AppleVis Podcast

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…

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 groupTyler/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…

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 walletTyler: and since the more button is located near the top right of the screen i'm going to put my finger thereVoiceOver: more button more orders buttonTyler: and touch my finger toward the bottomVoiceOver: dismiss context menu button notifications notifications close buttonTyler: and since the setting is the last one on this screen i'm gonna tap with four fingers near the bottom of the screenVoiceOver: offers and promotions switch button off offers and promotionsTyler: this is off for me if it's on for you and you want to turn it off just double tap if you swipe leftVoiceOver: 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 theVoiceOver: close buttonTyler: 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.

September 2025 Edition Hosted by Thomas Domville, Dave Nason, and John GassmanWelcome to the September 2025 edition of Apple Crunch, where we break down the biggest Apple stories and explore what they mean for the blind and low-vision community. This month, we dive into a wide range of updates—from AppleVis itself getting a major facelift, to a critical VoiceOver bug fix in iOS 26.0.1, to Apple’s highly anticipated September hardware event with its mix of bold moves and controversial compromises.We also take a closer look at rumors of a new budget-friendly MacBook that could redefine Apple’s entry-level lineup, while across the tech landscape Meta is making aggressive plays in AR, VR, and AI that may shape the competition for years to come. Rounding things out, we announce the launch of two exciting new AppleVis series: Gamers Corner, a podcast dedicated to accessible play, and AnonyMouse’s App Pick of the Month, a blog feature highlighting standout apps.There’s a lot happening this fall, and we’re here to make sure you don’t miss the updates that matter most.Mentions in This Show: The Crunchy ChaptersA Fresh Look for AppleVis The redesigned AppleVis website brings a cleaner interface, smoother navigation, and a better mobile experience for the accessibility community. Early feedback highlights easier movement across devices, though some longtime users are already looking ahead to future refinements like personalization and faster forums.Apple’s Quick Save: VoiceOver Users Get Relief in iOS 26.0.1 Apple wasted no time releasing iOS 26.0.1, a vital patch that fixed a critical VoiceOver bug. For blind and low-vision users who rely on consistency, the update restores confidence and underlines Apple’s responsiveness when accessibility issues arise.Apple’s Big Reveal: Hits, Misses, and Maybes The September event delivered the lightweight iPhone Air, the redesigned iPhone 17 Pro with its shift from titanium to aluminum, and the upgraded AirPods Pro 3. While innovation was on display, compromises in display, materials, and battery life sparked spirited debates about Apple’s direction.The Ghost MacBook: Hiding in Plain Sight? Rumors of a budget-friendly MacBook powered by Apple’s upcoming A18 chip hint at a big play for students and first-time Mac buyers. History, however, shows Apple’s “affordable” MacBooks often struggle to last. Could this be the one that sticks—or another ghost in the product vault?Meta Moves In: Beyond the Headset At Meta Connect 2025, new Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses, expanded AI companions, and mixed reality initiatives showed the company doubling down on mainstream wearables. The contrast with Apple’s high-end Vision Pro is striking: Apple pursues polish, while Meta races for ubiquity.Announcing Gamers Corner: A Podcast for Accessible Play We’re thrilled to introduce Gamers Corner, a new AppleVis podcast dedicated to the world of gaming and accessibility. Hosted by passionate gamers from within the community, this show brings together reviews, insights, and discussions about the latest accessible titles, platforms, and trends. It’s designed as a space for blind and low-vision players to stay informed, share experiences, and celebrate how far accessible…

