Apple Releases iOS 11.1; Bringing a Number of Fixes & Enhancements for Blind
& Low vision users
Apple has today released iOS 11.1, which brings a number of fixes;
enhancements; & changes for blind & low vision users.
Fixes
* The VoiceOver Rotor once again consistently defaults to the
Actions Menu when on an element that has Actions available.
* You can once again use the Actions Menu to delete conversations
from the Messages app.
* Navigating & reading of PDF files is much improved.
* Alternative characters on the onscreen keyboard can once again be
accessed when using VoiceOver with Touch Typing mode.
* Using the Actions Menu in the App Switcher to close the last used
app should no longer cause your device to crash/respring.
* You can once again use a 1 finger swipe up/down on the "Page x of
3" Control to move between pages on the Lock Screen & Cover Sheet.
* The issue where some Notifications would Include "In 1 Minute"
rather than "Now" When First Announced by VoiceOver has been resolved.
* There appears to be some improvement with braille support for
Grade 2 input, though letters still get missed within translation if you
type quickly.
* The braille cursor now responds more reliably when using Cursor
Routing Buttons on a braille display when editing text.
* The display of notifications on the Lock Screen & Cover Sheet
appears to be more consistent & reliable (specifically in regard to the
ability to access all available notifications, & instances of where
notifications would previously spontaneously disappear from the lists).
* There appears to be some improvement in VoiceOver announcing the
number of notifications that are on the Lock Screen when waking your device,
although this is still not completely consistent or reliable.
Changes & Enhancements
* The VoiceOver Rotor now reverts to the default action in the Mail
app after being used.
* You can now enter Edit Mode on the Home Screen via the Actions
Menu available from Home Screen icons.
* After using an Action from the VoiceOver Rotor, VoiceOver will
often provide feedback in the form of "Performed action x," where x is the
name of the action. In some cases, VoiceOver will follow this by speaking
what would be the action on the element which now has VoiceOver focus. For
now, this behavior is not consistent across the operating system and apps,
so is presumably still a work-in-progress.
* There is a new "Rotor Actions" section in Settings > General >
Accessibility > VoiceOver, from which you can enable or disable the "Edit
apps on Home screen" Action from the VoiceOver Rotor. This is also likely to
be a work-in-progress, with more options to be added over time.
New Bugs
While iOS 11.1 contains many welcome improvements, our testing suggests that
this update also introduces some new bugs for VoiceOver users. However, as
is often the nature of iOS bugs, our experience suggests that these issues
may not be encountered by everybody.
* The new items badge on app icons may not be spoken by VoiceOver
(in our experience, the Mail and Messages apps have been most prone to this
behavior, but it has also been encountered with some other apps).
* The movement of VoiceOver focus through emails that include HTML
lists can be inconsistent and unreliable; in some cases, VoiceOver may crash
repeatedly while focus is in the content.
* After opening the App Switcher, the initial position of VoiceOver
focus may not always be on the last-used app.
* After using the VoiceOver Actions menu to close an app in the App
Switcher, there appears to be no consistent pattern in regard to what the
Action will be set to when VoiceOver focus switches to the next app in the
App Switcher.
As we always stress, we are only a small team, so it is simply impossible
for us to test all devices, configurations, applications, and use cases. It
is possible, therefore, that there are additional fixes, changes or
regressions in iOS 11.1 that we are currently unaware of. We will update
this post if we learn of anything else. If you are already running an
earlier release of iOS 11, the fixes and enhancements in 11.1 should make
the decision of whether to update an easy one.
If you are not a braille user and had previously decided to delay updating
to iOS 11, you might now want to revisit that decision.
If you are a braille user who has not yet updated to iOS 11, our
recommendation would depend upon how fast you typically input text when
using a braille display. If this is 30 words per minute or less, then the
braille input performance under iOS 11.1 may be acceptable. However, if you
type faster than this, you may still want to delay updating for the time
being.
iOS 11.1 is available via Over-the-Air Update (Settings > General > Software
Update) or via iTunes on a Mac or PC.
Apple Releases Software Updates for the Mac, Apple Watch & Apple TV
Along with the release of iOS 11.1
<https://www.applevis.com/blog/apple-ios-news/apple-releases-ios-111-bringin
g-number-fixes-and-enhancements-blind-and-low> , today has also seen the
releases of macOS High Sierra 10.13.1, watchOS 4.1 & tvOS 11.1.
According to the macOS 10.13.1 release notes via 9to5mac
<https://9to5mac.com/2017/10/31/macos-10-13-1/> , this update brings new
emoji characters & the following changes:
* Fixes a bug where Bluetooth may be unavailable during Apple Pay
transactions
* Improves the reliability of Microsoft Exchange message sync in
Mail
* Fixes an issue where Spotlight may not accept keyboard input
Our testing of macOS 10.13.1 suggests that there are no
accessibility-related changes, regressions or improvements.
However, as we always stress, it is impossible for us to test all
applications and use cases. Therefore, it is entirely possible that we have
overlooked some changes, regressions or improvements.
According to MacRumors
<https://www.macrumors.com/2017/10/31/apple-releases-watchos-4-1/> , the
watchOS 4.1 update introduces:
support for streaming Apple Music content directly to LTE-equipped Apple
Watch Series 3 models, allowing Apple Watch owners to listen to Apple Music
even when an iPhone isn't nearby. A new Radio app that offers access to
Beats 1 and other Apple Music radio stations is also included.
Apple has also released iTunes 12.7.1 which includes 'minor app and
performance improvements.
How to Update
macOS 10.13.1 is available via the updates tab in the Mac App Store.
watchOS 4.1 is available by going to the Watch app on your iPhone and
navigating to General> Software Update. To install the update, your Watch
must be connected to its charger and have at least 50% battery power.
To install tvOS 11.1, go to the Settings channel then look for the System
section near the bottom. From here, look for Software Updates under
Maintenance, then select Update Software and Download & Install.
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