Technology Reviews

Hi guys and welcome back for another review! Sorry I didn’t update last week or last night _ I was suffering from the Winter bug and last night just wasn’t going to plan. But I will be updating again tomorrow, and all the videos for last few weeks will be uploaded as soon as possible.

So as promised, this post is all about the top 5 most accessible games on Apple Arcade. For those of you who don’t know, Apple Arcade is a subscription hub from Apple, where you can download and play out-rolling games with no additional adds or costs. You get all this for just £4:99 a month, and after signing up you get 1 month free! So if you are a gamer and you haven’t done this already, go on to the app store on your iPhone, iPad or Apple TV, and sign up.

No 5: Sonic Racing

Sonic Racing is a multiplayer racing game developed by SEGA, and suitable for players 9+. It lets the player take control of fifteen playable characters from the Sonic universe, and compete in the ultimate multiplayer racing experience. While racing you can collect power-ups, set traps and attack competitors as you drive at high speed!

You can decide how you want to play _ and enjoy single player mode, play with your friend or go big with players online in multiplayer mode! Sonic Racing also lets you create your team _ with each character having its own unique advantage and special Team Ability. There are 15 tracks in total _ each split across 5 zones _ and Wisps are back! These 15 spectacular creatures are here to offer help when overcoming rival teams _ and you get more rewards the more you race!

If I was judging Sonic Racing on how accessible it is on iPhone or iPad, I would give it 4 stars. But moving around and pressing multiple buttons makes it harder to do on Mac, and if you can only use one finger, you crash A LOT! I don’t find it too difficult on iPhone or iPad because I can move my head to select wisps quickly, but this wouldn’t help someone who can’t move as quickly. For this reason, I will give it 3 stars.

No 4: Agent Intercept

Agent Intercept is a single player Action game developed by PikPok, and suitable for players 12+. In it you play as an agent, challenging international agents for the top spot! With a brand new Current Crisis to sink Uko’s sub _ you now get refined steering and improved gameplay.

I’ve only played this game on Mac _ and though I do like it _ I think it has many of the same problems as Sonic Racing. Unless you have a lot of movement, it is very hard to steer the car, so I would like if this could be sorted. Meanwhile, I will give this game 4 stars.

No 3: What The Golf

What The Golf is a single player action game, and suitable for ages 9+. In the words of Apple, it is the golf game for people who hate golf. A silly physics-based golf parody where every golf course is a new surprising type of golf. it adds an amusing spin to the game _ where you will be asking yourself: WHAT THE GOLF.

I’ve only played What The Golf on Mac, but to play you just have to be able to move a mouse and click. For this reason, I will give it a massive 5 stars.

No 2: Pac-Man Party

Pac-Man Party Royale is a multiplayer family game for 1-4 players, developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment, and suitable for ages 4+. A play on the classic game, you can battle your friends both locally and online, playing in hope of being the last Pac-Man standing.

To play this game on Mac, you have to use the 4 arrow keys, but to do it on mobile or on iPad, you just use your finger. If you are aware of or have experience playing Pac-Man, you know how fast you have to go, but this could be hard for some players _ especially the further you get.

But since it’s accessible for fast one-handed play, I will give it 5 stars.

No 1: Grindstone

Grindstone is a single player puzzle game by Capybara games, and suitable for ages 12+.

A sword-slashing puzzle battle, Grindstone is a similar game to others in the board clearing puzzle world. Grindstone Mountain has been overrun with vicious Creeps _ who you have to slay to make your way up its treacherous peak where fortune, glory (and death) await!

Grindstone is another game which only requires you to move a mouse and click, which is why I’ve put it in my number 1 spot with 5 stars!

Apple Arcade is a new subscription service from Apple _ where Apple has joined forces with some of the world’s most visionary developers to give you unlimited access to over 100 games, rolling out over the next few months! Apple’s plan is to push the boundaries and make it possible to create the games of your dreams _ which you can download for free with one cheap bundle!

There are a range of games and genres available _ including ones like Shinsekai of the Deep; Sonic Racing; and loads of other genres like Puzzles!

With Apple Arcade you have access to literally every type of game, and with multiplayer options as well! Most of the games I find accessible, but some are easier to play on some devices more than others! There are also games you can play if you’re in to more relaxing games, and exciting ones for if you’re a more intense gamer! It has games available for all ages, but as far as accessibility is concerned, I would say it depends on your level of disability.

You get a free month trial when you sign up to Apple Arcade, and after that it costs 4:99.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

MacOS Catalina is the newest edition of iOS developed, and was released for Mac; iPhone; iPad; and other iOS devices, on 7th October 2019. An update like nothing we’ve had before, MacOS Catalina gives you more of everything you love about your device! The iTunes app on Mac has been renamed to Music _ like it’s been for a few years on iPhone and iPad _ and you now get the Apple TV app with new Apple TV+, and the Apple Podcasts app if you’re on Mac. Catalina also gives you an all new way of finding your missing devices with the Find My app, and you can extend your desktop with your iPad acting as a second display with Sidecar.

