AppleVis Podcast

AppleVis Podcast
  • 4.5 (103)
  • TECHNOLOGY

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. JAN 19

    How to Manage Login Items on macOS

    In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to manage login items on macOS. If there are certain apps or files that you always want open, you can configure them to open automatically when logging into your Mac. To do this, go to System Settings > General > Login items & Extensions, click Add, and select the item in the open dialog. To delete a login item, select it in the table and click Remove. Alternatively, items in the Dock can be added as login items by selecting them and choosing "open at login" from the "options" submenu in the item's context menu (accessed by pressing VO-Shift-M); uncheck this option to remove it. In addition to login items, Login items & Extensions Settings allows you to manage background items, processes that run even if the app is not open in order to complete certain tasks or respond to changing conditions, such as checking for and installing updates. If there are certain apps you don't want to be able to run background processes, for example, if they're utilizing a disproportionate amount of system resources, you can toggle them off under the "App background activity" heading; however, keep in mind that disabling an app's background processes may cause the app to not work as expected, so you may wish to perform additional research before doing so to determine those processes’ functions. If, after uninstalling an app, its background items still appear in this list, you may need to manually delete the files that the app deposited, which can typically be found in the "Launch Agents" folders, one of which is in your user Library folder (~/library) and the other in the Library folder at the root of your startup disk (/library), as well as the "Launch Daemons" folder in the Library folder at the root of your startup disk. 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 AppleVissers, Tyler here with a quick tip for how to manage login items on macOS. Login items, as the name suggests, are items like apps or files that open automatically when logging into your Mac. This may be useful if you, for example, have apps that you use constantly or always want open. So even if you restarted your Mac, those apps would be open and ready for you to use. While this feature may be convenient, the more items you have configured to open automatically might slow the boot process or login process. In addition, some apps insert themselves as login items or background items, which I'll explain later. And depending on your preference and use case, you may not want certain apps opening every time you log in. So in this tutorial, I'll demonstrate how to manage this. To do that, you'd go into System Settings, General, Login Items and Extensions. I'll demonstrate that now on my Mac. VoiceOver: Menu bar, Apple app system settings, ellipsis, Dropbox, alias, system, window, sidebar, table. Row 10 of 37, general, selected. Tyler: Okay. VLGlobe right for the scroll area. Scroll area. Interact. VoiceOver: In scroll area. 16 items general. Tyler: And since this is located near the bottom, I'll VLGlobe right. VoiceOver: Transfer or reset button. VL left. Device, time machine, startup disk,…

  2. JAN 8

    Apple Crunch December 2025: Trophies, Turbulence, and a Fold Too Far

    In the December 2025 edition of Apple Crunch, hosts Thomas Domville (AnonyMouse) and John Gassman wrap up the year with a wide-ranging discussion covering AppleVis community awards, Apple’s own App Store recognitions, major Apple hardware and business news, and an accessibility-focused app pick to close out the month. The episode begins with a deep dive into the AppleVis Golden Apples Awards for 2025. Thomas explains the nomination criteria and selection process before announcing this year’s winners. PixieBot takes top honors as Best App of the Year, praised for its rapid adoption of new AI models and especially its standout video description capabilities. Adventure to Fate earns Best Game of the Year for its fully accessible RPG design and highly engaged developers, while the PixieBot developer is recognized as Best Developer of the Year for consistent community involvement and innovation. The prestigious David Goodwin Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Aira, recognizing its long-standing global impact in providing visual assistance to blind and low-vision users. Runner-ups across categories, including Ally, InnoSearch AI, Art of Fauna, Land of Livia, and Weather Gods, are also discussed in detail. From there, the conversation shifts to Apple’s own 2025 App Store Awards, focusing on the Cultural Impact category. Art of Fauna and Be My Eyes are highlighted as winners, with discussion around why Apple may have chosen to spotlight these apps as examples of accessibility, inclusion, and broader social awareness. The second half of the show turns to Apple news and rumors. Thomas and John examine troubling reports about the iPhone Air, including its dramatic 47 percent resale value drop within ten weeks and what that says about consumer demand and pricing strategy. They also revisit ongoing rumors surrounding the iPhone Fold, expressing skepticism about its rumored $2,400 price point and questioning whether it risks becoming another niche, luxury product. The Vision Pro receives similar scrutiny, with discussion of sharply reduced marketing, low unit sales, and signs that Apple may already be shifting focus away from the headset. This leads into a broader conversation about Apple’s leadership, including rumors that Tim Cook may step down. While acknowledging his many successes—particularly Apple silicon—the hosts debate whether recent missteps in AI, hardware pricing, and product strategy signal that Apple may be ready for a new era. The episode concludes with AnonyMouse’s App Pick for December 2025: Mona 7 for Mastodon. Thomas discusses Mona’s long history as a highly accessible social networking client, the mixed community reaction to its move to a subscription model, and why it remains a strong option despite controversy. Hosted By Thomas Domville (AnonyMouse) John Gassman Crunchy Topics Golden Apples Spotlight — Celebrating Accessibility Excellence Apple’s Cultural Impact Awards Apple News Bytes and Rumors Leadership Shift — Is Tim Cook Nearing the Exit AnonyMouse App Pick of the Month Resources Golden Apples Spotlight — Celebrating Accessibility Excellence AppleVis Announces Winners of the 2025 Golden Apple Awards https://applevis.com/blog/applevis-announces-winners-2025-golden-apple-awards …

