Janet Ingber
Apple recently released two new operating systems: macOS Catalina for the Mac and watchOS 6 for the Apple Watch. Both bring many new features to their respective devices.
Catalina
macOS Catalina has new accessibility and mainstream features. iTunes has been completely replaced with separate apps including Music and TV. Some iOS-only apps are now available on the Mac.
Compatibility: Which Macs Can Run macOS Catalina?
If you currently have macOS Mojave, you can use macOS Catalina.
The following Macs support Catalina:
- MacBook 2015 and later
- MacBook Air 2012 and later
- MacBook Pro 2012 or later
- Mac Mini 2012 or later
- iMac 2012 or later
- iMac Pro 2017 or later
- Mac Pro 2013 or later
Before Installing Catalina, make sure you have a current backup of your Mac’s hard drive. Catalina is very stable but if something goes wrong, you want to have a current backup available so you can restore your data.
The Catalina download is 8.09 Gigabytes (GB) so be sure you have enough hard drive space available.
Apple no longer supports 32-bit apps; all apps must be 64-bit. 32-bit apps will not work on Catalina.
Installing Catalina
You can download Catalina from the App Store or from within the Apple menu. In the App store, select Updates. Catalina should be listed. In the Apple menu, go to About This Mac. VO + Right Arrow to Software Update and select it to begin the download.
Use VO + Right Arrow to check download progress. Use VO + Left Arrow to review what VoiceOver just said. Once Catalina is downloaded, VoiceOver will prompt you to activate the Continue button. You then need to agree to Apple’s software license agreement. Next, you will need to enter your computer’s password. If your Mac supports Touch ID, you can use that instead of the password. The next screen has information about where Catalina will be installed. By default, it is installed on your Mac’s hard drive.
After that screen, my Mac went silent. I didn't know if something crashed or if there was information that I needed to enter. The computer gave no clue what was happening. With sighted assistance, I learned that the computer had restarted and there was a progress indicator. Silence lasted about a half hour. Then VoiceOver finally said that I was on a progress indicator, but it said nothing else. About 20 minutes later, VoiceOver asked if I wanted to share Mac Analytics with Apple and if I wanted to share crash information with app developers. There were check boxes for making a choice and there was a Continue button. The next screen was used for setting up Screen Time. You can do this now or later.
Catalina and Accessibility for People with Visual Impairments
Voice Control
This feature was introduced in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, and is now available on the Mac. It is not enabled by default. Activate it by going to System Preferences > Accessibility > Voice Control. Select the Enable Voice Control checkbox. By default, your Mac’s internal microphone is selected. Next, you need to download the Voice Control software. This software allows all interactions to be done on the Mac rather than on a server. If you choose not to download this software, Voice Control will not work.
There is a checkbox for having Voice Control play a sound when a command is recognized. This is checked by default. Next is a Commands button. This brings up a very extensive list of commands. Next to each command is a checkbox. Checking the box will allow Voice Command to act on the command. Unchecking the box will have the command ignored. Many boxes are checked by default. You can also create commands.
Next to the Commands button is a Vocabulary button. Here is where you can teach Voice Control new words.
One difficulty with Voice Control is that when it is active and you are in a document, email, message, etc., Voice Control may spontaneously start typing whatever it hears, even if it’s not something you want. It typed words from my TV and it typed an expletive I spoke when my email hot key didn’t work.
There were other problems. When I was dictating, VoiceOver only spoke my last few words. Sometimes VoiceOver would spontaneously say, “Dictation has new window.” Sometimes that happened even when I was not using an app to write text.
Here are some very useful commands for Voice Control:
- "Open Voice Control preferences"
- Open [name of application]; for example, "Open Safari"
- Quit [name of application];for example, "Quit Safari"
- "Close window"
- "Press Return key"
- "Press Escape key"
- "Wake up": turns Voice Control on
- "Go to sleep": turns Voice Control off
There are two additional commands for turning Voice Control on and off:
- "Voice Control on"
- "Turn off Voice Control"
I have found that the "Wake up" and "Go to sleep" commands worked better than "Voice Control on" and "Turn off Voice Control."
If Voice Control is enabled in System Preferences, it will automatically launch when you restart or start your computer after shutdown. This happens even if you turned Voice Control off with a command.
