What follows is a series of Mastodon posts from Pratik Patel. He discusses
not only the announcements from the WWDC keynote but he also documents his
impressions of the first developer beta of iOS 17.
Original Source
Pratik Patel: Once #WWDC23 goes live, I'll have my usual thread of
#accessibility related content here. I used to do this on Twitter. It
involves discussing the announcements as well as testing of features
announced prior to and throughout WWDC. I will welcome questions and
requests for testing. I think I'll like doing this here much more than I
did on Twitter. Oh and this thread will probably go on for months. I'll
post things periodically as updates come.
#WWDC2023, 5 days ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Once #WWDC23 goes live, I'll have my usual thread of
#accessibility related content here. I used to do this on Twitter. It
involves discussing the announcements as well as testing of features
announced prior to and throughout WWDC. I will welcome questions and
requests for testing. I think I'll like doing this here much more than I
did on Twitter. Oh and this thread will probably go on for months. I'll
post things periodically as updates come.
#WWDC2023, 5 days ago, Mastodon
1 of 31
Pratik Patel: Before we go on to discuss #WWDC and Apple #accessibility on
this thread, as is my usual annual practice, here's a reminder that you
should not install beta software on your primary devices. Wait for public
betas or actual releases. They're apt to break major functionality. And,
despite all the latest consternation about Apple not fixing long-standing
bugs, I do encourage you to report them if you install a beta. They do fix
them. The more reports there are, the more info they have.
#WWDC23,
2 of 31
Pratik Patel: Before we go on to discuss #WWDC and Apple
#accessibility on this thread, as is my usual annual practice, here's a
reminder that you should not install beta software on your primary devices.
Wait for public betas or actual releases. They're apt to break major
functionality. And, despite all the latest consternation about Apple not
fixing long-standing bugs, I do encourage you to report them if you install
a beta. They do fix them. The more reports there are, the more info they
have.
#WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: I know you want to try the latest and the greatest.
But you also want to be completely sure that what you need day-to-day will
work on your device. So be absolutely sure that you're not going to need
your phone, or your iPad for important work or something else. You'll here
me talk about possible bugs and behaviors along with testing notes on this
thread. Being a rather technical user, I know how to get out of situations
that I put myself in.
So, Just be careful!
#WWDC #WWDC23 #Accessibility, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: I know you want to try the latest and the greatest. But you
also want to be completely sure that what you need day-to-day will work on
your device. So be absolutely sure that you're not going to need your
phone, or your iPad for important work or something else. You'll here me
talk about possible bugs and behaviors along with testing notes on this
thread. Being a rather technical user, I know how to get out of situations
that I put myself in.
So, Just be careful!
#WWDC #WWDC23 #Accessibil
3 of 31
Pratik Patel: Oh, and don't expect me to live-toot or something like
that. I might occasionally pop-in and say something that interests me about
#WWDC. A lot of #accessibility announcements have been prebaked when Apple
announced all the major changes and features coming to their operating
systems in May. If I see something that will impact accessibility, I'll
note it during the keynote or, if I think of it, after the keynote.
#WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Oh, and don't expect me to live-toot or something like that.
I might occasionally pop-in and say something that interests me about
#WWDC. A lot of #accessibility announcements have been prebaked when Apple
announced all the major changes and features coming to their operating
systems in May. If I see something that will impact accessibility, I'll
note it during the keynote or, if I think of it, after the keynote.
#WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
4 of 31
Pratik Patel: Having flexible gesture based controls could be much
more useful disabled people with motor and/or some physical disabilities.
As game controllers and other devices such as bluetooth keyboards /
pointers will be available, switch controls will also probably work. And
eye based navigation will work quite well.
This, of course, poses some significant concerns for #blind people who will
not be able to interact using eyes. Even authentication will be a challenge.
#WWDC #accessibility #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Having flexible gesture based controls could be much more
useful disabled people with motor and/or some physical disabilities. As
game controllers and other devices such as bluetooth keyboards / pointers
will be available, switch controls will also probably work. And eye based
navigation will work quite well.