Apple Music has literally no changes from it’s previous developments, and you still have access to over 50 million songs, as long as you have an Apple Music Subscription. But with the new version, you can now see the lyrics to your favourite songs while they play, or switch to Mini Player to listen while multitasking.

With the new Apple TV app, you can buy and rent the latest movie and tv releases, and subscribe to Apple TV channels to watch popular shows on demand and add free, online and off. New Apple TV+ lets you get access to thousands of programmes, and you can watch and catch up from where you left off on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and compatible smart TVs. With the updated app, you can watch your favourite content everywhere, and continue wherever you pick up!

If there’s one change worth being mentioned in this version of iOS, in my opinion, it is the desktop app of Apple Podcasts. The Podcasts app lets you continue listening to your favourite podcasts or find something new, or to find others you might like based on what you have already listened to. The library is where all your podcasts go, and with hundreds and thousands of shows to listen to, it is now easier than ever to get the correct results when browsing and searching.

All 3 services _ Apple TV, Apple Music and Apple Podcasts _ sync between all your devices, through the cloud, or you can sync between apps if you prefer using a cable.

Photos has been given an all new appearance _ with your photos now being organised by day, month and year views so it’s easy to relive your memories. Animations and transitions keep your spot in the timeline so it’s easy to swap across, and photo Previews are larger to help you distinguish shots. Photos’ intelligence helps find the best parts of photos to view, so you see the best of the unedited version.

The all-new gallery view displays your notes as visual thumbnails, making it easier to find the note you’re looking for. You can share notes or complete folders with others, and collaborate on notes together, with everyone being able to add what they want. This version of notes also introduces new checklist options, so you can reorder items in your list of items with drag and drop or keyboard shortcuts, and move ticked items to the bottom out of the way. If you’ve completed the checklist and want to revisit it, you can easily untick all the items, and start again.

Reminders, Safari and Mail have all been updated _ with Safari having a new homepage to show frequently viewed, favourites, and Siri suggestions _ Mail including an unsubscribe button on top of emails _ and Reminders allowing the same type of contribution as apps like Notes now have.

The App Store has been updated to work with Apple Arcade _ which has finally been released! It lets you download and play 100+ groundbreaking new games with a £4.99 subscription _ with no adds or additional purchases! Browse the latest games, personalised recommendations and exclusive editorial content in the Arcade tab on the App Store, and enjoy games across iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.

System Preferences looks a lot different compared to how it looked like with Mac OS Mojave, and that’s partly due to so much being added. With Apple ID and Family Sharing being added to the top, and you can now change your appearance in General to Light, Dark or Auto _ the last one also letting you schedule how long the screen stays light for, and when it goes dark. You can also control how long your children spend on a phone with Screen Time, and there’s a few new screen saver pictures.

Also new to iOS Catalina is Voice Control _ which means you can get round your phone without having to tap it.

I wasn’t a big fan of OS Mojave, so I updated as soon as a notification popped through telling me to update. Everything that’s been added in Catalina feels like my mac has suddenly been fixed, and it’s just a lot handier.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dimples New Generation Extra Long Stylus is a pack of 4 extra large stylus pens, with a 7.5 inch Ultra Slim Radius, and a 3mm Micro-Knit Hybrid Fiber tip, referred to in this as a nib. It also comes with replacement nibs _ so if you lose one you can easily replace it _ and elastic tether lanyards. But if you use your mouth, this could be a choking hazard, so they are very easy to take off.

The length of the stylus means it’s easy to touch your touchscreen at a longer distance, and although I still have to ask for my table to be brought closer, I can now reach my iPad when I’m using it with my keyboard case, and on another high note, I can also reach all over my phone without struggling.

The radius 3mm Micro-Knit hybrid fiber tips are the most responsive and finest tip available! An aluminium body, mixed the Micro—knit hybrid tips make it feel like your holding a real pen, only one that is 100% compatIble with all touch screen devices!

As well as your stylus pens, you also get 4 replaceable nibs, which can be put in and pulled out again whenever you need. This is very helpful as I have experiences of losing nibs, which I now have the option of replacing until I find them _ and a nib going missing or breaking no longer means throwing out the whole stylus.

As mentioned at the beginning of this blog, the package also comes with elastic tether strings, and 2 extra if you need them. These are so you can attach the stylus to the side of whichever device you’re using, but since I do everything with my mouth, I don’t use them.

I’ve tried many different stylus brands over the years, but put simply, Dimples Excel are the best I’ve tried in a long time. I find the stylus exceptionally light (probably because I’ve been using my mouth for so long that most weights don’t bother me any more), but other than having to disconnect the tether lanyard strings, I find them completely accessible for my type of disability.