Voice Control is a good option if you want to control your computer with just your voice. Personally, there are so many other available options that I rarely use it. If you decide to use this feature for writing text, make sure to review what Voice Control has written. I prefer the keyboard and trackpad.
Punctuation
There are new customizable options for how VoiceOver handles punctuation. Go to the VoiceOver utility and select Verbosity then select the Text tab. Here is where you can set verbosity for how VoiceOver responds when it encounters punctuation symbols. Use the pop-up menu to make your choice. If you have already done this on your iPhone or iPad, the settings will carry over.
Additional Accessibility Enhancements
As in iOS 13 and iPad, OS 13 Catalina has added new braille tables.
In Apple Mail, typing Command + Shift + D will once again have VoiceOver say the correct action: “Send.”
In the Calendar app, it's now easier to add a new event and tab through events.
When going to the previous webpage in Safari, VoiceOver will now more reliably bring you back to your previous page in a website.
For users with low vision, Apple has added new features including the ability to use two displays at once. For example, you can have one display zoomed in and the other standard size.
Mainstream Features
At Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference last June, Apple announced that iTunes was being discontinued with the release of macOS Catalina. Instead, there would be separate apps. When you initially open apps in Catalina, you may be asked to give permission for the app to access parts of your Mac.
System Preferences
In System Preferences, your Apple ID is at the top of the window. By activating the Apple ID button, you quickly have access to items related to your ID such as iCloud. If you have Family Sharing, activating that button will reveal those settings.
Devices
If you plug an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch into your Mac, it will now appear in the Finder sidebar. You will hear the name of your device and the word “eject” for when you are ready to remove the device. VO + Right Arrow past the vertical splitter and there will be a Trust button. Select it and you will be prompted to select the same button on your device.
Once that operation is complete, there will be a horizontal list of radio buttons including General, Music, and Movies. Once a button is selected, go past the other buttons to check the information being synced. This set-up is much the same as when syncing your device with iTunes.
Music
The first time the Music app is opened, it gives a welcome message. Choose whether to Take a Quick Tour or Start Listening.
If you choose the Start Listening option, Musicwill play a sound and VoiceOver will announce that you are on a vertical splitter. If you interact with it, you will be in a window size-control section. If you do not interact with it and VO + Left Arrow, you will be in a toolbar that contains standard options such as minimize and full screen. If you VO + Right Arrow from the vertical splitter you will encounter the standard Previous, Play, and Next buttons. Continuing to the right, you will find the LCD section. There is a Mute button, a volume control, a Lyrics button, and an Up Next button.
Continuing to the right will bring you to the Sidebar. In addition to standard items such as Artists, Recently Played, and Songs, you will find Browse, For You, and Radio. The Browse and For You buttons only work if you are an Apple Music subscriber. Once you select a sidebar item, go to the right where you find the contents of whichever item you picked. For example, if you chose a playlist, the contents of the playlist will be there along with buttons to play and shuffle. If you have an Apple Music subscription and selected the For You option in the Sidebar, there will be recommendations based on your music preferences.
You can ask Siri to play your music on the Mac. When music is playing there is additional information in the LCD section including song title, artist, time elapsed, and time remaining. There is also a More button that offers the standard options including Add to Library, Add to Playlist, Show in iTunes Store, and Create Station.
TV
As with the Music app, the first time you open the TV app, there are options to start watching or take a tour. Once the tour button is selected, there are five radio buttons: Watch Now, Movies, TV Shows, Kids, and Library. There is a Search box to the right of the radio buttons. No matter whether you select a radio button, use the search box, or ask Siri to search for a specific show or movie, your results will be in the web area on the right side of the screen.
I asked Siri to play the latest episode of a show that I watch from the TV app on my phone. The show is on Animal Planet Go, which is how I play it on my phone via the TV app. The only search result I received from Siri was for me to purchase the show rather than being able to watch it for free.
There is now an Unsubscribe link at the top of email messages for unsubscribing from email lists, merchants, or other types of group email. Not all emails will have this link but many of the emails I checked had it, which is very useful. This feature first appeared in iOS 12.
When the message is opened, VO + Left Arrow or VO + Right arrow to find the Unsubscribe link. This is much easier than finding the link buried in the email.
