AppleVis Podcast

AppleVis Podcast

AppleVis is the go-to resource for blind and low vision users of Apple technologies. Our Podcast discusses the latest in Apple vision accessibility. Topics cover OS and accessibility features, apps, interviews with developers, roundtable discussions, and more - centering around accessing the maximum potential of Apple hardware, software, and services. Tune in to learn how you can get the most out of your Apple devices, hear the latest accessibility news, and more.

  1. 1d ago

    AppleVis Extra 114: Blind Developer Showcase: A Chat with Ashley Cox of Simulcast

    In this episode of the AppleVis Extra podcast, David Nason is joined by Ashley Cox, a blind software developer who is building native apps for Apple's platforms with a strong focus on accessibility, usability, and thoughtful design. Ashley shares his journey into software development—from teaching himself HTML in the early days of the web to developing sophisticated Swift applications for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. Along the way, he discusses how personal needs often inspire his projects and why creating software for yourself can lead to better experiences for everyone. The conversation takes an in-depth look at Simulcast, Ashley's upcoming podcast application that combines podcast playback, internet radio, Apple Music integration, iCloud syncing, Siri support, and a host of accessibility-focused features into one native Apple experience. Ashley also discusses two additional projects currently in development: Levelly, a precision spirit level for iPhone; and Audit, a modern single-track audio editor designed specifically for macOS. David and Ashley also explore: Learning Swift as a blind developerWhy native apps still matterCross-platform versus native developmentBuilding accessible interfaces from the ground upVoiceOver customization, rotor support, and real-world testingWorking with hundreds of beta testersUsing Apple APIs such as Siri, Apple Intelligence, ShazamKit, and iCloudThe realities—and frustrations—of publishing software on the App StorePricing apps without relying solely on subscriptionsHow AI is changing modern software developmentWhy blind developers bring unique perspectives to software designWhether you're interested in Apple development, accessibility, podcast apps, or hearing from developers within the blind community, this conversation offers an honest look behind the scenes of modern app development and the passion required to bring quality software to life. Resources & Links: Ashley CoxThe Blind Man's WorkshopAppleVis discussion: Seeking Testers for my new iOS and macOS Podcast AppIf you're interested in following the development of Simulcast, joining the beta, or reading feedback from early testers, be sure to visit the AppleVis discussion thread linked above. It includes feature updates, development news, and information on participating in the TestFlight beta. Thanks for listening to the AppleVis Extra podcast. TranscriptDisclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI Note Taker – VoicePen, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content. David: welcome to the Appoviz Extra podcast. David Nason here, delighted to be with you for another episode. On today's podcast, really excited to be joined by a developer called Ashley Cox. This is the first in a mini-series of podcasts we're doing to showcase blind and low vision developers. So people from within our community, who…

  2. Jul 17

    A Demonstration and Walkthrough of Be My Eyes for Mac

    In this episode, Tyler demonstrates the Be My Eyes app for Mac. (Editor's Note: Be My Eyes is the parent company of AppleVis.) With Be My Eyes for Mac, you can use Be My AI to generate high-quality descriptions of visual content, such as screenshots, images stored on your Mac or its clipboard, and pictures taken using your Mac's camera. Topics covered in this demonstration include: Getting startedApp layoutApp keyboard shortcutsDescribing visual content and chatting with Be My AIChat historyEnabling and using the Be My Eyes Sharing extensionApp settingsBe My Eyes for Mac is free for personal use and can be downloaded from https://www.bemyeyes.com/be-my-eyes-for-desktop/. TranscriptDisclaimer: This transcript was generated by ‎Whisper Notes - Speech to Text, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content. Tyler: Hey AppleVissors, Tyler here, with a demonstration and walkthrough of BMIEyes4Mac. With BeMyEyes for Mac, you can use BMAI to receive high-quality descriptions of visual content right on your Mac. Like other BeMyEyes products, it’s free to the consumer and can be downloaded from BMIES.com, link in the description. When you open it for the first time, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your account e,ither with your email address or an SSO option like Apple, Facebook, or Google. After which you’ll be asked to grant a few permissions needed for the app to function, and then you’ll be presented with the interface, which in my opinion is slick and easy to use. And I’m demonstrate that now by opening BMIs on my Mac. VoiceOver: Applications window. BMI’s application. Open. BMII quick actions selected tab. Tyler: Okay, so here we are in the Be My Eyes app. It landed on the Quick Actions tab, which appears to be selected. Five or left to orient to the window here. VoiceOver: Be my eyes. Tyler: Be my eyes and then full VoiceOver: screen button.. Actions available And full screen, Tyler: minimize, close for just the windows control window controls and then just VO right. VoiceOver: Quick actions, selected tab. Tyler: Quick actions. VoiceOver: History tab. Tyler: History. VoiceOver: Tip. Get started with the my eyes button. Tyler: We have a tip and then if I want to dismiss that because I already know what I’m doing here, I’m gonna be right. VoiceOver: Dismiss tip button. Tyler: Dismiss screenshot command option s button. And here I am and a it has apparently interacted me with the describe with be my AI group. So if I press VOShift up arrow, VL left, we have the history tab, VO right, describe with my yacht group. Describe with be my AI. VoiceOver: Describe with my yacht group. Tyler: And that’s the only thing in this interface. At least the top level of it. So I’m going to interact now with the OSH down arrow. VoiceOver: In described my AI group. Five items described with my AI. Command option S button. Tyler: Okay, that’s screenshot, command option S. VoiceOver: Image. Command option I button. Tyler: Image, command option…