This, of course, poses some significant concerns for #blind people who will
not be able to interact using eyes. Even authentication will be a challenge.
#WWDC #accessibility #WWDC23,
5 of 31
Pratik Patel: So. I'm waiting for Apple to answer some of those
questions. For #blind people, performing finger based gestures will most
probably work the same as it does with devices with touch surfaces. Since,
any surface will do, gestures could be performed without having to worry
about the device.
Nothing to say that the #accessibility story for the #VisionPro device
will be as mature as other Apple devices. We'll just have to wait and see.
#WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: So. I'm waiting for Apple to answer some of those questions.
For #blind people, performing finger based gestures will most probably work
the same as it does with devices with touch surfaces. Since, any surface
will do, gestures could be performed without having to worry about the
device.
Nothing to say that the #accessibility story for the #VisionPro device
will be as mature as other Apple devices. We'll just have to wait and see.
#WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
6 of 31
Pratik Patel: A bit of a concern for physical/motor disabilities: We
have to consider the initial step of putting the device on. It may not be
doable independently.
Some of the ergonomic issues also can be either exacerbated or could be
relieved by the interface shown in #VisionPro.
Keep in mind that these are a lot of random thoughts just based on what I
heard in the Apple keynote. There will be a lot of discovery over the week
as we see APIs and discussions.
Stay Tuned.
#accessibility #WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: A bit of a concern for physical/motor disabilities: We have
to consider the initial step of putting the device on. It may not be doable
independently.
Some of the ergonomic issues also can be either exacerbated or could be
relieved by the interface shown in #VisionPro.
Keep in mind that these are a lot of random thoughts just based on what I
heard in the Apple keynote. There will be a lot of discovery over the week
as we see APIs and discussions.
Stay Tuned.
#accessibility #WWDC #WWDC
7 of 31
Pratik Patel: As a blind person, what excites me just by watching
this is the strong possibility of having apps such as Envision, Seeing AI
and others take advantage of this new #VisionPro platform to bring their
apps on it. It's far more powerful than anything that we've seen before. It
erases a lot of challenges with phone cameras.
#WWDC #accessibility #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: As a blind person, what excites me just by watching this is
the strong possibility of having apps such as Envision, Seeing AI and
others take advantage of this new #VisionPro platform to bring their apps
on it. It's far more powerful than anything that we've seen before. It
erases a lot of challenges with phone cameras.
#WWDC #accessibility #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
8 of 31
Pratik Patel: All of this excitement aside, the device is certainly
going to be bloody expenseive. So whether disabled people will be able to
afford this will be another question entirely. The question will be whether
to purchase stand-alone hardware like Envision's glasses or #VisionPro
with the possibility that apps like Aira,, Seeing AI, and others will show
up here. A device that allows for consolidated #accessibility experience or
something that stands alone?
#WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: All of this excitement aside, the device is certainly going
to be bloody expenseive. So whether disabled people will be able to afford
this will be another question entirely. The question will be whether to
purchase stand-alone hardware like Envision's glasses or #VisionPro with
the possibility that apps like Aira,, Seeing AI, and others will show up
here. A device that allows for consolidated #accessibility experience or
something that stands alone?
#WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
9 of 31
Pratik Patel: On the other hand, Apple updating Airpods to make them
more useful for #accessibility purposes is extremely good. Adaptive hearing
based on the environmental sounds will be quite useful for hearing health
as well as quite a few deaf and hard of hearing people. Apple is silently
making Airpods Pro their true hearing show piece.
Note that I'm not sure whether these features will be limited to Airpods
Pro yet. More when I know.
#WWDC WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: On the other hand, Apple updating Airpods to make them more
useful for #accessibility purposes is extremely good. Adaptive hearing
based on the environmental sounds will be quite useful for hearing health
as well as quite a few deaf and hard of hearing people. Apple is silently
making Airpods Pro their true hearing show piece.
Note that I'm not sure whether these features will be limited to Airpods
Pro yet. More when I know.
