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Published: Sept. 9, 2018, 11:27 a.m.

(Full Transcript Below)

Welcome to TechAbilities, the AccessAbility podcast from the Blind Abilities Network

With Serina, Jeff and Andy. On this episode we are speculating about the upcoming Sept. 12 Apple event. We may be way off or right on but the excitement is always high when Apple announces the new toys and Christmas comes early to all and to all a good buy. :)

You can find TechAbilities on the Blind Abilities Network.

 

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Full Transcript:

TechAbilities Is Here With Apple Speculation Hype and Some Advice on the Upcoming Big Apple Event Sept 12

Serena Gilbert:
There's not even a blue iPhone, but there might be.

Jeff Thompson:
It's got a white case on it.

Serena Gilbert:
Oh my goodness, you guys.

Jeff Thompson:
I don't get it. I don't get what the colors really mean.

Serena Gilbert:
Stop it,   Jeff.

Jeff Thompson:
Oh, do you have the rose gold?

Serena Gilbert:
There's no rose gold 10. God, get with it.

Jeff Thompson:
I like these people and they say, "I just got the 10." It's like, "What do you mean, just?"

Serena Gilbert:
Yeah. This is the worst time of the year to buy a phone. Wait until after the announcement, and if you still want the 10, they have 100 bucks. Andy, you know that, right?

Andy Munoz:
Oh, yeah, unless you're new to this game. This is what Apple people live for.

Jeff Thompson:
It's the most wonderful time-

Andy Munoz:
Of the year.

Serena Gilbert:
I need you guys to make sure that's in our intro when we start talking about it.

Andy Munoz:
We're waiting for you to kick it in.

Serena Gilbert:
I can't know. You knew I wasn't going to. All right. Let's try this again. Welcome to the Blind Abilities Network. I'm Serena Gilbert. Guess what guys? We have a brand new tech show that we're bringing to the Blind Abilities Network and I'm super excited to introduce it to you. The title is ... Drum roll please. Drum roll please. Welcome to the Access Abilities Podcast. I have with me two, very special co-hosts. I have Jeff Thompson and Andy Munoz. How are you doing, Jeff?

Jeff Thompson:
I'm doing great, Serena.

Serena Gilbert:
Andy is brand-new to Blind Abilities Network. How are you Andy?

Andy Munoz:
Doing well, thank you.

Serena Gilbert:
Do you want to share a little bit with our audience about your background and why you love tech so much?

Andy Munoz:
Certainly. I'll try to be as brief as I can with this. I've got roughly 20 years of tech experience and most recently I actually worked for Apple in their accessibility cue, and then now I work for the division of rehab in the state of Colorado. My passion at this point is certainly working with folks who have disabilities, primarily blind and low vision, and that's a little bit about me.

Serena Gilbert:
Andy, I have a question for you.

Andy Munoz:
Certainly.

Serena Gilbert:
You are literally one of the Apple geniuses.

Andy Munoz:
I wouldn't say I'm an Apple genius. That's actually a store term.

Jeff Thompson:
But can we call you the Apple genius?

Serena Gilbert:
Yeah. We'll call you that.

Andy Munoz:
I guess you can call me whatever you want. I feel pretty confident in my knowledge of the Apple product so-

Jeff Thompson:
We'll just stick with AG.

Serena Gilbert:
Apple Genius. Unless you've been living under a rock, certainly you know that September 12 is going to be a big huge day for us Apple nerds out there. Jeff, do you know what September 12 is?

Jeff Thompson:
The most wonderful time of the year.

Serena Gilbert:
No backup from Andy.

Jeff Thompson:
It's the most wonderful of the year.

Andy Munoz:
Most wonderful time of the year.

Jeff Thompson:
Oh, you're going for the last chorus? It is the most wonderful time of the year. I'm excited about it.

Serena Gilbert:
It is the best time of year. I look forward to this day even more than Christmas because I'm just the biggest Apple nerd there is probably and hopefully we haven't lost you with our super fun and amazing singing that we had there. But next we'd like to talk a little bit about what the rumors are and maybe make some predictions and-

Jeff Thompson:
It's all speculation anyways.

Serena Gilbert:
But it's fun to talk about it. Although I will say a few years ago before there were leaks left and right, it was a little bit more fun because you really didn't know what was coming and you had to really pay attention and now we're like, "Oh, there might be this and that and let's see if they were right." 90% of the time they're completely on point with it. Traditionally in this temporary event Apple announces new iPhone models and this year they're rumored to not only announce new iPhone models, but also Apple Watch and I believe their new wireless charging pad.

