Janet Ingber
Apple released its latest operating systems this fall, as is customary. This article covers their latest updates for the Mac and the Apple Watch. It is not possible to describe all of the many changes but I cover the most important ones. For this article, I used an M1 Mac and macOS Ventura 13.1. For the Apple Watch, I used a Series 6 watch and watchOS 9.2.
Not all new features work on all supported devices. For example, Crash Detection is available only on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, Pro Max, Apple Watch SE second generation, Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra.
macOS Ventura
Apple released its latest Mac operating system, macOS 13 Ventura, on October 24, 2022. This continues Apple’s custom of naming Mac operating systems for California landmarks.
Compatibility
The following Macs can use macOS Ventura:
- MacBook models from 2017 or later
- MacBook Air models from 2018 or later
- MacBook Pro models from 2017 or later
- Mac mini models from 2018 or later
- iMac models from 2017 or later
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro models from 2019 or later
- Mac Studio (all models) Some features require the M1 or M2 processor to use all features.
System Settings
System Preferences now is called System Settings. System Settings is set up as a table. On my Mac, when I open System Settings, I am not at the top of the table. Instead, I am on Appearance. The first table item is your name and Apple ID. First letter navigation does work in the table. Once an item is chosen, related information is to the right.
New Voices and Languages
Apple has added more VoiceOver voices including those from Eloquence. Many additional languages have been added including Bulgarian, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Status Menu Commands
Apple has added commands for three status menu items: time and date, battery level, and Wi-Fi status. Use VO-F7 or if your Mac has a touch bar, use VO-Globe-7 to hear the information. Press the key combination once to hear time and date. Press the combination twice to hear battery level and whether the Mac is charging or not charging. Press the combination three times to hear Wi-Fi status. VoiceOver will say the name of the selected network and signal strength. When accessing Wi-Fi information directly from the Status Menu, VoiceOver does not say the network’s name. You can hold down the VO keys and then press F7 the designated number of times for the information you want to hear.
Reducing CAPTCHAs
As in iOS 16, Ventura offers Private Access tokens to help eliminate or reduce the number of CAPTCHAs you encounter in Safari. If you already have two-factor identification enabled for your Apple ID, this feature is on by default. You can check your two-factor identification status by going to System Settings > [your name] > Password & Security. If two-factor identification is checked, then go to the Automatic Verification checkbox and make sure it is checked.
Braille
According to Apple, if you use a braille display with VoiceOver, in VoiceOver Utility you can now wrap the insertion point to a new braille line when you type past the end of your braille display, or have the insertion point stay at the end of the line so you can easily check what you just typed without needing to pan back.
Text Checker
This new feature can let you know if there are extra spaces, misplaced capital letters, or misspellings in your document. It works anywhere text can be entered. At this time, Text Checker is not perfect. By default, text checker is activated by using the keyboard commander combination Right Option-D.
When text checker encounters extra spaces between two words, as it is reading the text it will say how many spaces are between the two words. Text checker will use the term “white space.” You will need to come out of text checker to make any changes. Then go back into text checker with Right Option-D.
If text checker finds a misspelled word, it will announce it. Type the Return key on the word. Bring up the context menu with Shift-VO-M and find the correct spelling. Another option to try is select the word with Shift-Option-Right Arrow or Left Arrow and then bring up the context menu. I found this worked better.
Try using the left and right arrows to switch between checking spaces and finding misspelled words. By default, text checker will search for spaces first and then check spelling.
Another option for checking for extra spaces and indented words is to go to VoiceOver Utility>Verbosity>Text. Then, choose how you want VoiceOver to respond. Be aware that VoiceOver will follow your settings in all applications. An easier way to do this is to create an activity where VoiceOver will only respond in certain applications. Go to >VoiceOver Utility>Activities. Select the Add Activity option. Then, name your activity, choose Verbosity from the list of categories and activate the Set Verbosity button. Select the Text tab. Make your selections about how VoiceOver will respond. Then, choose which apps will use your settings. I chose TextEdit and Mail.
Messages
The new Messages features found in iOS 16 are also available in Ventura for Mac.
If you accidentally delete a message, you can retrieve it. There is a 30 day limit for each message. Get to the recently deleted messages option by going to View>Recently Deleted or type Control-Command-5 The oldest message will be at the top of the list. It is not possible to recover only one message in a message thread. Recover the thread and then choose the message you want.
