Weekend good reads for Apple developers #2023/22

Okay, I get it, it's weekend before the show. But why would you drop your routine? Let's go through some great technical and one fun article.

And, as promised, fun one – refresh your Apple history knowledge with WWDC 2023: The Pregame Quiz by Jordan Morgan.

Get ready for WWDC23 – next week will be definitely packed with new stuff we'll be learning the whole summer!

Apple previews new accessibility features just before WWDC23

Apple is celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day by announcing new accessibility features coming to its platforms later this year.

Assistive Access

Assistive Access is designed to help people with cognitive disabilities by simplifying app's interface to its essential features and removing cognitive load. This feature targets iPhone and iPad specifically.

It is not fully clear, if applications will be able to detect presence of Assistive Access mode and adjust their interface, however, at this point it seems to be reasonable to have similar option for complicated apps.

Live Speech and Personal Voice

Live Speech provides an option for people to type the text to have it spoken out loud during phone calls or live conversations. Frequently used phrases could be saved for quick access.

Users who are at risk of loosing their ability to speak could create Personalized Voice by reading phrases for 15 minutes. This voice could be used to read phrases via Live Speech.

Detection Mode in Magnifier

Magnifier now supports pointing to objects with finger to announce the object. Demo shows button text announcement on microwave oven. This feature significantly improves magnifier app for visually impaired people.

Several other features are added across Apple platforms that improve overall accessibility.

Apple Newsroom: Apple previews Live Speech, Personal Voice, and more new accessibility features

Weekend good reads for Apple developers #2023/9

Spring is coming, and we're continuing our tradition of weekend reads. Let's see what we've got for this week.

And that is it for today. Have some rest and get back next week.

Weekend good reads for Apple developers #2023/8

It's winter here in Bay Area today (it even snows somewhere here), so let's grab some warm beverage and get going.

Let's finish with interesting video on design process by David Smith.

https://youtu.be/BLEOBu2PaeA
Design process by David Smith

And that is it for today. See you next week!

Weekend good reads for Apple developers, issue #57

It's almost 2023. This good reads list come a little early, so you'll have time to celebrate New Year :)

We'd like to finish this issue with our Holiday Special podcast episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUWPqJHHfwg
Apple Treats – Holiday Special

Happy New Year!

iOS 16.2 and other platforms get beta 2

Apple publishes beta 2 for iOS/iPadOS 16.2, macOS 13.1, watchOS 9.2 and tvOS 16.2. No corresponding Xcode version is published.

iOS 16.2 is to launch 5G in India, Medication Widget is added.

Also iOS 16.2 introduces Custom Accessibility Mode which guides user with accessibility settings in a streamlined manner. It is not yet known, if iOS 16.2 will actually ship this functionality.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Release notes:

References:

Weekend good reads for Apple developers, issue #41

Yes, iPhone 14 preorders are live! And you-know-what Ultra is already backordered for two months. So, let's read something good over the weekend.

And that is it for this wallet-endangering weekend. See you next week!

Weekend good reads for Apple developers, issue #40

Some places will have longer weekend this time, so let's pack it with great reads!

That is all for this weekend! Enjoy the extra day, if applicable :)