#WWDC WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
10 of 31
Pratik Patel: Now, let me see if I could take a look at some other
iOS/Mac OS features that could benefit #accessibility.
The live voicemail transcripts for phone calls, which allows you to review
voicemails as they are being recorded are great for everyone. But better
yet, for #accessibility. Transcripts also come to voice messages. Great for
Deaf/HH people.
Better keyboard suggestions through ML--note Apple never said the word #AI,
will enable speedy typing.
#WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Now, let me see if I could take a look at some other iOS/Mac
OS features that could benefit #accessibility.
The live voicemail transcripts for phone calls, which allows you to review
voicemails as they are being recorded are great for everyone. But better
yet, for #accessibility. Transcripts also come to voice messages. Great for
Deaf/HH people.
Better keyboard suggestions through ML--note Apple never said the word #AI,
will enable speedy typing.
#WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
11 of 31
Pratik Patel: I'm choosing to see the new Airdrop features as a major
#accessibility winn in iOS/iPad OS. Lot of the new features are based on
convenience. And they work quite nicely to enhance accessibility.
#WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
12 of 31
Pratik Patel: This is something new. I'd never expected Eloquence on iOS 17
to have a lisp. Lol.
#accessibility #WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
13 of 31
Pratik Patel: I see a lot of people ignored my earlier warning about not
downloading Developer betas for iOS, iPadOS, Mac OS on their primary
devices. I swear I might mute you if you complain too much. *Sigh!*
#WWDC #WWDC23, 1 day ago, Mastodon
14 of 31
Pratik Patel: Either Downloading Siri voices takes a long time on iOS
devices or the functionality is broken in iOS 17 Dev beta 1. Trying to test
Siri Voices for Voiceover since the neural voices are supposed to be
available rather than natural voices.
#accessibility, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Either Downloading Siri voices takes a long time on iOS
devices or the functionality is broken in iOS 17 Dev beta 1. Trying to test
Siri Voices for Voiceover since the neural voices are supposed to be
available rather than natural voices.
#accessibility, 1 day ago, Mastodon
15 of 31
Pratik Patel: 7 #accessibility developer sessions at #WWDC this
week. Woe. Seems like we will find out a little about #VisionOS's
accessibility since there is a session that will show developers about how
to build accessible experiences. This answers some of the questions. We
will have access to that new platform. since iOS and iPadOS frameworks are
built-in, I was pretty sure.
Sessions will also sshow devs how to adapt the new Assistive framework and
more., 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: 7 #accessibility developer sessions at #WWDC this week. Woe.
Seems like we will find out a little about #VisionOS's accessibility since
there is a session that will show developers about how to build accessible
experiences. This answers some of the questions. We will have access to
that new platform. since iOS and iPadOS frameworks are built-in, I was
pretty sure.
Sessions will also sshow devs how to adapt the new Assistive framework and
more., 1 day ago, Mastodon
16 of 31
Pratik Patel: Lots of little buggies to file. Guess what I'll be doing
while my body refuses to get sleep?
#accessibility #WWDC, 1 day ago, Mastodon
17 of 31
Pratik Patel: Before I go do some other things like take a break,
I'll end on a positive note for tonight. So far, I haven't seen the Braille
panning bug that was in iOS 16.5 I also haven't had an eloquence crash,
though it's pretty early for that.
I fully intend to test Braille. So let me know if there's something
specific you want me to test, not only Braille but other things as well.
#accessibility #WWDC, 1 day ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Before I go do some other things like take a break, I'll end
on a positive note for tonight. So far, I haven't seen the Braille panning
bug that was in iOS 16.5 I also haven't had an eloquence crash, though it's
pretty early for that.
I fully intend to test Braille. So let me know if there's something
specific you want me to test, not only Braille but other things as well.
#accessibility #WWDC, 1 day ago, Mastodon
18 of 31
Pratik Patel: Couple of notes on iOS 17 and speech:
The lisp that Eloquence is displaying is related to the higher sampling
rate that's now configurable through voice settings. I believe I have it
set properly to let me listen comfortably.
For Eloq, each voice can be configured settings such as pitch, pitch
offset, head size, etc.
