Mobile Apps News #74
Making memes accessible for the blind, kids don't trust voice assistants, my new tutorial about accessibility, and more.
Hi everyone,
Welcome to the 74th issue of Mobile Apps News! I hope you'll enjoy this newsletter and spread the word to your friends and colleagues.
I’ve switched my newsletter provider from Mailchimp to Substack, so if the format looks a bit different, that’s why.
This issue includes news of:
a review of one of my favorite read-later apps, Pocket
a good list of iOS apps for musicians
tips, accessibility, voice-computing, thought-provoking articles, interesting stats, and articles about the future
❤️ Enjoy! (And if you enjoy this issue, please “heart” it - thanks!)
App news
📱Featured apps and app lists
Pocket App Review – Best Offline Article Reader App (iOS and Android)
If you don’t use an app like Pocket or Instapaper to save articles for reading later, you’re missing out! My favorite is Pocket and I use it every day to read articles I’ve saved from various websites and email newsletters.
A Weather Way (iOS)
Fun app for seeing what the weather will be at different times of day. You create up to seven different schedules with a cute animated timeline. Free with ads, or $2.99 without.
Essential iOS Apps for Musicians
Useful list. Includes apps for organizing your sheet music, modifying the speed of a song you’re learning without changing the pitch, guitar tuners, and more.
Best app award 2020
Have you developed an app that serves humanity in some way? Enter this contest. Deadline for nominations is February 28th, 2020. husITa (human services Information Technology association) is an international community of interest whose mission is to promote the ethical and effective use of information technology for human betterment.
App updates
Fantastical 3 Review: The Best Calendar App Just Got Better (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch)
I love this calendar app and now it’s even better with the latest update.
My offerings
Does your library staff feel confident about serving people with all types of disabilities?
♿️ Making Library Services & Websites Accessible
My online tutorial is ready! Purchase it for your library (or library consortium. It’s designed so that your staff can complete it bit-by-bit, when their schedule allows. I’ve included several interactive activities to help make learning stick.
🎧 Best Podcasts for Diverse Audiences: Complete Bundle
Do you love podcasts? Want to find more on specific topics? Get my ebook - an annotated guide to podcasts for diverse audiences. Buy it on any platform.
😄 Just for fun
117 New Emojis In Final List For 2020
Wow, 117 new emojis! Additions include Bubble Tea, Smiling Face With Tear, Bottle-feeding parents, and the Transgender Flag. For most users, these new emojis will come to devices in software updates throughout 2020.
⭐️ Tips
How to Turn off Emergency Alerts on Any iPhone
For times when you already know about the emergency and are prepared but the alerts keep going off.
How to Fix Small iPad Icons
The latest update lets us fit more icons on each screen, or put them back to the larger size.
How to Add Any Card to the iPhone Wallet App, Even If It Isn’t Supported by Apple
Pass2U is an app that lets you scan a barcode from just about anything and then add it to your Apple Wallet. Try if for your library card!
Customize Suggested Replies on Apple Watch
“It’s useful to set up so you can both replace the current replies to suit your way of talking, as well as add your own replies for things you frequently say.”
♿️ Accessibility
’I Wish We Could Connect on This Level.’ Memes Still Aren’t Accessible to People Who Are Blind. What’s Being Done About It?
Excellent article about what’s being done. Good points about how we focus on “serious” topics first for accessibility, leaving more “silly” things like memes on the back burner. But memes are an important part of today’s culture and communication.
How to add accessibility captions to your Twitter photos
“In 2016 , Twitter added the ability for users to add captions to their images when tweeted from the web or iOS apps. But to this day, many people don’t add these labels to their images, which unfortunately leads to many accessibility issues for people who can’t physically see the photo.”
🗣 Voice computing
Amazon sees Alexa devices more than double in just one year
Amazon sales haven’t slowed down even with people worried about privacy issues. Luckily, Amazon is working on improving privacy options.
Google’s New Meena Chatbot Imitates Human Conversation and Bad Jokes
About the chatbot: “According to Google, Meena can carry on a conversation at a level that feels far more like talking to another person than any existing chatbot.” “Google isn’t likely to start integrating Meena into Google Assistant without some more work on how it could be used, but Meena’s model could help future variations of the voice assistant converse more like humans.”
Kids Don’t Trust Voice Assistants: Study
“Children will trust their teacher over Alexa or Google Assistant, according to a growing body of research noted in a report from Technology Review. Kids like to push voice assistants to see what they know, but they are skeptical about its reliability.” Smart kids.
📊 Interesting stats
54% of U.S. Adults Have Used Voice Commands and 24% Use Them Daily, But Smart Speaker Adoption Slows
“New data released today from Edison Research and NPR showed for the first time that 54% of consumers have used voice commands on a device.” And apparently adoption is slowing in the U.S. but not other countries.
Most Americans support right to have some personal info removed from online searches
“Americans prefer to keep certain information about themselves outside the purview of online searches, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in June 2019.”
💡 Thought-provoking
The Emoji Designer Who’s Bringing African Culture To Smartphone Keyboards
Scientists use stem cells from frogs to build first living robots
A single contact lens could give your entire life a head-up display
Victory! Individuals Can Force Government to Purge Records of Their First Amendment Activity
In Los Angeles, the Women’s March embraces technology to organize and inspire
Google wants to phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome within two years
The Way We Write History Has Changed:A deep dive into an archive will never be the same.
Man Creates ‘Traffic Jams’ On Google Maps By Wheeling 99 Smartphones In A Wagon
🔭 The future
This Oculus Quest Mixed Reality Apartment Is Straight Out Of Minority Report
“In a short video posted to Twitter, Madison shows off a custom-built VR environment layered perfectly over his real-world apartment.“
List of the world’s top female futurists
178 female futurists, from many countries. Scroll past the list for photos and descriptions of each person’s work.
ARK’s Big Ideas 2020 deck is here—a year of research packed into 80 slides covering AI, robotics, autonomous, genomics, bitcoin, and more. Twitter thread:
💌 Please share!
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🐦 Follow @nic221 on Twitter. I tweet about libraries, mobile, apps, and emerging technologies.
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Exceptional insights as always! The analysis of mobile app trends in various industries is incredibly insightful and valuable. Your ability to distil complex trends into clear, actionable takeaways is commendable. Looking forward to implementing these insights into our upcoming projects.