Join David Nason, Thomas Domville, Michael Hansen, and Tyler Stephen in this AppleVis Extra as they dive into the highlights of Apple’s ‘Glowtime’ Event.

transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hello there and welcome to AppleViz Extra.

This is episode number 100.

My name is Dave Nason and this is a very exciting day guys.

We're back.

I'm joined by Thomas Domville, Tyler Stephen and Michael Hansen from the AppleViz team.

How are you guys?

I'm good.

I'm doing wonderful.

How are you Mr. Dave?

I am great.

It's an exciting day.

It's our first day back online.

Oh yeah, it's been a really, really exciting day and a big day for us and a big day for the community and love to share in just the outpour of support that we've seen on the website and people are back and it's a great day and it's also an Apple keynote day.

Yes, what timing we have, eh?

Well, it's ironic.

It's like we planned it on purpose.

Yes, so where again?

Every time what happens, I say I can't believe another year has gone by, but here we go. iPhone event again and some other stuff too.

It was an interesting event.

It opened actually with a video which had quite a lot of accessibility slash disability references in it.

I don't know if you guys noticed that, if you had the audio description on.

I did and that was very nice that they incorporate that, isn't it?

I mean, they always do like a million gazillion videos, but it just always seemed to be that first one.

That's always the most important one.

So putting accessibility in there was a nice touch.

Yeah, that was cool.

And then Tim came on stage or wherever he was outside somewhere.

He seemed to be shouting a lot at the start.

I don't know if anyone else noticed that, but yeah, he set the scene.

He mentioned Apple intelligence in pretty much his first sentence, I think.

So I think that kind of set the scene for the afternoon or for the morning.

Right.

It was almost like, you know how WWDC, we had this Christmas gift and we opened it.

It's like, oh, Apple intelligence.

We were so excited.

They just went ba ba ba ba ba ba ba all the way down.

I feel like today they just rewrapped the gift and we just reopened it because they just went through the whole same thing over again.

And you know, Google were accused of exactly the same thing at their Pixel event that they just re-advanced.

I thought I was hearing some familiar things.

They were talking about iOS 18 and all of a sudden I was like, wait a minute, this is not anything new.

I mean, okay, you want to re-advance.

Okay, that's kind of how you know you're getting to the end of the announcement of whatever the product is.

They start talking about the software.

They're refreshing you on what to expect.

Yeah, I think that's the thing about AI marketing is that when you're marketing that and it's so much of that is software based, you got to kind of beat the drums, the AI drums as much as you can.

Apple doesn't use the term, specific term…

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates some of VoiceOver's command customization capabilities on macOS.

If you find a particular VoiceOver command difficult to perform, or discover a function in the Commands menu that doesn’t have a default command, you can assign your own custom command to it. In addition, you can configure commands to open apps and run scripts, so you don’t have to locate them manually.

Commands can be configured by going to VoiceOver Utility > Commands, selecting the “Command set: user” radio button, and clicking “Custom commands edit.” For ease of navigation, you can choose the type of commands you want to view or change, such as numpad, trackpad, keyboard, etc from the "Filter commands" popup menu, or use the search field to locate a particular command.

In this dialog, commands can be presented in either column view, which organizes commands into categories like general, information, and navigation, or table view, which displays a list of all VoiceOver commands, including user-configured ones, which you can navigate with the up and down arrow keys. To add a command, in column view, locate the command, interact with the table of assignments, and specify your new one using the "Add input" popup menu. To add a command when in table view, click the Add button, interact with the table, and specify the input assignment from the popup menu labeled "None: edited." Then, press VO-Right-Arrow passed an empty cell to another popup menu, and choose the command you want your new input assignment to perform.

transcript:

Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.: Hey, Apple Vissers.

Tyler here.

With a demonstration and walkthrough of VoiceOver command customization on macOS.

Prior to macOS Sequoia, VoiceOver included several user configurable sets of commands, known as commanders, for the numpad, trackpad, keyboard, and quick nav.

With macOS Sequoia, these commanders have been consolidated into VoiceOver's broader command set, meaning in addition to the existing modifiers that you could use, like the option key for keyboard commander, you can also create your own command assignments using the VoiceOver modifier, which may be useful if you find a particular VoiceOver command difficult to perform, if you find a command in the commands menu, for example, that lacks a default assignment, or if you want to create a custom command to open an application.

So to demonstrate this, I'm going to open VoiceOver utility on my mac with VoF8.

Opening VoiceOver utility.

VoiceOver utility.

VoiceOver utility.

Window.

Utility categories.

C for commanders.

Commands.

Commands.

VRA.

VoiceOver modifier.

Control option or caps lock.

VoiceOver modifier.

VoiceOver modifier.

This is the setting that was located in the general category in prior versions of macOS, but options are the same.

Control option, caps lock, or control option, or caps lock, which is the default.

VRA.

Also control VoiceOver with.

Also control VoiceOver with.

Numpad.

Uncheck.

Checkbox.

Numpad, which was formerly known as Numpad Commander.

If you want to use, if you have a…

In this podcast, Thomas Domville reviews and demonstrates the Voices feature, which allows you to customize multiple VoiceOver voices to suit your needs. You can quickly access these voices using the Rotor Actions or the VoiceOver Quick Settings.