#accessibility #WWDC23 #WWDC, 17 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Couple of notes on iOS 17 and speech:
The lisp that Eloquence is displaying is related to the higher sampling
rate that's now configurable through voice settings. I believe I have it
set properly to let me listen comfortably.
For Eloq, each voice can be configured settings such as pitch, pitch
offset, head size, etc.
#accessibility #WWDC23 #WWDC, 17 hours ago, Mastodon
19 of 31
Pratik Patel: Eloquence's dictionary issue still exists. Navada
Access will continue to be a thing for now. Let's see if we can change
this. These settings also exist for Eloq on the Mac.
Settings are also available for Vocalizer voices. The voice must be active
or in language rotor to configure. These settings are related to things
such as pauses.
#accessibility #WWDC #WWDC23, 17 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Eloquence's dictionary issue still exists. Navada Access will
continue to be a thing for now. Let's see if we can change this. These
settings also exist for Eloq on the Mac.
Settings are also available for Vocalizer voices. The voice must be active
or in language rotor to configure. These settings are related to things
such as pauses.
#accessibility #WWDC #WWDC23, 17 hours ago, Mastodon
20 of 31
Pratik Patel: The instability I'd reported for Siri voices was
nothing more than growing pains for the initial dev beta release. Some
people might have seen the original Siri voices that were incredibly large,
over 350 MB in size. After a little while, the new Siri voices showed up
for download. As far as I can tell, these are all under 70 MB in size. They
are quite responsive. I've tested the American ones for now.
I'll create audio demos later in the day.
#accessibility #WWDC, 17 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: The instability I'd reported for Siri voices was nothing more
than growing pains for the initial dev beta release. Some people might have
seen the original Siri voices that were incredibly large, over 350 MB in
size. After a little while, the new Siri voices showed up for download. As
far as I can tell, these are all under 70 MB in size. They are quite
responsive. I've tested the American ones for now.
I'll create audio demos later in the day.
#accessibility #WWDC, 17 hours ago, Mastodon
21 of 31
Pratik Patel: As I suspected, Voiceover will be on the #VisionPro device
and we'll be able to use the finger as a pointer rather than eyes. Now we
just need to know how authentication will work.
Speaking of authentication and signing into devices, one of the features
that Apple didn't discuss for iOS/iPad OS was the ability to signin to a
new device if you have nearby devices already signed in.
#accessibility #WWDC, 16 hours ago, Mastodon
22 of 31
Pratik Patel: As I suspected, Voiceover will be on the #VisionPro
device and we'll be able to use the finger as a pointer rather than eyes.
Now we just need to know how authentication will work.
Speaking of authentication and signing into devices, one of the features
that Apple didn't discuss for iOS/iPad OS was the ability to signin to a
new device if you have nearby devices already signed in.
#accessibility #WWDC, 16 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: I'll be eager to watch tthe #WWDC session that
discusses the ability for developers to conduct accessibility audits in
their own apps. It's one of the 7 #accessibility sessions.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xctest/xcuiapplication/4191487-performaccessibilityaudit,
16 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: I'll be eager to watch tthe #WWDC session that discusses the
ability for developers to conduct accessibility audits in their own apps.
It's one of the 7 #accessibility sessions.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xctest/xcuiapplication/4191487-performaccessibilityaudit,
16 hours ago, Mastodon
23 of 31
Pratik Patel: The full #accessibility story for the #VisionOS and
the #VisionPro initial device is far more impressive than I'd imagined.
Then again I shouldn't be surprised. Even if Apple has a checkered past
about maintaining some of the features properly as they should, they do
have an ethos of making products fully accessible from the start. The list
of accessibility features supported out of the box on these new devices is
in the next post, which I gathered from the State of the Union.
#WWDC #WWDC23, 13 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: The full #accessibility story for the #VisionOS and the
#VisionPro initial device is far more impressive than I'd imagined. Then
again I shouldn't be surprised. Even if Apple has a checkered past about
maintaining some of the features properly as they should, they do have an
ethos of making products fully accessible from the start. The list of
accessibility features supported out of the box on these new devices is in
the next post, which I gathered from the State of the Union.