  3. Jun 12

    AppleVis Extra #113: WWDC26 Keynote Reactions and Accessibility Roundtable

    In this episode of the AppleVis Extra podcast, Dave Nason is joined by Thomas Domville and Tyler Stephen for an in-depth discussion of Apple’s WWDC 2026 keynote. The team examines Apple’s new presentation format, the company’s focus on refinement, trust and safety, and artificial intelligence, and what these changes mean for blind and low-vision users. The conversation begins with overall impressions of the keynote, which the hosts describe as a departure from previous WWDC events. Rather than organizing announcements by operating system, Apple focused on three major themes: refinement, trust and safety, and AI. The hosts discuss why this approach reflects Apple’s increasing platform convergence and why this year’s event felt more like a “Snow Leopard” release focused on improvements and stability rather than a long list of new features. A significant portion of the discussion centers on Apple’s expanded family safety and parental control features. The hosts explore improvements to Screen Time, website access controls, contact approval requests, and age-verification technologies. They also discuss how Apple’s new Declarative Age Range API could potentially reduce accessibility barriers while helping companies comply with growing age-restriction requirements worldwide. The podcast then shifts to Apple Intelligence and the newly announced Siri AI experience. Thomas, Tyler, and Dave discuss Apple’s renewed effort to deliver the AI-powered Siri capabilities first previewed several years ago. Topics include contextual awareness, world knowledge, app actions, improved dictation, more expressive voices, and Apple’s continued rollout strategy. The hosts also discuss concerns about device compatibility, regional availability, and the growing fragmentation between supported and unsupported devices. A major accessibility highlight is Apple Intelligence image description. The hosts explain how blind users can now quickly describe images anywhere in the operating system without relying on third-party services such as Be My AI or PiccyBot. They discuss the new image description rotor actions, follow-up questioning, screen-level descriptions through the Dynamic Island, and the potential future benefits of AI-powered contextual understanding for unlabeled interface elements. Other Apple Intelligence features covered include Visual Intelligence, AI-powered web monitoring, custom Safari extension generation, natural language Shortcut creation, password management automation, and AI-assisted productivity improvements. The discussion also covers operating system compatibility changes across Apple’s platforms. The hosts review iOS 27 device support, the end of Intel Mac support in macOS 27 Golden Gate, Rosetta’s remaining lifespan, Apple Silicon requirements, and changes to Apple Watch compatibility. Additional accessibility-related improvements discussed include pronunciation dictionary import and export, enhanced VoiceOver verbosity controls, Braille Screen Input improvements, predictive text support for Braille users, and settings related to VoiceOver cursor visibility during screen recordings. The team also reviews Apple’s claims regarding system performance improvements, including faster app launches, improved AirDrop transfers, better networking transitions, Spotlight indexing enhancements, CPU scheduling improvements, and the overall goal of making Apple devices feel more responsive…

