[Njtechdiv] Apple to release Ios 12 today Sept. 12 new features listed here for you friends
Janie Degenshein
jdegen16 at comcast.net
Mon Sep 17 13:25:18 UTC 2018
Apple to Release iOS 12 on September 17; Bringing New and Enhanced Features
and Performance Improvements
article
Submitted by AppleVis on 14 September, 2018 and last modified on 15
September, 2018
Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
Apple is to release iOS 12 on Monday 17 September, proudly claiming it will
“make your iPhone and iPad experience even faster, more responsive and more
delightful.”
Below we offer an overview of some of the general changes and new features
in iOS 12; along with details of some new accessibility features and changes
that VoiceOver and braille users can expect.
The New Features That We Think You Will Like
Faster and More Responsive
Yes, we know that it's not a ‘feature’, but Apple has made some serious
under-the-hood improvements with iOS 12 to break the tradition where
installing
a major OS release usually brings a drop in performance to older devices.
With iOS 12, Apple has strived to ensure that every supported device should
actually
experience a performance boost:
block quote
Whether you’re using your iPhone or iPad, iOS has been enhanced for a faster
and more responsive experience all round. Things you do all the time, like
launching Camera and typing with the keyboard, happen faster than ever. And
there are even more significant improvements when you’re doing a lot on your
device at once. These enhancements improve performance on all supported
devices, going all the way back to iPhone 5s and iPad Air.
block quote end
Apple claims the following performance improvements under iOS 12:
list of 4 items
• Up to 40% faster app launch.
• Up to 50% faster keyboard display.
• Up to 70% faster swipe to Camera.
• Up to 2x faster Share sheet display under load.
list end
Although our own testing is limited and subjective, we've seen improvements
in responsiveness and have no qualms in recommending this update for users
of older devices.
Siri Shortcuts Lets You Streamline Regular Tasks
Siri can now intelligently pair your daily routines with native and
third-party apps to suggest convenient shortcuts just when you need them. So
if you
typically pick up a coffee on the way to work, Siri will learn your routine
and suggest when to place your order from the Lock screen. You can also run
shortcuts with your voice or create your own with the forthcoming Shortcuts
app. for example, telling Siri that “I'm leaving work” could trigger a
series
of actions, such as sending a message to your partner, starting GPS
directions to your destination, and beginning playback of a playlist.
While we did not have the opportunity to test Shortcuts during the beta
cycle, it's already evident that this is something which should offer added
value
to blind and low vision users - particularly as third-party apps add support
and their developers realize the possibilities. For example, we can imagine
saying “tell me what this is” or “read me this letter” and having our app of
choice step in to help. We look forward to hearing the ways that you find
for these to extend the capabilities of your iOS device.
Be More Aware of How You and Your Kids Use Your iOS Devices
Screen Time is a new feature available in iOS Settings that helps give you
a better understanding of the time you and your kids spend using apps,
visiting
websites, and on your devices overall. Detailed Activity Reports show the
total time spent in each app; usage across categories of apps; how many
notifications
are received; and how often you pick up your iOS device.
Screen Time aggregates data from all of your devices that use the same
iCloud account and are running iOS 12. it can also be used to track your
children's
usage via family sharing.
Screen Time lets you set scheduled downtime and place time limits on the use
of specific apps or types of apps.
This
MacRumors post
provides more information on how to Use Screen Time in iOS 12.
More Granular Control Over Notifications
iOS 12 gives you new ways to fine-tune your notification preferences - you
can now manage your notifications in real time from the Lock screen, sending
notifications from a specific app to Notification Centre or turning them off
altogether. Siri also makes intelligent suggestions about your alerts based
on how you interact with them. And message threads and notification topics
can be grouped together, so it’s easier to see what’s important at a glance.
Simply look for the Manage button or VoiceOver Action menu item on a
notification or head over to the Notifications section in Settings.
This AppleInsider article
offers a good summary of all the changes to Notifications in iOS 12.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/08/10/all-the-changes-to-notifications-on-your-iphone-in-ios-12
Live Listen Support Comes to AirPods
Live Listen enables you to use your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch as a
sound-boosting microphone to help you hear in difficult situations.
Previously only
available when using Made-for-iPhone (MFi) compatible hearing aids, with iOS
12, the Live Listen feature comes to AirPods, too.
To make use of this feature, you will first need to go to Settings > Control
Center > Customize Controls and ensure that the ‘Hearing’ control is
enabled.
Now, when you are using your AirPods and want to activate Live Listen,
simply go to Control Center and double-tap the ‘Hearing Devices’ button.
Some Changes to Gestures for iPad Users
With iOS 12, Apple has changed the way iPad users access the Control and
Notification Centers, App Switcher, and Home Screen. As Apple's
next-generation
iPads are expected to have no physical Home button, the iPhone X's "swipe up
for Home" design was almost certain to arrive on iPad. Since swiping up is
now Home, the Control Center had to move.