#WWDC #WWDC23
24 of 31
Pratik Patel: Full list of #accessibility.
VoiceOver
Braille
Audio Descriptions
Support Per-App Settings
Zoom
Dynamic Type
Reduce Transparency
Reduce White Point
Color Filters
Bold Text
Voice Control
Spoken Content
Background Sounds
Pointer Control
Dwell Control
Button Shapes
Accessibility Shortcut
AssistiveTouch
MFi Hearing Devices
Subtitles and Closed Captions
Switch Control
Full Keyboard Access
Image Descriptions
Guided Access
Reduce Motion
Left/Right Balance
Mono Audio
#WWDC #WWD
25 of 31
Pratik Patel: Full list of #accessibility.
VoiceOver
Braille
Audio Descriptions
Support Per-App Settings
Zoom
Dynamic Type
Reduce Transparency
Reduce White Point
Color Filters
Bold Text
Voice Control
Spoken Content
Background Sounds
Pointer Control
Dwell Control
Button Shapes
Accessibility Shortcut
AssistiveTouch
MFi Hearing Devices
Subtitles and Closed Captions
Switch Control
Full Keyboard Access
Image Descriptions
Guided Access
Reduce Motion
Left/Right Balance
Mono Audio
#WWDC #WWDC23, 13 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Looking through a couple of interesting API additions
from #WWDC related to #accessibility.
If your app has a custom video player--I'm looking at you the app formerly
known as HBO Max, you can automatically detect flashing lights and dim them.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mediaaccessibility/maflashinglightsprocessor?changes=latest_minor
#WWDC23, 12 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Looking through a couple of interesting API additions from
#WWDC related to #accessibility.
If your app has a custom video player--I'm looking at you the app formerly
known as HBO Max, you can automatically detect flashing lights and dim them.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mediaaccessibility/maflashinglightsprocessor?changes=latest_minor
#WWDC23, 12 hours ago, Mastodon
26 of 31
Pratik Patel: The more I use iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, the more I suspect
that the automatic image descriptions feature has gotten an upgrade. I'm
getting better descriptions than I was in iOS 16. I don't think it's my
imagination. Could others confirm this? I'll have to set up scenarios
where I get descriptions from the same source with both OS'. I think this
could be fun or tedius. For now, I'll take it as fun.
#accessibility #WWDC #WWDC23, 9 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: The more I use iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, the more I suspect that
the automatic image descriptions feature has gotten an upgrade. I'm getting
better descriptions than I was in iOS 16. I don't think it's my
imagination. Could others confirm this? I'll have to set up scenarios
where I get descriptions from the same source with both OS'. I think this
could be fun or tedius. For now, I'll take it as fun.
#accessibility #WWDC #WWDC23, 9 hours ago, Mastodon
27 of 31
Pratik Patel: And, I just watched the session that looks at #VisionOS
#accessibility details. It's really really good. I'll come back with
notes., 9 hours ago, Mastodon
28 of 31
Pratik Patel: Apple is truly making the betas available to everyone.
So I'll remind you again not to install betas, no matter how stable you
think they are, on primary devices. That said, iOS 17 betas are remarkably
stable. Things could change. I've seen things breaking down in subsequent
betas based on what I've seen. I'm not surprised about the stability in
this release since most features are nothing major unlike iOS 16. Same re
iPad OS and Mac OS.
Just be careful!
#accessibility #WWDC #WWDC23, 4 hours ago, Mastodon
Pratik Patel: Apple is truly making the betas available to everyone. So
I'll remind you again not to install betas, no matter how stable you think
they are, on primary devices. That said, iOS 17 betas are remarkably
stable. Things could change. I've seen things breaking down in subsequent
betas based on what I've seen. I'm not surprised about the stability in
this release since most features are nothing major unlike iOS 16. Same re
iPad OS and Mac OS.
Just be careful!
#accessibility #WWDC #WWDC23, 4 hour
29 of 31
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