In this short AppleVis episode, host Scott Davert walks through how to bind a custom braille display command that instantly announces and brailles the current date and time on an iPhone. The motivation is simple: while the lock screen shows the time, that isn’t always convenient; a dedicated braille command lets you check the time anywhere without leaving what you’re doing.The conversation centers on VoiceOver’s braille command customization inside iOS. Scott explains that, as of this recording, iOS does not offer an equivalent mapping for a connected QWERTY keyboard or a native touchscreen gesture; he hopes Apple adds those options later. He also points out a brief “silent” behavior in one of the command menus where speech may stop speaking; there’s a quick recovery keystroke for that. Finally, he clarifies that longer braille displays can show the entire date and time on one line, while shorter displays (like 20-cell units) may require a single pan forward to reveal all details.Step-by-step: Assign a braille display command to announce the time on iOSOpen Settings on your iPhone with VoiceOver enabled.Go to Accessibility → VoiceOver → Braille.Select your connected braille display (e.g., Braille Edge) to open its command categories.Open the section for assigning Braille button commands.If speech goes quiet on this screen, press Space + dot 4 once to restore speech.Press Space + F to use Find, type time, and navigate to the Time action.Activate Assign New Braille Keys.When prompted, press your desired chord (example: Enter + T for “time”). If it doesn’t register, activate Assign again and retry promptly.Test your new binding: press the chord and confirm VoiceOver speaks—and your display shows—the current date and time.On 20-cell displays, pan forward once if the full string doesn’t fit.Press Space + Backspace (dots 7–8) to back out when finished.Tip: To jump quickly to the Assign New Braille Keys control when it’s at the bottom of the list, try Space + dots 4-5-6.Key details and tips surfaced in the episode include that this workflow is specific to braille displays attached to iOS with VoiceOver enabled, that QWERTY keyboard mapping for the Time action isn’t available yet, and that using space with dots 4-5-6 is a quick way to jump to the “Assign New Braille Keys” control if it’s at the bottom of the list. Scott’s suggested binding—Enter with T—keeps the command memorable and fast. The end result is a friction-free way to check the time from anywhere in iOS, without unlocking or navigating away from your current task.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.Scott: Hey, everybody. It's Scott Devert back for a podcast, this time covering a quick tip, which is how to set up a Braille display command to access the time and date on your iOS device.…

In this episode, Thomas Domville walks through the redesigned Phone app in iOS 26. The episode explains the difference between the new Unified view and the legacy Classic view, shows how to switch between them, and highlights where previously familiar items—like Voicemail—now live. Throughout, Thomas shares VoiceOver-friendly steps and tips to make navigation faster and less confusing.Key PointsiOS 26 introduces a Unified layout for the Phone app; Classic is still available.You can switch views anytime via the Filter button (top-right).In Unified, Calls/Missed/Voicemail/Unknown Callers/Spam are grouped as options rather than bottom tabs.VoiceOver gestures used: one-finger double-tap, swipe right/left, four-finger tap to jump to top.What You’ll LearnHow to quickly toggle between Unified and Classic layouts.Where to find Voicemail and other categories in Unified.How the Calls screen combines Favorites and Recents in one layout.Why Unknown Callers and Spam are easier to separate from Missed.Step-by-Step: Switch Between Unified and ClassicOpen Phone.VoiceOver: one-finger double-tap on “Phone.”Open Filter.Navigate to the top-right and double-tap “Filter.”Choose a View.Classic: returns the familiar tabbed layout.Unified: uses a single screen with options like Calls/Missed/Voicemail/Unknown Callers/Spam.Confirm You Switched.In Classic, bottom tabs (e.g., Calls) appear.In Unified, you’ll see category buttons (Calls, Missed, Voicemail, etc.) in the main view.Step-by-Step: Find Voicemail in UnifiedFrom the Unified Phone screen, swipe right through options.Stop on “Voicemail” and double-tap to open.Use standard VoiceOver gestures to review messages.Quick Navigation Tips (VoiceOver)Four-finger tap (top half): Jump to the top of the screen (handy to reach Filter quickly).One-finger double-tap: Activate selected items (Filter, Voicemail, Calls, etc.).Swipe right/left: Move through available options like Calls, Missed, Voicemail, Unknown Callers, Spam.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…