  3. JAN 2

    Dungeon Scoundrel: A Solitaire-Style Dungeon Crawler You Can Play Anywhere for iOS

    This podcast episode features a detailed, hands-on review of the iOS game Dungeon Scoundrel, presented by Thomas Domville, also known as AnonyMouse. The episode focuses on exploring the game’s mechanics, accessibility, and overall design, offering listeners a thorough understanding of how the game plays from start to finish. Thomas introduces Dungeon Scoundrel as a tactical, turn-based dungeon crawler card game with solitaire-style elements, designed for short but strategic play sessions that typically last around fifteen minutes. Throughout the episode, Thomas explains that the game is fully playable offline and emphasizes its strong accessibility support, including full VoiceOver compatibility. He walks listeners step by step through the interface, starting from launching the app and navigating the main menu to selecting a character class and entering the dungeon. He explains how each run consists of clearing a deck of cards that represent dungeon rooms filled with monsters, weapons, shields, potions, and special class-specific cards. Strategy is central to success, as players must decide when to fight monsters with bare hands, when to use weapons or shields, and when to save or consume healing potions. Thomas provides a narrated playthrough that demonstrates how combat works, how shields differ from weapons, how special abilities affect an entire room, and how fleeing a room can be used as a tactical option at the cost of health. He also explains the class system in detail, noting that there are seven classes in total, each with a unique spell or ability, and that new classes are unlocked by successfully completing runs with earlier ones. The episode further covers the game’s difficulty settings, quests, statistics, and progression system, highlighting how these elements encourage replayability and long-term engagement. In addition, Thomas reviews the game’s settings menu, including audio options, music tracks, and difficulty adjustments, and discusses how these features enhance the overall experience. He concludes by sharing his positive impressions of the game, noting that despite not usually enjoying RPG-style games, he found Dungeon Scoundrel to be highly addictive, well-balanced, and enjoyable. He recommends it to listeners who appreciate strategic card games, accessible design, and games that can be played in short sessions without an internet connection. App Name: Dungeon Scoundrel Category: Games (Card / Strategy) Price: $0.99 USD App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dungeon-scoundrel/id6756222423 Contact: thomas@AppleVis.com 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 review an iOS game called Dungeon Scoundrel. This is kind of a unique game. I saw this come across the other day and I saw the description for the game and I was like, wow, this is kind of interesting. So it kind of refers itself as a tactical solitaire style dungeon crawler card game. Isn't that interesting? So I was like, I was intrigued. So I was like, wow, this should be…

  4. 12/19/2025

    AppleVis Extra#112: Stephen Lovely on Rethinking Visual Accessibility with Vision AI Assistant

