Siri is yet to regain crucial accessibility features that disappeared with
iOS 15

Date:
Tue, 07 Dec 2021 16:40:43 +0000

Description:
Siri is still missing accessibility features in iOS 15 that were present before its release so why is this the case?

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Apple is still yet to reinstate functionality which was removed in iOS 15 , where Siri could perform various tasks such as checking and playing voicemails.

The commands in question are valuable on the accessibility front, with the visually impaired or legally blind or indeed other Apple device owners are able to use them to keep on top of their voicemail as mentioned, or to instruct Siri to send an email, check recent calls, or call history.

MacRumors highlighted the functionality which went missing back in
September, just after iOS 15 was released, and the site reminds us that these features havent been restored to Siri, despite growing complaints around
this. An inaccessible Siri for some

One reader told MacRumors: For many fully blind people (like my blind mom) this makes their phone almost unusable, because they cant ask Siri who has called, and they cant ask Siri if they have voicemail. (Their official workaround for voicemail, in fact, is calling the old-school carrier
voicemail number, to check your voicemail over the phone.)

Another message on Apples support forum reads: My cousin who is legally blind is also experiencing this issue. He uses the read missed call and open voicemail when doctors call and leave messages. It allows him the opportunity to hear who called and he can call back. It has been a wonderful feature for him and Im hoping that a fix will happen so that he can be able to use the feature again.

There are also complaints on Reddit like this: My dad is blind and uses Siri to operate a lot of his iPhone . This week weve noticed when he asks Siri to play voicemail or missed calls she says she cant help with that.

We've reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story once we
hear back. Analysis: Reasons why are unclear but keep the feedback flowing
on this

Its unclear whether Apple intentionally removed the support for these
features with iOS 15 and if so, why that was done or if its wrapped up in some bug and if its the latter, whether a fix is coming soon. But whatever the case, this represents a worrying step backwards in terms of accessibility for iOS devices, to say the least.

While Apple itself hasnt commented directly, as MacRumors notes weve also reached out to the company to try and ascertain whats going on here, and will update this story if we hear back one message on the Apple help forum claims to have had a reply from the Accessibility Support team. They were advised to again contact Accessibility Support and have your Apple ID added to the official engineering issue as an affected user so that you receive the mass emails about the status of this fix.

Further advice was to submit feedback on the missing features, as the more of that feedback which is gathered does affect engineerings prioritization of this issue.

There may be hope yet, then, for some kind of return of these capabilities to Siri in the near future. Fingers crossed. What we know so far about the
iPhone 14



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/siri-is-yet-to-regain-crucial-accessibility-fea tures-that-disappeared-with-ios-15/


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