The Dimples Excel New Generation XXL Stylus Pens are available on Amazon in Black, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold; Pink, Purple, Light blue and black; and Dark Blue, Green, Silver and Red.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The Boriyuan Ultra Slim PU Case is compatible with the new iPad Pro, as well as most other models, and comes with a magnetic bluetooth detachable keyboard.

The magnetic detachable backlit keyboard lets you to choose your favourite colours in poor lighting conditions, and can be removed to work away from the case or on. Its keys are very nice to type on, and it’s easy to do no matter how many fingers you have, though there are times when it is too easy to press.

The Auto Sleep / Wake function means you can turn your iPad off by just flipping the case over, and wake it up just by opening it. This is meant to make the battery life on your iPad more durable – but I do feel like there is sometimes still times when my iPad doesn’t turn off as fast as I’d like it to.

The case protects your iPad from all directions, so it won’t break if you drop it, and it is free from scratches, dirt and stains. Made with a comfortable laptop-like design, it easily adjusts to whichever angle suits you best, for working, writing or watching videos.

It also lets you charge your Apple Pencil, but I don’t use one due to the amount of pressure it takes.

You can easily set up Sticky keys to work on your iPad. To do this you just go in to Settings, then Accessibility, Keyboard, Sticky keys, and turn it on. This means you won’t have to hold down more than one button at a time if you can’t do it.

The case comes in a brown box, and inside, you get a set up guide, along with other information. Under that you get your iPad case and the detachable keyboard, which you can set up by reading through the information included.

The battery on the keyboard lasts for a little over a month depending on how often you use it, but I’ve had no problems with it so far.

I got this case so I would have something to cover my iPad when taking it out, but also because I wanted one with a keyboard _ as I write a lot and wanted an option which wouldn’t mean I have to go on my Mac all the time _ but which was also affordable. One of my questions before buying was whether or not I could use it with Sticky Keys – as not knowing this answer a few years ago was what annoyed me about the Apple keyboard case. But from my first time trying it, I think both the case and the keyboard have a much nicer feel to them, and the included backlight makes it easy for me to use in darker places. The only thing I would like to be added in future updates is having the option of using the keyboard while it charges, but from the accessibility view, it is brilliant.

The Boriyuan Ultra Slim PU Leather Case with Detachable Keyboard can be bought on Amazon for £21.94.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The new iPad Pro is one of the newest editions of iPad, and has been sold as the best of iPads by far. Coming with a bigger screen, it’s also the first to lose the home button, and comes with Face ID _ which can be used in Portrait and Landscape. Many of the side buttons have been renamed, taken off and made smaller, and there is no headphone jack _ so you will have to use wireless headphones or EarPods. The internal microphone is now a whole lot louder, but with the bigger screen, this iPad has also got a lot more lighter.

The screen on this iPad is a Liquid Retina display from edge to edge, and has True-to-Life Colour and ProMotion technology _ making it feel more responsive.

An A12X Bionic Chip makes it incredibly smart, and perfect to use with AR and other types of immersive gaming. The Neural Engine runs 5 trillion operations per second, making it possible for you to even edit in Photoshop.

To get around the new iPad Pro you use the same gestures as we saw in the iPhone X series, and these can be changed in Settings if you can’t access all of them. If anyone’s reading this and can’t access all the gestures, you can see how to change it in my review of the iPhone X or in my tutorial on how to get more accessibility options.

It is also possible for you to record while scrolling through a script, or message while working on whatever, which you can do by sliding a second app on to the main app you have open.

If you have an Apple Pencil or are a fan of it, you can now charge it by attaching it magnetically to the side, and you can also get a folio smart keyboard case for whichever size of iPad you settle on. But I don’t have either the Apple Pencil or smart folio keyboard, instead choosing to settle on other types.

The charger for the new iPad Pro is USB-C, meaning you can plug it in to a digital camera, your phone, or anything else that also supports that type of connection.

The new iPad Pro has two cameras equipped with Smart HDR. These include a 12MP camera for stunning photos, 4K video, document scanning etc, and you also get a TrueDepth camera, Portrait Mode _ and access to FaceTime, Animoji, Memoji.

I got this iPad so I could do digital art easier, and to have other ways to photo edit. Like what I said about the iPhone X, the new iPad Pro was hard to get into (especially if you’re updating from the iPad Air) but since I got used to it and found out how to add accessibility shortcuts, I’ve loved everything about it. My only criticisms is how you have to use two fingers to zoom in to illustrations or turn them around, so I would like options for rotate and zoom to be added into the Accessibility settings.

The new iPad Pro can be bought with an 11 or 12.9 inch display, but what size you get makes no difference to how it works. At the time I got it, it cost between £769-£969, before you add in storage. Whether or not you should update depends on what you’ll be using it for, but if you’re not using it for creative reasons, or for other work, I would suggest you stick with a different model. The price might be different at different times in the year.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️