  4. Apr 23

    How to Limit the Maximum Charge of Your Mac's Battery

    In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to limit the maximum charge of your Mac's battery to 80, 85, 90, or 95%, useful for prolonging long-term battery health. To do this, go to System Settings > Battery, click the "Show Detail" button to the right of "Charging," adjust the slider to your desired charge limit, and click Done. Note that the available increments are relative to the slider rather than the battery percentage, meaning setting it to 0% will limit the maximum charge to 80%, 25% will limit it to 85, 50% will limit it to 90, 75% will limit it to 95, and 100% will allow the battery to charge to its full capacity. The set limit is displayed to the right of the slider and is updated as the slider is adjusted. TranscriptDisclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI Note Taker – VoicePen, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content. Tyler: Hey Apple visitors, Tyler here, with a quick tip for how to limit the maximum charge of your Mac's battery. Starting with macOS 26.4, you can configure your Mac to only charge the battery to 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100%. To prolong your Mac's long-term battery capacity, it's best to keep it around 80%. e setting, you'd go into System Settings, Battery, hit the Show Detail button next to Charging, and adjust the slider. And I'm going to demonstrate that now on my Mac. VoiceOver: Menu bar Apple. Apple. Menu. About this Mac. System Settings. Alexis. T7. Volume. System. Window. B, A for Battery. Battery. Jump to the scroll area. Battery. Charging on all. Interact. In battery. VL Write. To the left. Tyler: Get to the top of the dialog. VoiceOver: Charge limit. 100%. Charge limit. Slider. Tyler: Okay, so here we are. Charge limit. 100%. Meaning there is no limit configured, and the battery will charge to 100%, unless Optimized Battery Charging is on, which limits it automatically based on usage patterns. But if I press down arrow. VoiceOver: 75%. 75%. Tyler: And this is a little confusing, because when it says 75%, it's 75% of the slider, meaning it's 95% charge limit. So you can see by pressing VL Write, your Mac will VoiceOver: charge to 95% limit. Charge to 95%. Tyler: So if I go back to the slider. VoiceOver: 75%. Tyler: Go down. 50%. VoiceOver: 50%. Tyler: It'll charge 90%. VoiceOver: 25%. 25%. 85%. 0%. 80%. Tyler: So if you want to know what the limit is set to with the slider, just press VL Write. And of course, if you want to change, go back up, just go VoiceOver: 25%. 25%. 50%. 50%. 75%. 75%. 100 in dialog cancel button. Keeping your charge limit below 100% helps preserve your battery lifespan over time. Tyler: Okay, so you have a dialog warning here to confirm you're really sure you want to set it to 100%. And you can choose. Set limit to 100%. And allow until tomorrow, which may be useful if you normally want it at a certain, a lower limit but need to charge your battery…

  5. Mar 12

    iPhone 17e: Unboxing, First Impressions, and Hands-On with VoiceOver

    In this podcast, Michael Hansen unboxes and gives his initial impressions of Apple's iPhone 17e. In addition to giving a physical description of the device, Michael demonstrates the speakers and VoiceOver performance on the iPhone 17e--giving blind, DeafBlind, and low vision users an idea of what they can expect from Apple's newest budget iPhone. TranscriptDisclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI Note Taker – VoicePen, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content. Michael: Hello, AppleVis friends. This is Michael Hansen. Thanks so much for joining me. I hope that today finds you well wherever you are. In this podcast, I'm going to be unboxing, setting up, and giving my initial first hands-on impressions of the all-new iPhone 17E. The iPhone 17E is Apple's new budget iPhone. It starts at 599 US dollars. For that price, you get an A19 series processor. You get 256 gigabytes of storage. You get MagSafe charging up to 15 watts. You get a phone with a 6.1 inch display. You get a whole lot more. And all of it, again, for the same starting price of $599 as last year. Looking at it kind of in terms of the other iPhone 17 models, we, of course, we have our iPhone 17E, which is kind of the entry level. the the basic iphone at 599 us dollars you have your iphone 17 which is 200 more at 7.99 you have your iphone air at 9.99 your iphone 17 pro at 10.99 and you have an iphone 17 pro max at 11.99 Now, my personal device is an iPhone 17 Pro Max. I like big phones. I like big batteries. And so... It's not lost on me that the phone that we're looking at here is half the price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max. And last year I reviewed the iPhone 16E and I really had a blast with it. Battery life was really good. Speakers were really good. It did not have MagSafe, which of course this year's model does. Apple has corrected that. It also does not have the precision finding support. So for precision finding for your air tags and things like that. And I don't think this year's model does either from what I was able to see. And it doesn't look like this one has dual frequency GPS. Whether or not that is important to you is totally a personal thing. Just giving you information here so you kind of know what's going on. But in many other ways, I really, really, really liked the iPhone 16E. And so I kind of am going into this review with some expectations. I'm expecting and thinking that the iPhone 17E is going to be a year's newer iPhone 16E with MagSafe and a newer processor. And so I'm really excited about this to kind of see where this goes, because I think this and the lower cost iPhone is going to be what a majority of people are probably going to want to buy. So as much as I like my big, super big phones with super uber big battery, I also like to kind of look at the other end of it, the basic model to know who can I, you know, who is this phone for and who can it be recommended for? And can I recommend this to just somebody who just wants a good iPhone for years to come that will last a long time? So Apple was kind enough to loan me an iPhone 17E in black. It is the 512 gigabyte model. You can get your iPhone 17Es, by the way, in white, black, or soft pink. You get cases, MagSafe cases, they've got crossbody straps, they sent me a crossbody as well. We're gonna go ahead and open up the case first so that when I take the phone out of…