Thanks to all this shuffling, we now have a new set of commands. We have a
complete guide to the new iPad gestures in iOS 12,
https://www.applevis.com/guides/ios-ipad-voiceover/guide-voiceover-users-gestures-new-ipad-ios-12
but here's a brief summary:
list of 5 items
• To go to the Home Screen, swipe up from the bottom until you hear the
first sound.
• To open the App Switcher, swipe up from the bottom until you hear the
second sound.
• To open Control Center, swipe down from the top until you hear the first
sound.
• To open Notification Center, swipe down from the top until you hear the
second sound.
• To cancel a gesture, slide your finger either to the left or to the right.
list end
A few More Notable Changes in iOS 12
list of 24 items
• You can now set Do Not Disturb just for a meeting or while you’re at a
location, and it will automatically turn off as soon as your event ends or
you
leave that place. Tip: a quick way to access these options is to use 3D
Touch, or swipe down and double-tap, on the Do Not Disturb button in the
Control
Center.
• you can now see the amount of mobile data each app uses by going to
Settings > Mobile Data.
• In Settings > Battery, you have more data available, enabling you to drill
down to find what's consuming most battery life and when.
• Safari can now prevent Share buttons and comment widgets on web pages from
tracking you without your permission. It also prevents advertisers from
collecting
your device’s unique characteristics, so they can’t identify your device or
re-target ads to you across the web.
• iOS 12 will automatically suggest strong and unique passwords whenever a
website or app prompts you to create an account.
• When creating a password in iOS 12, you will be warned when using a weak
password or one that you already use with another website or app.
• You can now use AirDrop to share saved passwords to other devices or
people.
• iOS 12 offers improved integration with third-party password managers such
as 1Password, meaning that passwords stored in these apps will be offered
as suggestions on login forms.
• Whenever a login requires two-factor authentication, iOS 12 will
automatically fill in the six-digit codes you receive through SMS.
• Users of devices that support Face ID will now have the option of adding a
second Face ID profile; referred to by Apple as an “alternate appearance”.
• If Face ID does not recognize you at its first attempt, you can swipe up
from the bottom of the screen with one finger to have it try again.
• iPhone X users gain a new type of customisable Animoji called Memoji,
that can be used in Messages and FaceTime to match your personality and
mood.
• iPhone X users now have four new Animoji to choose from - koala, tiger,
ghost and T. rex. Animoji will also now recognize if you wink or poke out
your
tongue.
• When making a 911 call in the United States, your iPhone's location data
will be shared with the despatch center.
• iOS 12 introduces an option to turn on automatic software updates under
General > Software Update. This will update your version of iOS
automatically
when an update is available.
• A new AR app in iOS 12 called Measure helps you measure real-world objects
just by pointing your camera at them. This app requires you to tap on the
screen to place measurement markers. Because of this, although the app
itself is accessible with VoiceOver in regard to buttons and controls, it's
functionality
will only be usable by those who have enough vision to see and mark on the
screen what they want measured. Note that Measure requires ARKit, which is
not
supported on every device that runs iOS 12. You’ll need an iPhone 6s or
later, an iPad Pro, or a 2017 or later iPad.
• In Apple Music, you can now play an artist's complete discography from a
shuffle button on the artist's page.
• A new For You tab in the Photos app shows you selected moments from your
photo library and intelligently suggests sharing photos with the people in
them.
And if the recipients are using iOS 12, they’ll be prompted to share their
photos from the event with you too.
• The search tool in the Photos app is now smarter and more powerful. It
prompts you with suggestions of recent events, places and people; and allows
you
to refine your search by using multiple keywords.
• In Apple's Podcast app you can now set custom durations for the Forward
and Back buttons. The two options are separate, and durations from 10 to 60
seconds
are available.
• iBooks has been renamed to Apple Books and sports a new design.
• The native Stocks app has seen a makeover and now offers more data and
news. It is also now available on the iPad.
• The native Voice Memos app is now available on the iPad, has been
redesigned, and now supports syncing recordings to all your devices via
iCloud. It
also supports saving recordings in lossless audio.
• There are three new language dictionaries: an Arabic and English bilingual
dictionary, a Hindi and English bilingual dictionary, and a Hebrew
dictionary.
list end
Note: Apple had previously announced that FaceTime in iOS 12 would support
group calls with up to 32 people. However, late in the beta cycle it was
announced
that this will not be available with the initial release of iOS 12, and will
instead be available
“later this fall”.
The above is just a small sample of the new features, enhancements and
changes that can be found in iOS 12.
MacRumors offers a more complete list of all that's new and changed
which we recommend for a much more in-depth roundup.
http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ios-12/
To help you get to know some of what's new and changed in iOS 12, Thomas
Domville has recorded a summary podcast.
https://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/overview-some-new-features-and-changes-ios-12
And What About Accessibility?