In this episode, Levi Gobin demonstrates screen sharing with VoiceOver on macOS. Levi first shows us the Screen Sharing settings in VoiceOver Utility, then demonstrates controlling another Mac using the Screen Sharing app.Starting with macOS Tahoe 26, VoiceOver can be used to control another Mac remotely using the built-in Screen Sharing facility, either through FaceTime or Messages for controlling Macs over the Internet, or Finder or the Screen Sharing app (located in the Utilities folder) for controlling Macs on your local network. When controlling another Mac, VoiceOver can be configured to use a different voice or cursor color, in order to differentiate your Mac from the remote one.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.Levi: Hello, everyone. And in this podcast, I'm going to demonstrate the newly introduced screen sharing feature that was introduced in Mac OS 26. This feature allows you to remotely control another Mac and hear VoiceOver through that Mac, as if you were at that Mac. You can even select a different voice, or if you have low vision, change the cursor color. I'm going to first talk about the settings for screen sharing, and you can get to those by going to VoiceOver Utility with Control Option Function F8, or just Control Option F8, depending on your keyboard.VoiceOver: Opening VoiceOver Utility. Voice over utility, voice over utility, utility categories, row 1 of 12, general, selected, has keyboard focus.Levi/VoiceOver: So now we're in voiceover utility, and as you hear, it says general. And the easiest way to get to this is to interact with the table. In utility categories. And then press control, option, function, right arrow, or control, option, end on a desktop keyboard. Screen sharing, row 12 of 12. And there you are. Out of utility categories. So here you have the following options. You can use voiceover to control another Mac using screen sharing. Open screen sharing button. And that's one way you could open the screen sharing app. When interacting with a shared screen, heading. When interacting with a shared screen. No change. Speech pitch. Pop-up button. So if you wanted to, you could raise or lower the pitch. Menu. Three items. Checkmark. No change. Lower pitch. Lower pitch. Checkmark. No change. Raise pitch. Raise pitch. Checkmark. No change. Closing menu.Levi: I like it set to no change. And that's what I have the voice set to for screen sharing. I have it set to something different usually, but that's... You can also... You can have a default or any voice in your voice router. And this is the color of the voiceover cursor if you have low vision. So this controls how you want to switch back to controlling your device. The options are... So you can stop interacting and depending on the setting that will either stay in the shared screen or that will exit.Levi/VoiceOver: Menu, two items, check marks, days, and shared screen. Check marks, leaves, shared screen. Check marks, days, and shared screen. Closing. I like I said to that, and the way you return to your local device is control option,…

In this episode, Thomas Domville demonstrates a new iOS feature that lets you reset VoiceOver settings back to factory defaults—useful when settings have become confusing or inconsistent. He walks through where the option lives, how to activate it, and the consequences (you’ll lose all customizations).Key Points & TakeawaysPurpose: Quickly restore VoiceOver to a clean, default state when troubleshooting is too time-consuming.Where to find it: Inside Settings → Accessibility → VoiceOver.Irreversible action: Resetting wipes all VoiceOver customizations (voices, rotor options, verbosity, speech settings, etc.). There’s no “undo.”When to use: After lots of experimentation or when helping someone whose device has settings “buried” or misconfigured.After the reset: You’ll need to reconfigure your preferred voice and options.Step-by-Step: Reset VoiceOver Settings (iPhone)Open Settings.Navigate to Accessibility.Select VoiceOver.Scroll to the bottom of the VoiceOver screen. (Tip: A four-finger tap near the bottom half of the screen jumps focus near the bottom.)Choose Reset VoiceOver Settings.Confirm the reset. You’ll return to factory defaults for VoiceOver.What Resets?Voices & speech (e.g., your selected voice like Samantha)Rotor configurationVerbosity & audio settingsOther VoiceOver-specific preferencesTranscriptDisclaimer: 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. Now, this is kind of a cool new feature that I would like to introduce to you, and that is being able to reset your voiceover settings. Yes. In the previous past iOS, you were not able to specifically reset the voiceover settings. I mean, you probably have known and tried to reset different types of settings. And all they give you is just like all or nothing. It's just like, wow, I don't want to reset all my settings.I just want to reset the voiceover settings. And this might occur for one reason or another. Now, in my case, I will visit some of my clients from time to time. And I noticed that it's just really, really messed up. Or I should say, sometimes it's just easier to reset the voiceover settings than to try to figure out what they have done and what needs to be changed. So there could be a number of things. And you know as well as I do, everything is buried, right? And there could be multiple things.I need to go find, turn this off, turn this on, put this back in. And it can get really, really complicated and takes too much time. So I want to take the shortcut approach and just be able to reset the voiceover settings alone. So I'm…