting “Accessibility” and then “Keyboards and Typing” and “Hover Typing.” A major change is the ability to dim flashing lights automatically in visual media for those sensitive to these stimuli. This is turned on in Settings by selecting “Accessibility” and then “Motion,” then toggling “Dim Flashing Lights” to the on mode. Similarly, the blinking cursor can be turned off in Motion under Prefer Non-Blinking Cursor. Also relevant for all users with vision loss is AppleVis’ list of iOS 18 accessibility bugs and Fixes. The list classifies bugs as serious, moderate, or minor. Notably, there are no bugs in iOS 18 which AppleVis considers serious. “Moderate” bugs include issues with new audio-ducking settings in VoiceOver, new Control Center features, and button labeling in the redesigned Photos app, among others. More information can be found in the links above, as well as an article on MacOS Sequoia accessibility.