  6. Mar 6

    Gamers Corner (Oct–Dec 2025): Adventure To Fate + Dungeon Scoundrel | Accessible iOS Gaming

    Welcome to Gamers Corner, your roundup of accessible games for blind and low vision gamers. In this October–December 2025 edition, we share our latest iOS game picks, highlight three runner-ups, revisit a classic Blindfold Games Vault Treasure, and close with a Crossing Consoles recommendation—plus a quick look at end-of-year awards. Hosts: Thomas Domville, Aaron Spelker, and Jesse Anderson Links (Quick Access) Adventure To Fate: Dungeons (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/adventure-to-fate-dungeons/id6743055907Dungeon Scoundrel (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dungeon-scoundrel/id6756222423Echo Chain: Multiplayer (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/echo-chain-multiplayer/id6751758104Lane Defender: Haptic Arcade (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/at/app/lane-defender-haptic-arcade/id6749909197Lenguard (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lenguard/id6747782520Blindfold Games Launcher (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blindfold-games-launcher/id1067124446Stories of Blossom (Steam): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1581680/Stories_of_Blossom/Stories of Blossom (Itch.io): https://softleafstudios.itch.io/stories-of-blossomStaff Picks (iOS) Adventure To Fate: Dungeons — Platform: iOS — Price: $4.99 (one-time purchase) A turn-based roguelike RPG featuring handcrafted dungeons, multiple character classes, loot collection, and both casual and permadeath modes. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/adventure-to-fate-dungeons/id6743055907 Dungeon Scoundrel — Platform: iOS — Price: Paid one-time purchase (no ads, no in-app purchases) A tactical roguelike card-based dungeon crawler built around a fixed 55-card dungeon deck, designed for quick 5–15 minute sessions. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dungeon-scoundrel/id6756222423 Runner-Ups (iOS) Echo Chain: Multiplayer — Platform: iOS — Price: Free (in-app purchases; full unlock around $2.49) A rhythm and memory-based multiplayer puzzle game for up to four players, with modes like Battle Royale and Arcade and full accessibility support. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/echo-chain-multiplayer/id6751758104 Lane Defender: Haptic Arcade — Platform: iOS — Price: $0.99 (one-time purchase) A minimalist, haptic-first…

  7. Feb 26

    How to Disable Hot Corners on macOS: and Why you Might Wish to as a VoiceOver User

    In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to disable Hot Corners on macOS. Hot Corners are areas of the screen that perform a specified action when the mouse pointer is hovered over them. As a VoiceOver user who doesn't use the mouse, you might want to configure them to do nothing, so you don't inadvertently cause an action to be performed if you accidentally brush your fingers against the trackpad or use trackpad gestures to control VoiceOver. To do this, go to System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners, and make sure the popup menu for each screen corner is set to hyphen (-) rather than any of the actions in the menu. TranscriptDisclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI Note Taker – VoicePen, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content. Tyler: Hey, AppleVis-ers. Tyler here with a quick tip for how to disable hot corners on macOS. Hot corners are areas of the screen that, when hovered over with the mouse pointer, cause certain functions to be performed, such as locking the screen, starting screensaver, or creating a quick note. Tyler: If you're a voiceover user who doesn't use the mouse, you may want to disable these so you don't inadvertently trigger them in the course of using your Mac, say, if you accidentally brush your fingers on the trackpad or if you use trackpad gestures to control voiceover. To do this, you go into System Settings, Desktop and Dock, click the Hot Corners button, and make sure each of the four corners is set not to perform any action. And I'm going to demonstrate that now on my Mac. VoiceOver: Menu bar Apple. Apple, system settings. System settings. T7, volume, systems, general, window, sidebar. Tyler: D for desktop and dock. VoiceOver: Desktop and dock. Desktop and dock, scroll area. Tyler: Interact with scroll area. VoiceOver: Desktop and dock, scroll area. 77 up. Tyler: And because the Hot Corners button is located near the bottom, I'm going to jump to the bottom of VL Globe, right? VoiceOver: Help button. Tyler: VL left. VoiceOver: Hot Corners button. Tyler: Hot Corners. VoiceOver: Dialog hyphen top left Hot Corner pop-up button. Tyler: Here we are. So at the top of the dialog, VLGlobe left arrow. Okay, so that's hyphen. And that means that there is nothing, no action bound to that hot corner. But if I go into the pop-up menu. Mission control. Application windows. Desktop. Notification center. Apps. Quick note. Start screensaver. Disable screensaver. Tyler: And hyphen, which is do nothing. So if that corner, the top left corner on your Mac is set to do something else and you don't want it to do that, just change it to hyphen. And if you go VL right, bottom left, same deal. VoiceOver: Choose hyphen. Tyler: And top right is hyphen. Hyphen, bottom right. So if all of these are set to hyphen, Tyler: there will be no actions performed when moving the mouse to the corners of the screen. So no hot corner is active. And when you're done, just feel right again, hit done. Hot corners button. And here you are back in system settings. So that's a quick tip for how to disable hot corners on Mac OS. It's a quick set it and forget it task that can help if you…