As is usual for major iOS releases, there are several changes,
enhancements, and fixes in iOS 12 for blind and low vision users. below are
the changes
we are currently aware of:
New Commands for Braille Display Users
New braille display commands have been added to assist with quicker
navigation of web pages and documents based on many different text
attributes. Though
these braille display commands have been added, they do not have keyboard
commands assigned to them by default and are user-configurable. To see a
list
of all of the new options, go to
Settings>General>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Braille>the name of your
display>More Info>Braille Command>Navigation. The new
navigation options allow the user to quickly jump to the next and previous
of any of the following changes in text:
list of 20 items
• Block quote
• Bold text
• Color change
• Different item
• Font change
• Form item
• Heading
• Image
• Italic text
• Item of same type
• Link
• List
• Misspelled word
• Plain text
• Same block quote
• Same heading level
• Style change
• Table
• Underlined text
• Visited link
list end
To assign any of the above options a braille keyboard command, do the
following:
list of 6 items
1. Go to Settings>General>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Braille>the name of your
display>More Info>Braille Command>Navigation.
2. Find any of the options listed above and select it.
3. Navigate to "Assign New Braille Keys," and activate this option.
4. Press the key, or combination of keys, that you wish to be assigned this
command. Be sure to either pick something you do not ever use, or a brand
new
command altogether. For example, on the Focus display, I may use Nav Rocker
Down, since it will scroll the iOS Device right one page, but I always use
Space with O to achieve this.
5. If the command you have chosen doesn't already have something assigned to
it, you will be done with this process. If the Braille keyboard assignment
does have a command already associated with that keyboard combination, you
will get an alert telling you what the already-assigned action is, and
asking
you if you wish to change it.
6. Choose "OK" or "Cancel," and the appropriate option will be chosen. You
can now press that Braille keyboard combination you have assigned this
function,
and the desired action should be taken.
list end
Other Accessibility Changes and Enhancements in iOS 12
list of 5 items
• Speak Confirmation is a new option available which allows the user to
decide whether they want to have confirmation that tasks carried out with
the Actions
rotor are confirmed. For example, adjusting this setting will affect whether
VoiceOver speaks confirmation of whether a message has been deleted from the
Mail app; whether an app has been closed in the App Switcher; or that an app
has been moved to a new location on the Home Screen. Find this new option
under the Verbosity section of VoiceOver's settings.
• New Irish and South African voices have been added to Siri. This means
they are also available to VoiceOver, Speak screen, and any other feature
utilizing
the iOS voices. Note that these voices were briefly available under iOS
11.4.1, but were removed for reasons unknown.
• When using the misspelled rotor option, a misspelled word is selected and
you can now swipe left or right to select a replacement and then double tap
to choose that word.
• If you are making a presentation and need to send audio to an HDMI
display, you can select this option in the Audio section of VoiceOver's
settings before
you connect to HDMI. Then, when you connect, VoiceOver audio will go to the
HDMI device.
• After composing a new text message, pressing the enter key on a Bluetooth
keyboard or braille display would send a message. While being fairly
consistent,
this would sometimes not work. If you have sounds unmuted, you would get
confirmation that your message was sent. VoiceOver now speaks “message sent”
to
further confirm that your message has been sent.
list end
Fixed and New Bugs
iOS 12 brings bug fixes for VoiceOver users and also introduces some new
bugs. We've put these on their own pages, linked below. While there are
fewer
new bugs for VoiceOver users than in previous releases in recent memory, it
is disheartening to see that some braille bugs have been carried over from
iOS 11 and another introduced in iOS 12 which eliminates access to the
Misspelled Words rotor option for braille users. While text input with a
braille
display remains unchanged since iOS 11.4.1, it is sad to see that it has not
improved.
list of 2 items
• A list of new accessibility-related bugs that we believe to have been
introduced in iOS 12
https://www.applevis.com/blog/apple-ios-news/accessibility-bugs-introduced-and-resolved-ios-12-blind-and-low-vision-users
• A list of longstanding accessibility-related bugs that we believe to have
been fixed in iOS 12
https://www.applevis.com/bugs/ios/fixed?field_fixed_in_value=43&field_bug_category_value=All&field_severity_value=All
list end
How to Update to iOS 12
iOS 12 is compatible with all devices that were supported by iOS 11. Apple
lists all supported devices on its iOS 12 preview page.
https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-12-preview/
Once Apple releases iOS 12 on 17 September, it will be available via
Over-the-Air Update (Settings > General > Software Update) or via iTunes on
a Mac
or PC.
Before updating, we strongly recommend making a full and complete backup of
your device (either in iTunes or iCloud, depending on personal preference).
This will ensure that, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong
during the update process, you will have a current backup on hand in case a
device
restore becomes necessary. Also, if using OTA update, we recommend plugging
your device into a power source for the duration of the
download/installation
process - so as to prevent the unlikely event of your battery going dead
during the update.
More information on how to update the software on your iOS device is
available on
this Apple Support page.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204204
Keep Smiling,
Janie Degenshein
Happiness isn't having what you want, but wanting what you already have!
Facilitator of ECHO (Eyes Closed Hearts Open)
state affiliate board member
President of the senior division of the National Federation of the Blind of
New Jersey
President of the Technology division of the National federation of the Blind
of New Jersey
NFBNJ Newsline co-ordinator
jdegen16 at comcast.net
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