New iOS Accessibility Features

Apple is pre-announcing features again as we head toward WWDC. This time it is several new accessibility features:

Assistive Access

This feature addresses users with cognitive disabilities, combining and simplifying the communication features into a single app and adding other features, like an emoji-only keyboard.

Personal Voice and Live Speech

This feature is for people suffering from disabilities that impact their ability to speak. (They specifically call out ALS.) With Personal Voice you can train your iPhone to generate a voice that sounds like yours. There are a bunch of security implications for this, but Apple has the bases covered.

Magnifier App

This is getting several improvements, making it easier to interact with text labels and allowing the phone to announce text on each button.

Voice Control

There are better guides to help you set it up, and now the inclusion of phonetic suggestions for similar-sounding words.

Over the years, I’ve heard from many readers/listeners with disabilities praising their Apple devices. I think this is one of those things Apple always prioritizes. A few years ago, a shareholder suggested Apple could get a better return on investment by backing off accessibility features. His response: “When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind, I don’t consider the bloody ROI.”

As we head into WWDC and it increasingly looks like Apple will announce the new headset, expect them to be clearing the decks with more announcements like this.

Text Navigation with the Keyboard (MacSparky Labs)

You really don’t need your mouse when working with text. The trick is to just get a few, simple keyboard shortcuts under your fingers. Here’s how…This is a post for MacSparky Labs Level 3 (Early Access) Members only. <a href=”https://www.macsparky.com/join/”>Care to join?</a> Or perhaps <a href=”https://www.macsparky.com/?memberful_endpoint=auth”>do you need to sign in?</a>

The Dell 6K Monitor

Dell first promised this monitor (dubbed the Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor (U3224KB)) at CES. Now we’re getting more details with a promised release in the first half of this year. Priced at $3,199 ($2,559 at launch), it comes in at about half the price of Apple’s Pro Display XDR (with the stand). The tradeoffs are:

  • Color quality: This is not the same reference spec as the XDR.
  • Build quality: The XDR is a beast.
  • Beauty: To me, the big lens on top of the Dell is ugly. (This is admittedly subjective.)

In addition to the price difference, you also get a built-in webcam and speakers. And that price difference is significant. Compared to the Pro Display XDR, you’ll have enough money to buy a well-specced Mac to go along with it. It is worth considering if you are looking for a 6K monitor (I LOVE mine). Ars Technica digs it.

Mac Power Users 692: State of the Platforms (Spring 2023)

With WWDC just three weeks away, Stephen and I are using this episode of Mac Power Users to take a look at Apple’s various platforms and take stock of where things are in the spring of 2023.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

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Raycast Pro

This week popular extensible app launcher and the new kid on the block, Raycast, released its pro version. Historically the application has been free for individual users, with a paid version for teams. That’s now changed. For $8/month (paid annually), you get a Pro version that includes all of the features you get historically with the free version, along with their AI text generation engine, cloud sync, custom themes, an unlimited clipboard, and a promise for new features in the future.

The price feels steep for that feature set. That said, there are a lot of people who love Raycast. Paying for the tool helps guarantee its future existence and evolution. 

I don’t feel like I’ve given it a fair chance. I’ve tried it several times, but I keep returning to my beloved Alfred. So I’ve decided to experiment and signed up for a few months of the Raycast Pro. I’ll be kicking the tires and reporting back. Stay tuned.