How to Add VoiceOver Voices to the Voices Feature on iOS

1. Open Settings: Start by opening the Settings app with a double tap on your iOS device.
2. Go to Accessibility: Scroll down and double tap on "Accessibility."
3. Select VoiceOver: Under the Vision section, double tap on "VoiceOver."
4. Tap on Speech: In the VoiceOver settings, double tap on "Speech."
5. Add a New Voice: double Tap on "Add Rotor Voice..." to see a list of available voices.
6. Choose a Voice: Browse through the list and select the voice you want to add. You can swipe up on a voice to hear a sample.
7. Download the Voice: After selecting a voice, double tap "Download" to add it to your device.
8. Set Up Rotor Actions: Go back to the VoiceOver settings and double tap on "Rotor." Ensure that "Voices" is selected so you can quickly switch between voices using the Rotor.
9. Quick Settings Access: You can also access the new voices through the VoiceOver Quick Settings by two finger quadruple tap and selecting "Voice."

Now, you can easily switch between your customized VoiceOver voices to enhance your accessibility experience on iOS 18.

Transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hello and welcome.

My name is Thomas Domville, also known as Anonymouse.

I'm going to be talking about a feature called Voices.

So as you know, we have our primary voice over voice that we use each and every day on our device.

Wouldn't it be great that you are able to access various voices more than just one voice over on the fly?

Yep, you can do that.

It lives right in your rotor, if that's where you would like it to be.

In my case, I have it in my rotor itself.

You can also put that in the voice over quick settings if you wish to.

And I'll be showing you how to add that to your rotor and quick setting if that's something you want to do.

But in my case, whenever I do a podcast, you probably always hear that I use Siri number 4 voice, in short is Noel.

And this is what I use when I do podcasting, but every so often I like to change things up and here's some other voice and that would be Tom and Hans.

So those are my top two voices.

And so in order to access it so quickly and easily, I place the voices in within my rotor.

So let me give you an example of what it sounds like and what it looks like.

So I'm going to access my rotor and I'm going to go to Voices.

Voices, Siri voice 4, default, selected.

So if I swipe up, Tom, primary voice.

I have the Tom primary voice.

Or if I could just swipe up again, Siri voice 4, default.

I'm back to Siri voice number 4.

So this is when I'm talking about how you are able to access voices so easily from your rotor or your quick settings, if that's what you choose to do.

So let me show you how I got that set up.

But before we can do anything, we need to add voices so you can…

In this podcast, Thomas Domville showcases the Audio Ducking feature on iOS. Audio Ducking automatically reduces the volume of background audio when a foreground sound, such as a notification or VoiceOver, is played. This feature is particularly beneficial for accessibility, ensuring that important sounds or speech are clearly audible without being overshadowed by other audio.

To adjust the Audio Ducking settings on iOS, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings: Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Access Accessibility Options: Scroll down and double tap on "Accessibility."
3. VoiceOver Settings: Scroll down and double tap on "VoiceOver."
4. Audio Settings: Within the VoiceOver settings, double tap on "Audio."
5. Audio Ducking Settings: Within the Audio settings, double tap on "Audio Ducking."
6. Choose Your Preference: In the Audio Ducking settings, you can select from Off, When Speaking, or Always based on your personal preference. Make sure to adjust the VoiceOver Speech Volume to your liking.

Transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by Aiko, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hello and welcome.

My name is Thomas Domville, also known as AnonyMouse.

I'm gonna be talking to you today about audio ducking.

Now some of you out there are familiar with audio ducking and some that are not.

So let's talk about what audio ducking for those that are not familiar with this feature.

So really what this audio ducking does, it's very useful when you need it, when you want to lower the media sound.

So for example, are you on a phone call and you're talking to an operator or a customer service or whatever it might be, and they want you to check your email and make sure you got something, read it off something, or they sent you a text for verification, whatever not.

Sometimes it's really, really hard to hear that voiceover voice, right?

So having it at the same time, the voiceover can be difficult to hear.

Sometimes it's lower than what their sound is.

Or in my case, I do a lot of music.

So I love listening to the music in the background.

However, if I'm trying to do something with voiceover on the same time, it's difficult to hear voiceover.

So let me give you an example of what it sounds like when you do not have audio ducking on.

So if I turn on music here, I'm just gonna swipe back and forth so you can hear the various sound of voiceover and you'll see what I mean.

It's about the same or if not a little bit less, it just depends on the situation.

So here's the music.

Make sure that what I tell you makes sense.

Mail, no unread emails.

Messages, one unread message.

So it's hard to hear, right?

So you don't have that ability to be able to hear it very well.

Well, audio ducking, by turning this on, it allows you to duck those media or situation that you're in so you can bring up that voiceover on top and make it clear and concise.

Now, for those that are familiar with audio ducking, well, the old fashioned audio ducking allows us to be able to duck, right?

