Dr Brian Negus BEM

Many blind iPhone users rely on dictation & often find it frustrating. I'd expected #iOS27 to improve dictation on all iPhones supporting Apple Intelligence but without the dictation boost available only on iPhones 17Pro & presumably 18 Pro dictation may be as in iOS26. Hope not.

@BlindSanityPod I took a look and I’ve just turned on the advanced dictation preview. I’m using it right now, but I don’t suppose that’s a particularly difficult test! I’m still on the new Siri waiting list, so the two are clearly independent.

OK, now that’s funny. Improved dictation is automatically disabled when you download iOS 27 BETA one. You have to go into settings, then general, then keyboard, and scroll all the way down to improved dictation and switch it on. At least, I didn’t lie when I didn’t see any improvement before. LOL. Now let’s drive that baby.

@BlindSanityPod Well spotted. Thanks. I’m still on the waiting list and your hard work is going to save me quite a lot of time I think.

@Danielnezxt That's interesting. Thanks. I'm actually in the UK with UK English and UK region and I'm still waiting for new Siri. Maybe just any change prods the waiting list. I'll wait a little longer especially since other VoiceOver users have had problems.

Guys, I found out how to have the new Siri in iOS 27 I had been waiting for two days and I didn’t have it. So I was in the United States region, the United States language and what I did was change my region to the United Kingdom and my language that was what worked for me.

@BlindSanityPod It's sounding bad. I tried Gemini-powered Google assistant on a Samsung with TalkBack recently and had similar issues. The only solution was to quickly silence and then unmute TalkBack's speech. I'm not off the waitlist yet for new Siri & your experience is very valuable. Thanks.

So as you know, probably, I’m completely blind. I’m relying on VoiceOver and accessibility on my iPhone. The way I understand the new Siri is that there is two components there. The graphic interface that pops up when you ask for Siri. And the new Siri app that allow you to chat directly and look at previous requests. No matter which format you’re using, the new Siri is very visual and is not exactly friendly with voiceover. Especially on BETA right now. For example, when I ask Siri for anything, I have a series of system messages through voiceover THAT conflicts with my microphone. Unless I use my headphone. There is a lot of improvement needed here. Dictation is already tough, but if I have to compete with a series of system messages screaming at me while Siri is waiting for me to ask her what I want, this isn’t going anywhere. Andit’s currently quite frustrating.

New series is not optimized for voiceover. It is difficult to use right now. VERBOSITY isn’t fixing the issue. The phone screams at you when you activate Siri, which disturbed the whole ID of talking seamlessly to the AI.

@BlindSanityPod @OliverKennett You seem to be having lots of trouble. Are your comments about poor dictation your experience on an iPhone 17 pro or pro Max? If not, then you don’t have the so-called big boost to dictation.

You’re observation is fair. Well, it would be fair if the whole point of iOS 27 was not to improve stability and bugs. But that was what the keynote was about. So even for a developer version, we should be able to see some improvement. Not a huge step backward. Another example, dictation. Where is the huge improvement they’re talking about? It is as bad as it used to be. If it isn’t ready, they should say something like coming soon. The developer version does not help in any ways here.

Watch out for watchOS 27. I have an ultra two. The system is stuttering, and MISSES 10% of fitness data. my 10K run today ended up being 9K. It’s missing steps. And my 20 minute cycle ended up lasting 21 minute. The watch is almost entirely unusable with voiceover. any haptic feedback is coming at least two or free time later than usual. and voiceover voice is stuttering. I would wait before. Downloading that piece of crap. Maybe BETA too will be better.

There is a full list of devices on which Apple's most capable on-device model installs in footnote 1 of Apple's press release on the announcement of Siri AI.

I asked Gemini and it told me that the iPhones that will support the best dictation and configurable Siri voice are iPhone 17 Pro and Max and iPhone Air. Haven't attempted to verify that.

If you're frustrated by unreliable dictation on Apple devices note that Apple promised improved on-device dictation on its "most capable devices" in #iOS27. Presumably iOS27 dictation will improve on all devices with Apple Intelligence but be even better on most capable devices.

@markgurman Did I miss something or was "our most powerful devices" not defined?

The important details: - Siri AI for developers in English today; all users later this year in beta. - Siri AI is NOT yet coming to the EU given the regulatory issues there. - Siri AI and new Apple Intelligence features are also not yet coming to China for similar reasons.

Thinking of buying an iPhone 16e, which is great for blind users? Wait. iPhone 17e is likely very imminent & will sell at the current 16e price & 16e prices will then drop. 17e has new processor & supports MagSafe. New iPads also expected soon. Details at:blindios.uk/selecting-an-i…

@Kinchbus Is Skylink Derby still stopping at Lemyngton Street on its way to Leicester?

🚧 Bridge Street closure - now expected until Wed 25 Feb We’re seeing big delays across the network this rush hour: #kinch3 – 20 mins #kinch5 – 47 mins #kinch11 – 53 mins #kinch12 – 65 mins #skylinkDerby – 40 mins #sprint – 50 mins Please allow extra time for your journey.

Thinking of buying an iPhone 16e, which is great for blind users.? Wait. iPhone 17e is likely imminent & will sell at the current 16e price & 16e prices will then drop. 17e has new processor & supports MagSafe. A new iPad also expected soon. Details at: blindios.uk/selecting-an-i…

I mentioned Apple's new AirTags at a meeting & was surprised several people weren't aware of these trackers which can be fantastically helpful for VI people. For those who don't know here's a link to my page on AirTags with a note about alternatives. blindios.uk/useful-apps/ai…

@markgurman Everything I read recently makes no mention of app intents, the technology that would have given Siri enhanced capabilities to perform tasks within apps. Are app intents part of the expected "new Siri" in spring? This could be huge for #accessibility.

This “new new” Siri in iOS 27 is a subsequent update to the “new” Siri coming in iOS 26.4. They are both coming and they are separate.

A low vision iPad user asked if windows can be resized & moved using VoiceOver because they couldn't easily find the drag handles with their vision. I couldn't find documentation but found this by experiment. Do you know alternatives? blindios.uk/can-i-resize-a…

VoiceOver iPhone users, do you know there's a setting which lets you switch a phone call automatically between the earpiece & hands-free over the speaker just by moving the phone away from your ear? It's great when dealing with numeric phone menu systems. blindios.uk/faq/how-to-swi…

@Kinchbus It's a pity Kinchbus doesn't publish real time info that can be used by apps like Transit. Even more convenient.

@BrianNegus Can I ask, Have you tried the live times on our webpage?-Kylie

@Kinchbus the Hugo app isn't available for the current version of Android & the iPhone version hasn't been updated for 2 years. Do you have a new recommendation for live Kinchbus arrival times?