  8. Feb 19

    WikiTrip: VoiceOver-Accessible Wikipedia-Powered Audio Guide for Road Trips on iOS

    WikiTrip – Travel Audio Guide is an iOS app that uses VoiceOver accessibility with a location-based audio guide to pull curated information from Wikipedia and read it aloud while the listener is moving. In this episode, Thomas Domville demonstrates and reviews the iOS app WikiTrip, a location-based audio guide that pulls curated information from Wikipedia and reads it aloud while the listener is moving, such as during a road trip, bus ride, or walk. He explains how the app works, including its reliance on location services and an active cellular connection, and notes that it is designed primarily for use on the go rather than while stationary. He walks through the main interface, describes how the app discovers nearby points of interest, and discusses key settings such as voice selection, minimum distance traveled, and minimum time between articles. He also highlights the History feature, which stores previously played items and allows the user to open the associated Wikipedia pages, and explains that the app avoids repeating content unless the history is cleared. Finally, he shares examples of points of interest the app surfaced during a trip to Branson, Missouri, illustrating the type of information WikiTrip can provide during travel. Host: Thomas Domville Length: 0:20:47 App InformationName: WikiTrip – Travel Audio Guide Developer: Björn Schefzyk Category: Travel Platforms: iOS Price: Free App Store Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wikitrip-travel-audio-guide/id1438931523 Timestamps00:05 Intro 00:10 Host introduction 00:38 Why this app came up for road trips 01:05 What WikiTrip does (Wikipedia audio based on location while moving) 02:51 First launch: location permission 03:14 Starting playback with Continue 06:40 Movement requirement to trigger new content (150 feet) 07:21 Pausing playback with Stop 07:54 Settings: voice, distance, time between articles 11:15 History: reviewing previous articles and opening Wikipedia 12:20 Clearing history to allow repeats 14:10 Map list: selecting nearby items without traveling 15:57 Points of interest examples from the Branson trip TranscriptDisclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI Note Taker – VoicePen, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content. Thomas: Hello and welcome. My name is Thomas Domville, also known as AnonyMouse. In this podcast, I'm going to do a walkthrough and a review of an iOS app called Wikitrip. W-I-K-I-T-R-I-P. So this past weekend, Mrs. Mouse and I went on a road trip, and we were heading down to southern Missouri into the Ozark Mountains. And specific, we spent some time in Branson, Missouri itself. And while we were doing that, and while we were on the road trip, somebody on AppleVis asked, what can you do during a road trip? What, you know, obviously we can listen to books and things, but are there any apps for entertainment for things that you can do in the car? Well, there's so much you can do, but Wikitrip is one of the AppleVis contributors out there. So thank you out there for suggesting Wikitrip. What is Wikitrip? Wikitrip is an app that you can take on the road with you. So it's not just for the road or a car ride. It can be if you're on a bus. or you're walking, so essentially any time that you're moving.…

See All (626)

4.5
out of 5
102 Ratings

About

AppleVis is the go-to resource for blind and low vision users of Apple technologies. Our Podcast discusses the latest in Apple vision accessibility. Topics cover OS and accessibility features, apps, interviews with developers, roundtable discussions, and more - centering around accessing the maximum potential of Apple hardware, software, and services. Tune in to learn how you can get the most out of your Apple devices, hear the latest accessibility news, and more.

Information

  • Creator
    AppleVis Podcast
  • Years Active
    2011 - 2026
  • Episodes
    626
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright AppleVis. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    AppleVis Podcast

You Might Also Like