    In this episode of the AppleVis Extra podcast, hosts Dave Nason and Thomas Domville speak with StephenLovely, the creator of Vision AI Assistant, a rapidly emerging web-based accessibility tool designed primarily for blind and visually impaired users. Stephen explains the motivation behind the project, rooted in his own lived experience as a person who has been blind since birth, and how that perspective shaped every design decision. The discussion covers the app’s core philosophy of giving users control over what visual information they receive, rather than forcing them to listen to long, generic descriptions. The conversation explores Vision AI Assistant’s major features in depth, including the Photo Explorer, which allows users to explore images by touch and zoom into specific areas for granular detail; Live Camera Mode, which provides near real-time environmental feedback and action detection; object tracking for navigation; sign and text reading via gesture-based interaction; physical book reading with page tracking; and optional voice commands. Stephen explains how the app leverages a progressive web app model to deliver instant updates across platforms, why he chose the Base44 language model, and how careful prompt engineering minimizes hallucinations while allowing medically descriptive output when needed. The hosts and guest also discuss privacy considerations, data handling, accessibility trade-offs between web and native apps, and the financial realities of running AI-driven services. Stephen outlines future plans, including native app wrappers, potential integration with smart glasses, expanded social media accessibility, and a sustainable subscription model. The episode concludes with reflections on community-driven development, responsiveness, and the broader impact of having accessibility tools led by people with lived experience. Guest contact information: Website: https://visionaiassistant.com Phone: 1-866-825-6177 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. Dave: Hello there and welcome to another episode of the AppleVis Extra podcast. My name is David Mason and I am once again joined by my good friend Thomas Domville, also known as AnonyMouse. Today we're here to talk about an app that has somewhat exploded on the AppleVis website over the past few weeks called Vision AI Assistant. So yeah, thanks for joining me Thomas, it's going to be a really interesting conversation. Thomas: Right, Dave, and this is going to be kind of an exciting one because this is something a little different than we typically do. Just because it's a web app and not like a native app per se, like we've typically done interviews with other developers, but with this technology, you said it right on. This has exploded. I mean, this has only been out for about a month. And if you haven't been on AppleVis, this is really something that you should take a look at. This is like the next level of things that we can do or AI can do for us visually that others are not doing. So I'm excited to do this interview with Stephen. Dave: Yeah, absolutely. So rather than us trying to describe the app, let's dive in, chat to Stephen and get the lowdown on all of the great ideas…

  5. 12/05/2025

    Apple Crunch November 2025: Siri Gets a New Brain, iOS Takes a Breather, and the Air Takes a Dive

    In this November edition of Apple Crunch, Thomas, John, and Desiree dig into a surprisingly busy month for Apple. We start with the iPhone Air’s underwhelming debut and why Apple may be rethinking its strategy after weak sales and confusing pricing. Next, we explore Apple’s ongoing talks to bring a Gemini-powered core to Siri—what that means for privacy, how it blends with Apple Intelligence, and how it may finally close the gap with today’s leading AI assistants. We also look ahead to iOS 27, which is shaping up to be a major stability-focused update across all Apple platforms—echoing the beloved Snow Leopard era—with an emphasis on fixing long-standing issues including Braille bugs and Personal Voice quirks. From there, we move into Apple’s evolving 2026 roadmap, including new release schedules for iPhones and Macs, the long-rumored foldable iPhone, a next-generation smart home device, and early hints of Apple smart glasses. We also discuss a promising Vision AI web app offering detailed grid-based image exploration and real-time scene updates. Finally, we wrap up with our App Pick of the Month, Ramblio, a social audio platform reminiscent of Clubhouse and Vorail. Hosted By Thomas Domville (AnonyMouse)John GassmanDesiree Renee Crunchy Chapters Air Turbulence — The iPhone Air Stalls on the Runway We examine the disappointing performance of the iPhone Air: weak launch-day demand, pricing too close to the Pro lineup, and confusion around where the device fits. We explore whether the Air should even be a yearly release and what Apple may adjust for the next version. The Siri Shake-Up — Gemini Steps Into the Spotlight We unpack Apple’s potential plan to integrate a Gemini-powered model into Siri. The team discusses privacy protections, how this pairs with Apple Intelligence, and how this hybrid approach may finally bring Siri up to modern AI standards. Stability Surge — iOS 27 Aims to Smooth Out the Rough Edges Reports suggest iOS 27 and all major Apple OS updates next year will focus heavily on stability and bug fixes rather than new features. We discuss the need for accessibility fixes—including Braille reliability and Personal Voice issues—and why a Snow Leopard–style year is long overdue. Future Shock — Apple’s 2026 Roadmap Promises a Wild Ride) Apple is restructuring its entire release calendar. We highlight the new E-series iPhones coming early in the year, delayed base-model iPhones, refreshed MacBook Air and Pro models, the pricey foldable iPhone, and an upcoming smart home display. Early signs of Apple smart glasses also enter the conversation. Eyes Forward — A New Wave of Vision AI Assistance) We explore a powerful new Vision AI web app featuring a 6-grid photo mode, zoomable image analysis, real-time live view with two-second refreshes, and smart duplicate filtering—all designed to give blind and low-vision users richer environmental insights. AnonyMouse App Pick of the Month — Ramblio Ramblio is a simple, audio-based social networking app blending asynchronous rambling with real-time hangouts. Fully accessible and VoiceOver-friendly, it offers a clean, clutter-free…

