AppleVis Podcast

In episode 113 of the AppleVis Extra podcast, Dave Nason and Scott Davert welcome back Xiaoran Wang and welcome Buddy Brannan from Agiga to talk about the EchoVision smart glasses. The conversation focuses on how EchoVision is designed specifically for blind and low vision users, highlighting its accessibility-first approach and ongoing development through close collaboration with the community. Those interested can also check out EchoVision's Youtube channel for more information.
During the discussion, the guests cover key features such as live AI scene description, a dedicated reading mode for printed text, button-based controls, audio routing to hearing aids, battery life and charging options, and hardware design choices. They also explain the Pioneer program while announcing its expansion,, upcoming hardware improvements, pricing and subscription plans, and the expected timeline for the final release.
Transcript
Disclaimer: 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 the AppleVis Extra podcast. I am David Nason with you again and this time joined by my good friend and experts in all things Apple, Scott Davert. How are you Scott?
Scott: Hey, Dave, it's good to be back here on the podcast with you. I think the only thing I'm an expert in is taking a nap. It seems like the older I get, the more I look forward to nappy hour instead of happy hour. Oh, let's not open that kind of world. Well, let's hope we don't turn our listeners' time here into nappy hour, and we'll hopefully have an interesting podcast. I think it's really fascinating to see where the company that we're going to talk to came from, what they're up to, and what they will be up to.
Dave: Yes, indeed. So who we're speaking to is Xiaoran Wang and Buddy Brannan from... Agiga Agiga is that how we say it Agiga who make the EchoVision smart glasses so there's so many smart glasses now come onto the market over the last couple of years between the mainstream ones like meta um meta raybons and now oakleys and then we've got obviously we've had failed attempts like celeste and we've got the envision solos are out there as well and And these guys are another company having a go with the smart glasses specifically for the blind and low vision community. They're not a mainstream product. They're a blindness product. And yeah, utilizing AI and they're going about it in their own way. So it's going to be a really interesting conversation.
Scott: Well, it's a long echo, though. I mean, you had them on in October 2024, and it took this long for the echo to return. But I guess the point is it did, right?
Dave: Yeah, that's really interesting. I think it may have been like September, October, something like that, 2024, was it? And at that point, I remember they were talking about going to CSUN last year, which they did, I believe. But I thought at that time, yeah, the product would have been fully released before the end of 2025. It's now looking like mid-2026. But we'll learn more about…

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.
Transcript
Disclaimer: 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,…

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
…

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: [email protected]
Transcript
Disclaimer: 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…

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
Transcript
Disclaimer: 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…