With the launch of iOS 15, Apple modified Siri performance and eliminated options that have been closely relied on by low imaginative and prescient and blind iPhone customers. Siri instructions that present particulars on cellphone calls, voice mails, and sending emails are now not working, and Apple has but to repair the problem.
We first shared particulars on this drawback in September, shortly after the launch of iOS 15. Previous to the launch of the replace, low imaginative and prescient customers have been capable of ask Siri to play voicemails, verify name historical past, verify current calls, and extra, instructions that now not work.
Now we have acquired ongoing complaints from iPhone customers who’re lacking this key Siri performance, or their family members who’re trying to assist them navigate the modifications. The Siri characteristic removals have additionally been documented on the AppleVis boards for blind and low imaginative and prescient customers of Apple merchandise, and complaints have continued to pile up on the Apple Help Communities. One person explains the problem:
Siri is ‘unable’ to learn missed calls or name final missed name hastily. i exploit this characteristic on a regular basis resulting from visible impairment and since this morning siri has replied with “i cant assist with that” when asking for missed calls, name final missed name and so on. i depend on this characteristic closely and out of the blue siri is unable to do that. please can somebody assist. no settings have been modified and others iphones are having the identical problem too.
Asking Siri to offer particulars on current cellphone calls or voicemails now ends in the next response: “I am unable to assist with that, however you may ask me to open the Telephone app.” Asking about e mail ends in an analogous response about Siri being unable to assist.
MacRumors reader Joshua obtained in contact with us and defined that the change makes the iPhone virtually unusable for his mom, and he is pissed off with Apple’s lack of assist.
For a lot of totally blind individuals (like my blind mother) this makes their cellphone virtually unusable, as a result of they can not ask Siri who has referred to as, they usually cannot ask Siri if they’ve voicemail. (Their official “workaround” for voicemail, the truth is, is looking the old-school provider voicemail quantity, to verify your voicemail over the cellphone.)
Joshua obtained involved with Accessibility Help and acquired a non-answer about calling in to be added to the official engineering report as an “affected person” and to fill out Suggestions Assistant, however he stated he beforehand submitted a Radar and obtained no response. Different customers on the Apple Help Communities have gotten more and more upset with Apple. From person Maboc:
Not understanding how Apple can’t have this resolved by now. Taking away a important performance for the disabled, the shortcoming for sight impaired to now verify for missed calls and messages by way of Siri and no response or motion doesn’t communicate nicely for this Help Neighborhood or Apple itself. We bought a brand new iPhone 13 for my ageing, sight impaired mom on the advice of the Faculty for the Blind. Apple being a frontrunner within the Accessibility characteristic discipline. Can no-one supply a timeline for a repair on the market? HELLO APPLE???!!!???
We requested Apple when a repair is likely to be coming or if the elimination of the Siri performance was intentional again in September, however we by no means heard again. Apple’s lack of effort to deal with this problem for blind and low imaginative and prescient customers is disappointing from an organization that’s normally on the forefront of accessibility.