  6. 12/02/2025

    How to Customize the Control Center and Menu Bar on macOS

    In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to customize the Control Center and menu bar on macOS. With macOS Tahoe, the Mac's Control Center and menu bar have become more customizable, with the ability to add, remove, and reorder a greater variety of items. To add an item to the Control Center or menu bar, click the “Edit controls” button at the bottom of the Control Center dialog, focus on the item you want to add either in the list of suggestions or the “More controls” grid, and choose "Add to Control Center" or "add to menu bar" from the Actions menu (accessed by pressing VO-Command-Space). Note that you can use the search field, or click a category in the “Available controls” group to narrow down what’s shown in the “more controls” grid. To remove an item from Control Center, focus on it and choose "Remove" from the context menu (accessed by pressing VO-Shift-M). To remove an item from the menu bar, focus on it and choose "Remove" from the Actions menu. To move an item in Control Center, press VO-Shift-F3 to turn cursor tracking off, focus on the item, route the mouse pointer to it by pressing VO-Command-F5, and mouse down on it by pressing VO-Command-Shift-Space. Then, move to where you want to move the item to, route the mouse pointer by pressing VO-Command-F5, and mouse up by pressing VO-Command-Shift-Space. Note that this may not always work reliably, depending on the positions of controls being reordered. To reset Control Center to its default layout, go to System Settings > Menu bar, and click Reset Control Center. 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 AppleVisors, Tyler here with a quick tip for how to customize the Control Center and Menu Bar on macOS. With macOS Tahoe, the Mac's Control Center and Menu Bar have become much more customizable with the ability to add, remove, and reorder a greater variety of items. To do this, you'd go into the Control Center and hit the Edit Controls button at the bottom of the dialog. You can also find this button in System Settings by selecting the Menu Bar category and clicking the Edit Controls button in the scroll area. To demonstrate, I'm going to go into Control Center on my Mac with VL Shift O. VL Globe Right, jump to the bottom. VoiceOver: Edit controls. System dialogue. In system dialogue, content is empty. Drag the controls to place in the control center or menu bar. System has new system dialogue. Tyler: Okay, so here we are in the edit controls dialog. At the top we have the search field. We can search for a control. VoiceOver: Available controls group Tyler/VoiceOver: this is where you can categorize what you see in this dialog. For some reason it jumps down to vision accessibility at the bottom, so I'm going to jump to the top with VL Globe left. All controls selected. Battery, Connectivity, Desktop and Finder, Display and Brightness, etc. Suggestions will depend on what macOS thinks will be helpful based on how you use your Mac. VoiceOver: Scene or accessory toggle button. Actions available. Alarm…

