iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 Accessibility: A Summary of VoiceOver and braille
issues and improvements
Apple will publicly release iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 on Monday, September 16,
2024. This post contains a summary of new bugs impacting VoiceOver and
braille
support that we have identified during testing of these releases. We have
also included details on preexisting bugs that our testing suggests have
been
fixed in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18.
As is our routine practice, each newly identified bug has been given a
severity rating. These ratings are based upon what we believe to be the
implications
for accessing and using features and functionality for the average user; the
level of impact on the overall user experience; and whether or not there is
an effective workaround for the issue. However, as these ratings are
subjective, it is very possible that they may not reflect your own opinion
or use
case.
With our small team, it is impossible to test every device, configuration,
app, and use case. We do not claim that our bug list is definitive or that
our
assessments are infallible. Some issues may manifest only under specific
conditions. You likely will not experience every bug that we list, and you
likely
will not agree with every severity rating for the bugs on our list that you
do experience. And as is the nature with all software, it is also likely
that
you will encounter issues that we did not experience during our own testing.
We strongly recommend reading this full post and replies before updating to
iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. This will help you make an informed decision on
whether
to install iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 when they become available or to wait for a
future release.
To ensure the information here is as complete and accurate as possible, we
would appreciate input from those who have installed iOS 18 or iPadOS 18.
Please
confirm if you are encountering the same problems listed or if you have
found workarounds. Please also let us know about any additional issues not
mentioned
here. Of course, it is even more important that you report any new bugs
directly to Apple - they are already aware of the ones listed here.
For an explanation of why and how to report bugs to Apple, see this post.
With all of the preamble out of the way, here are the new bugs for VoiceOver
and braille users which we believe to be present in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18:
Serious Bugs
At the time of publication, we have not independently identified any bugs in
iOS 18 that we would classify as 'serious'. We encourage readers to review
all replies to this post, in the event that community experiences differ
from our own. We will also be reviewing and replicating bug reports shared
on
the AppleVis website in the coming days and will update this section
accordingly if any serious bugs are identified.
Moderate Bugs
list of 6 items
• When using the new 'When Speaking' Audio Ducking option in iOS 18,
VoiceOver volume can change randomly.
The other Audio Ducking options ('Off' and 'Always') work as expected.
• When rearranging items in the Control Center (a feature new in iOS 18)
using the VoiceOver rotor, the "Drop" actions do nothing when selected, with
controls
remaining in their original locations despite VoiceOver reporting "drop
complete."
To move a control, once in Edit Mode, double-tap and hold on the control;
then move it to where you want it to be.
• When encountering a precipitation chart in the Weather app, there is a
delay between swiping left or right and hearing VoiceOver speak the contents
of
the focused element.
In some cases, after swiping several times, VoiceOver focus may move to the
"Show map" button near the bottom of the screen. To get past the
precipitation
chart, set the VoiceOver Rotor to 'Containers' and swipe down to another
container, such as hourly forecast.
• There are multiple issues with button labeling in the redesigned iOS 18
Photos app.
• When reviewing notifications on the Lock Screen, VoiceOver always speaks
"Collapsed Stack" even when there is only a single notification.
• When focused on a contact or phone number in the 'Recent' tab of the Phone
app, selecting the 'Call' option in the VoiceOver Rotor has no effect.
We recommend that users utilize the 'Activate' Rotor option, as 'Call' is
the default action.
list end
Minor Bugs
Other Issues
list of 1 items
• While we are unsure if this is specifically related to the use of
VoiceOver, one of our team reports that sounds do not play consistently when
a notification
is received. A Feedback report has been submitted regarding this issue. Even
if the issue is unrelated to VoiceOver, we mention it here as sounds play
a critical role in the user experience for many blind or visually impaired
users.
list end
VoiceOver and Braille Improvements in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18
Our testing suggests that the following pre-existing accessibility bugs have
been resolved or significantly addressed in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17:
In Closing
Our team has compiled lists of new accessibility bugs for every major iOS
and iPadOS release since iOS 7. No software is completely free of bugs. With
this in mind, when compared to major releases in recent years, we believe
that iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 have introduced fewer issues for VoiceOver and
braille
users overall.
If you have not already upgraded to iOS 18 or iPadOS 18, we would strongly
recommend that you take a few moments to read through any replies to this
post
before doing so in case other users' experiences differ from our own. Also
consider that historically, Apple has delivered fixes for many accessibility
bugs within the first few x.x.1 updates following major releases. Our
testing suggests that upgrading to iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 appears low risk for
most
use cases, but waiting briefly may allow Apple to resolve initial problems
reported after the public release.
In the event that you do encounter an issue that is particularly bothersome,
there are some troubleshooting steps you can take. Sometimes, simply
toggling
VoiceOver off and on again or restarting your device can resolve some issues
that may arise following an OS update. Therefore, we highly recommend
including
these steps as part of your standard troubleshooting process.
If, despite these actions, you continue to encounter new problems that
haven't been reported by others, it might be worth considering
a reset of your device's OS settings to their original defaults.
While this approach requires manually restoring your customized settings,
including those related to accessibility, it's worth noting that a reset has
proven effective for numerous individuals in resolving various issues. This
suggests that occasionally, problems can be attributed to local factors
rather
than being OS bugs. If you choose to perform a reset and find that it
doesn't address the problems, you have the option to restore your device
from an
iCloud backup, eliminating the need for manual reconfiguration of your
settings."
When commenting below, please keep the discussion focused on accessibility
issues specifically introduced or fixed in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. Our release
posts tend to be widely-read and garner many helpful responses, so it is all
the more important that readers can easily find relevant details.
Also, please remember that upgrade decisions are personal with each user's
situation unique - there is no right or wrong choice. Comments criticizing
others'
decisions are not constructive and do nothing to add to the discussion; but
they do set a negative tone and get in the way of readers finding helpful
information.
Furthermore, not experiencing an issue yourself does not mean that it
doesn't exist for others, as bugs can be configuration-specific. Stating an
issue
doesn't exist simply because you haven't encountered it is unhelpful. Our
aim with these posts is to provide a forum for respectful, constructive, and
honest sharing of experiences to inform decisions and empower people.
In closing, we would like to commend Apple's Accessibility team for their
prompt response in fixing many of the bugs reported during the iOS 18 and
iPadOS
18 beta period. Their dedication to addressing the issues raised by our
community during the beta cycle shows that Apple continues to prioritize
accessibility.
However, some problems remain unresolved. We encourage Apple to promptly
address the outstanding accessibility issues discussed in this post and the
comments
below so that iOS and iPadOS can be as accessible, usable, and enjoyable as
possible for all users.
https://applevis.com/blog/ios-18-ipados-18-accessibility-summary-voiceover-b
raille-issues-improvements
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