When I saw the recent announcement that Apple would open its iOS beta program to the general public, I felt that the time had come to recap the various ways Apple accepts feedback on matters of accessibility. The Accessibility Department at Apple has a long track record of using customer feedback to drive improvement. While they don’t always respond to comments or bug reports directly, evidence of their attention to feedback is clear in product updates that bring new features and stability. There are three primary ways to get in touch with the Apple engineers responsible for product development. They include: directly contacting the Accessibility Department, the Bug Reporter and Apple’s catch-all feedback page.
The most effective way to contact Apple’s Accessibility Department is to send an E-mail to <accessibility@apple.com>. Even if you use one of the other two methods below, be sure to send a copy of your feedback or, in the case of bug reports, a bug reference number to the team at Accessibility.
The second method, and one open to anyone registered for Apple’s public beta or Mac/iOS developer programs, is Apple’s Bug Reporter. This method provides a form where you can detail the issue, the steps to reproduce it and the make, model and version of your device configuration. If you decide to use one of the other methods, the aforementioned pieces of information are very valuable to Apple engineers.
Finally, Apple maintains a generic form that anyone can use to provide feedback. Found here, the form allows anyone to have their thoughts, opinions and ideas heard by Apple engineers. It is a good idea to label the title of your feedback with the word “Accessibility”, to make it easier for your posts to get to the right team.
While I have focused on providing feedback from an accessibility prospective, the latter two methods allow you to comment on any aspect of Apple’s products.
Together we can build a better, bug-free future for everyone. If you are feeling particularly adventurous and don’t mind living on the bleeding edge, go ahead and sign up for Apple’s beta programs*. If stability is your preference, you can help by reporting the bugs you find in your everyday use.
Every bug report counts!
Thoughts? Drop me a comment or find me on Twitter.
* Apple World Today reminds users to never install beta software on mission critical systems and to backup, backup, backup!!!