  7. 10/28/2025

    iPhone Air: Unboxing and First Impressions

    In this episode, David Nason unboxes an iPhone Air and gives his first impressions of the device. Apple’s thinnest phone to date, the iPhone Air was released alongside the iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max in September 2025. Our thanks to Apple for providing this device for review. This and future reviews of the device are entirely independent with no editorial input from Apple. Key Points: Despite the coverage I’ve seen and heard, I was still somewhat blown away by just how thin this device is.It is significantly thinner than the iPhone 15 Pro.While the screen is slightly larger, it doesn’t immediately feel like a much larger device due to the thin build.Set up went smoothly, including transfer from physical SIM card on my existing phone to the eSIM on the Air.During set up and initial use, the fact that it has only a single speaker does not appear to be problematic. This is only navigating the phone with VoiceOver, and in a quiet environment however, so more real world use is needed in order to make a full judgement.Seems nice and responsive, but of course it’s only a very first impression. Battery too will be an important aspect to test in the coming weeks.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. Dave: Hey there, David Nason here. I hope you are keeping well. I am with you today to take a look at the new iPhone Air which came out in September 2025. Apple have kindly sent me one to review. The one they sent me is the space black model with 512 gigabytes of storage. Dave: The phone I am coming from myself is an iPhone 15 Pro so I'll quickly compare the two as well in terms of their size and weight and that kind of thing so firstly let's take a look at the box that they came in so you can see that the iPhone 15 Pro box is significantly higher um or thicker than the Air so the Air is in a much thinner box the Air is in a slightly longer box but that makes perfect sense as well because it is a bigger screen size as well so that's how the two compare but now I'm going to move the old one aside and open up the iPhone Air box so just do the tabs at the back and off the lid. Dave: And the phone is sitting on top and there are very little things in the box. So we have the phone sitting on top, which I'll come back to in a second. And then we have a USB-C cable and a few little pieces of paper, that kind of thing. As with previous models in recent years, there's no charger, but we do have the USB cable and that is all that is in the box. It's a nice threaded cable as well. Dave: Good so let's move the box aside and the phone as soon as I picked it up I'd say straight away and I it's it's lighter and thinner than I even expected it to be coming from the 15 Pro which you know compared to a Max I can see how with the Pro Max I could see how it'd be significantly thinner and feel significantly smaller but even compared to the regular Pro the regular 15 Pro in my case this really does feel a lighter but just really really thin it's incredible so I'm going…

  8. 10/27/2025

    How to Opt Out of Offers and Promotions in the Wallet App on iOS

    In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to opt out of notifications for offers and promotions in the Wallet app on iOS. The Wallet app, responsible for managing payments, orders, passes, and more, often sends important notifications related to users' financial activity. However, notifications from the Wallet app can also be used to deliver ads, like Apple's advertising of discounted "F1: The Movie" tickets. To ensure you don't receive such notifications in the future, open the Wallet app, double-tap the "More" button near the top right of the screen, select "notifications" from the menu, and toggle the "offers & promotions" switch off. 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 opt out of offers and promotions in the Wallet app on iOS. As the Wallet app is used to manage payments, passes, orders, and other things, you may want to be able to receive notifications from it to stay on top of pertinent activity. However, the Wallet app has also been known to send ads as notifications, like the time Apple used it to promote a discount on tickets to F1 the Movie in early 2025. If you'd rather not receive such notifications, you can turn them off by opening the Wallet app, double-tapping the More button, selecting Notifications, and turning the Offers and Promotions switch off. And I'm going to demonstrate that now on my iPhone. VoiceOver: camera weather camera wallet wallet Tyler: and since the more button is located near the top right of the screen i'm going to put my finger there VoiceOver: more button more orders button Tyler: and touch my finger toward the bottom VoiceOver: dismiss context menu button notifications notifications close button Tyler: and since the setting is the last one on this screen i'm gonna tap with four fingers near the bottom of the screen VoiceOver: offers and promotions switch button off offers and promotions Tyler: this is off for me if it's on for you and you want to turn it off just double tap if you swipe left VoiceOver: new features and updates switch button onTyler: you have new features and updates that's on for me because the wallet app is constantly improving and new features are rolling out as time passes and i like to be aware of when a new feature rolls out to decide whether i want to take advantage of it or not but if you don't want to be alerted of such things just turn that off when you're done changing these settings and making them what you want Double tap the VoiceOver: close button Tyler: near the top left of the screen. And here you are back on the main screen of the Wallet app. So that's a quick tip for opting out of offers and promotions in the Wallet app. It's a very set it and forget it procedure. And I hope you found it helpful. Peace.

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4.5
out of 5
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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
    619
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright AppleVis. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    AppleVis Podcast

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