You can now block a sender. It’s very difficult for the visually impaired to do this since all instructions involved routing the mouse to the sender’s name and clicking on an arrow. An alternative procedure is to go to Mail’s System Preferences, select the Junk tab and then the Block option. This action is much easier to do on the iPhone than on the Mac.
Email threads can easily be muted. Select the thread and either type Command + Shift + M, or go to the Message option in the menu and select Mute.
WatchOS 6
This new upgrade brings many new features and conveniences to the Apple Watch. There are new health apps, you have the ability to unlock passwords on your Mac, there is a new way to get apps without needing your phone, and more.
Installing watchOS 6
In order to install watchOS6, you will need an iPhone 6S or later running iOS 13. At this time, the update can be used on Apple Watch Series 1 through 5. Some new apps and features do not work or are not available on watches older than Series 4. Since I used my Series 3 and a friend’s Series 4, I will indicate which features did not work on my Series 3.
The update is on your iPhone in the Watch app. Go to General > Software Update. In order to install the update, your watch has to be on its charger and have at least 50 percent battery power.
Once watchOS 6 is installed, you will no longer receive any auditory feedback as you enter your passcode, unlike in previous operating systems.
Accessibility
As with iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, accessibility now has its own category in the first level of settings. There are two new accessibility settings in WatchOS 6.
Taptic Chimes
This new feature gives you a notification on the hour, half hour, or quarter hour. You have the option of bells or birds sounds. On your watch, go to Settings > Accessibility > Chime. There are three buttons: On/Off, Schedule, and Sound. You can do the same procedure through the Watch app on your iPhone. On the Series 3, the watch made a brief sound that did not sound like bells or birds.
Taptic Time Speed
You can adjust the speed of the Taptic vibrations. This adjustment is also in the Accessibility section. Flick up or down on the speed indicator. The higher the number, the faster the vibration.
Mainstream Features
App Store
It is no longer necessary to use your iPhone to purchase apps for your watch. The watch now has its own App Store.
On the Apps screen, select the App Store. The first item is a Search button. Next is a Get Started option and next are some recommended apps. When the Search button is selected, there are two options: Dictation and Scribble. Below these is a list of trending apps. I dictated my query and was presented with a list of apps. Selecting an app’s name loaded a description. I activated the Get button and was prompted to double click the side button to install.
Deleting Apple Pre-Installed Apps
You can now delete some of Apple’s pre-installed apps including Walkie Talkie, Remote, Breathe, and Cycle Tracking.
Locate the app you want to delete and flick up or down to Arrange Apps. Make sure focus is on the app you want to delete and then select Activate. You will be asked whether you want to delete the app.
Siri
It is now possible to change Siri’s voice directly on the Apple Watch. You can also make the Siri voice your VoiceOver Voice. I was able to change Siri’s voice on my Series 3 but I could not make the Siri voice my VoiceOver voice.
Siri can now tell you what song is playing. On my Series 3, I got Taptic feedback when Siri had an answer but Siri did not speak. I tapped the screen and the VoiceOver voice told me the answer.
Health Apps
Apple added two new health apps. Neither is on the Series 3.
Noise There is a new Noise app and a Noise Complication. When the Noise app is opened it will measure the noise around you and alert if the noise level is more than 90 decibels. The Noise complication registers sound level in real time.
Cycle Tracking This app lets women track their menstrual cycle. It can provide very useful health data.
Music
If you are an Apple Music subscriber, you will receive personalized recommendations in the For You tab. This feature is not available on the Series 3.
Complications
Apple has added some new complications: Audiobooks, Calculator, Mobile Data Connectivity, Cycle Tracking, Noise, Wind, Rain, and Voice Memos. Not all are available on Series 3.
Unlocking Safari Passwords
If your Mac supports unlocking with your Apple Watch, you can now use the watch to unlock Safari Passwords. This feature was inconsistent with Series 3. Once the watch makes the same sound as when it unlocks your Mac, you will be prompted to double click the side button.
Conclusion
Both macOS Catalina and watchOS 6 have useful updates and are worth installing. Even if you have an Apple Watch that doesn’t support all the new features of WatchOS 6, it is still a worthwhile update.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
Related articles:
- An Overview of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 by Janet Ingber
- Book Review: iOS Access for All (iOS 12 edition) by Shelly Brisbin by Jamie Pauls
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