Recover a deleted message by selecting the conversation you want to recover. Bring up the context menu with Shift VO-Down Arrow or the action menu with use VO-Space bar. Select the Recover button. In either menu, there is also a Delete button. Activating it will delete the message thread from your Mac.
The Undo Send feature lets you retrieve a message that you did not mean to send. Both the sender and the recipient need to be using iOS 16 or macOS Ventura. You only have two minutes from the time you sent the message. While in the message, bring up the contextual menu with Shift-VO-M. Select Undo Send. You can also use the Actions Menu with VO-Command-Space Bar and then select Undo Send. As with iOS 16, you have 15 minutes to edit a message after it has been sent. Bring up the contextual menu with VO-Shift-M and select edit. Then resend your message.
You can mark a message as unread either by using the Contextual Menu or the Actions Menu.
In Ventura, it is easier to send an audio message than in iOS 16. There is a Record Audio button below where you would enter text. Double tap to start recording and double tap the button to stop. VoiceOver will be heard on the beginning and end of the recording. I tried focusing on the button and then turning VoiceOver off, but it did not work.
As with iOS 16, Ventura has the new updates to Mail. If you send an email and then need to cancel it, type Command-Z. Unfortunately, you only have ten seconds to do this.
An email can be sent at a later time. After writing the email, Shift-Tab until you hear, “Schedule to send message.” If you hear, “Send Message,” VO-Right Arrow to the “Schedule to send message” button. Another way to get to “Schedule to Send Message” is to go to the top of the window with Command-VO-FN-Left Arrow. Then, VO-Right Arrow to the button. Once the button is selected, a new screen will load with time options.
Mail can remind you about an email. Either use the contextual menu or the Actions menu and select Remind Me. A new screen will load with options for when Mail should remind you. The two menus also have the option to mark an email as unread.
When you add an attachment to an email, VoiceOver says, “Object replacement character.” The attachment is added. Use the right or down arrow key to verify.
Apple Music
As usual, Apple Music is easier to use on an iOS device than on the Mac. For information on the updates to Apple Music in iOS 16, Here is the link to my AccessWorld review of the mainstream features in iOS 16. If you want to try Apple Music on the Mac, here is Apple’s link to Apple Music.
Find My
The Find My app now makes sounds to help you locate an AirTag, an AirPods Pro Second Generation case, and My network accessories. Select the item you want to find and activate the Play Sound button.
watchOS 9
This new watchOS was released on September 12, 2022.
Compatibility
The following Apple Watches are compatible with watchOS 9: Apple Watch Series 4, Apple Watch Series 5, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch SE Second Generation, Apple Watch Series 8, and Apple Watch Ultra.
Voices
There are new voices for the watch. On your watch, go to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Speech. This feature is not available through the iPhone.
Hand Gestures
Apple has added “hand gestures” for VoiceOver. This feature is available through the Watch App on your phone or in the settings menu on your Apple Watch. Go to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver. Hand Gestures information is the last item in the list. By default, this feature is not enabled.
There are four gestures assigned to four different commands. The gestures are: Pinch, Double Pinch, Clench, and Double Clench. There is a Learn More option near the top of the page. Selecting it brings up an instructions on how to perform each gesture. For example the Pinch gesture moves you to the next item. Selecting the button next to the gesture’s name, brings up other options to assign to the gesture.
Watch Faces
Some new watch faces have been added. They are in the Face Gallery in the Watch app on your iPhone. Author’s note: When I upgraded, my Activity complication changed on my watch face. The usual measurements for moving, exercising, and standing were still there but in addition, there were several quadrants describing my activity at different time intervals. I called Apple and was told my particular Modular watch face now had the extra information in the middle. I changed my watch face.
Medication
Your Apple Watch can remind you to take medication. To use this feature, go to the Health app on your iPhone and select the Browse tab. On the new screen, select Medication. The app will give directions for adding medications. Go here for more information about the process
Smart Home
The new home connectivity standard, Matter, now is supported on the Apple Watch. This will allow more connectivity between devices in different systems.
Music
Music can now download even when the Apple Watch is not on its charger. It will use Wi-Fi and Cellular.
Conclusion
It is well worth upgrading to macOS Ventura and watchOS 9. My favorite improvements are that the Message app and Mail app have the new features of iOS 16. This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