But it was a hard set, meaning that we have no…

Welcome to AppleVis Extra 101, where Dave Nason is joined by Xiaoran Wang and Huasong Cao from Agiga, the team behind the upcoming Echo Vision smart glasses. Check out some early demos, with more to come, on their YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@AgigaAi/videos And learn more on their website at: https://echovision.agiga.ai/ The team would love to hear your feedback, so please comment below, or contact them through the website.

Transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by Aiko, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hello there and welcome to the AppleVis Extra.

This is episode number 101.

My name is David Nason and I'm delighted to be joined by two fantastic guests from Agiga.

We have Xiaoran Wang and HuaSong Cao

Is that correct, guys?

Thank you, David.

Thank you for having us.

So yeah, delighted.

And the product you're going to talk to us about is the Echo Vision.

So before we get into that, though, do you want to tell us a little bit about yourselves, the company, what you do, really, and how it all came about?

Sure.

My name is Xiaoran.

I'm the CEO, and before doing this company, actually, I had long experience building and shaping intelligent devices.

I started my career at Amazon Level 26.

That's the first place of the world's first Kindle and also the world's first Alexa.

And I was actually in the early team that developed Alexa devices.

And this experience gave me good exposure and got me enough experience on how to build a good intelligent device.

I think that's one of the confidence I brought in when I was doing this company that we can build a great product for the community.

Brilliant, and obviously, Alexa, a device that's very popular, being a voice-first product, very popular in the blind and visually impaired community.

So yeah, that's really cool.

And tell us about yourself, Hua Song.

Yeah, thanks, David.

So my name is Hua Song, and I'm an engineer by training.

Before I started this company with Xiaoran, I was with Google for about nine to ten years.

I did various software projects, and the latest one is Google Assistant, the voice assistant similar to Amazon counterparts.

Yeah, I've been enjoying doing software, building stuff, both hardware and software.

And with Giga, what we are trying to do is really to use our expertise built prior to this company and take that to something that we can really use to help everyone.

That's brilliant.

So do you want to quickly tell us what the product is, and then we can delve into a bit more detail.

Yeah, so the product is called EchoVision.

By looking, it looks like a normal pair of glasses.

The key feature is to articulate visual information into voices.

Think about it.

If you can't see this, and there's someone next to you, how will this person help you?

So basically, he or she is going to describe it for you, like read it out for you.

And that's how we envision our product, basically.

It's like an assistant, a virtual assistant that does this work for you.

Well, I was going to…

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates the basics of using iPhone Mirroring, a feature that allows you to use your iPhone from your Mac, with VoiceOver. Topics covered in this demonstration include:

• General description of the feature and its current issues and limitations
• System requirements and setup
• Navigating and dealing with various elements of the iOS user interface, such as the Home Screen, rotor actions, and context menus, using macOS
• Controlling which iPhone apps can forward notifications to your Mac

More general information about this feature can be found in the Apple Support article "iPhone Mirroring: Use your iPhone from your Mac."

Transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by Aiko, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hey Apple visitors, Tyler here, with a demonstration and overview of iPhone mirroring. iPhone mirroring is a feature that allows you to essentially use your iPhone from your Mac.

This may be useful if you, for example, prefer a given service's mobile app over its desktop or web equivalent, or if what you're using doesn't have a desktop app or website.

In addition, as notifications from your iPhone can be forwarded to your Mac via iPhone mirroring, you may find it more convenient to receive and respond to the notification on your Mac than to switch devices if you're working on your Mac when the notification comes in.

With the initial release of Mac OS Sequoia 15.0, this feature was completely inaccessible with voiceover.

With the subsequent 15.1 update, it has become accessible to a point.

I say to a point because at the time of recording, October 2024, there are several issues that, in my opinion, make the experience less than refined from a voiceover perspective, which I'll elaborate on later in this demo.

To use iPhone mirroring with voiceover, you'll need an iPhone with iOS 18.1 or later and a Mac with Mac OS 15.1 or later.

All iPhones capable of running iOS 18 work with iPhone mirroring, as do all Macs capable of running Sequoia, with the exception of the 2019 iMac, as that model lacks the T2 security chip or Apple silicon.

To set up iPhone mirroring, just open the iPhone mirroring app on your Mac and follow the on-screen instructions.

I've already done that, so now I'm going to demonstrate the feature.

I'm going to open iPhone mirroring on my Mac.

So here I am prompted to authenticate.

By default, whenever you open the iPhone mirroring app, you are prompted to authenticate as a way to verify your identity before it gives you control of your iPhone.

If you'd rather, it didn't prompt you to authenticate each time you open the app, you can change this in iPhone mirroring settings.

Just choose settings from the menu bar or press command comma and it should be there.

But I'm going to authenticate with touch ID now.

Close button.

Okay, so here I am in the iPhone mirroring window.

Okay, so we have home screen and app switcher.

Now you can use those buttons to get to those locations, or I find it more convenient to use the view menu or keyboard shortcuts.…

Richard Lutz takes a seat for this tragedy at The Swan in Stratford

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Jasmine Gardosi to write a new anthem for Birmingham.

Richard Lutz reviews his past seven days.

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Jessica Harris visits a photography exhibition showing Birmingham's sense of community.

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Jessica Harris goes along to watch.

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Steve Beauchampé takes a trip.

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