Serena Gilbert:
Let's start with the iPhones. According to nine to five Mac, there's at least two versions of the new iPhone 10S coming out which are rumored to be called the 10 S. There will be two different sizes, a 6.5 inch and the traditional 5.1 inch which is what the 10 is right now. What do you guys think of those? Are you looking forward to an even bigger iPhone 10?

Jeff Thompson:
I kind of am. I've seen the pluses before. I never owned a plus so I was thinking about it. I thought it was going to be called XS.

Serena Gilbert:
We have had this argument so many times, Jeff.

Jeff Thompson:
It just sounds excessive, doesn't it?

Andy Munoz:
You can go either way with it. Even being a former Apple employee, I think we even referred to it in both ways, either the iPhone 10 or the iPhone X. I think it goes either way.

Jeff Thompson:
I'm excited. I am excited because my phone's two years old. It works fine. It works fine, so I don't have to make a decision. But if I'm going to pull the trigger on something, I think I'm going to go with a plus.

Serena Gilbert:
Well, it seems like there's not going to be a plus. It's just going to be the 10 S and just come in two different sizes. It looks like they're going to completely take away the models that have the home button.

Andy Munoz:
I think the one thing I saw too is I think the smaller of the two is actually going to be an LCD display as opposed to what it is now. Pardon me, I don't have the terminology on it off the top of my head. But I think the smaller one is going to be an LCD display, so that's going to be a little bit different.

Serena Gilbert:
Are you referring to the rumored SE? The new [inaudible] SE?

Andy Munoz:
No. I was seeing something where they were talking about the two models and I thought they said that the smaller of the two iPhone 10S was going to be an LCD. I was trying to find that source right off the top and I can't. One of my former colleagues, Zach, I shared an article in a group text that we have and-

Serena Gilbert:
That would be really odd if they did that because the smaller version is going to have the same form factor of the 10, which has the OLED screen so that Coast-to-Coast screen with no bezels. If they did decide to do that, that could be a way to cut the price down to maybe get more people to upgrade who aren't willing to pay the 900 to $1,200 dollars for a new phone.

Andy Munoz:
I'm thinking that's kind of what they're going for.

Jeff Thompson:
They're looking around that 699, 799. Someone even said the lowest 600. The speculation ... That's what makes it fun though. We're anticipating what's in Santa's sack, right?

Serena Gilbert:
It's also rumored to have some new colors the silver and the traditional space gray, but this time they're also going to have the rose gold. Either one of you looking forward to a nice pink phone. I know you guys are super comfortable on your masculinity to be able to have a pink phone.

Andy Munoz:
I know my oldest son. He was wanting me to let him upgrade to the 10 initially, but I'm sure come September 12th if he sees the 10X or XS if I can learn how to talk, would be in rose gold. I'm sure he'll be hitting me up that, "Hey, can I upgrade to that?" We'll address that I guess as it comes near.

Jeff Thompson:
I really don't have a preference for color, really doesn't do much for me because first thing I do is I put a case on it and that's it.

Serena Gilbert:
Funny story about cases. This is totally like me having a squirrel moment, but I think you guys will find this humorous. Every once in a while, I'm like, "I'm tired of my case." I'm going to try to take it off and I have an iPhone 10. I try to take it off, guess what happens as I'm taking the case off?

Jeff Thompson:
You drop it.

Serena Gilbert:
It goes flying across the laundry room and hits the wall. It mostly survived. There is a crack on the back of it right above the camera though now. That'll show me.

Jeff Thompson:
Wow.

Serena Gilbert:
The case was just on there that good.

Jeff Thompson:
Well, that's the thing. I have two cases. I have a leather case and that comes from Apple and you can get that for I believe 50 bucks or something of that nature and I really like it. I've had it for three, four years. The leather style works fine for me, but Lori bought me a charging case and that's where I have to take the leather one off and slide it in so it charges while I have it. I like that but it is always a moment when I take it apart and pull it apart because it's naked. When you pull that out, that's when the vulnerability happens.

Andy Munoz:
Phones are so slick.

Jeff Thompson:
Oh, yeah, especially the rose gold ones.

Serena Gilbert:
Well, and when the whole entire phone is literally made of glass. That's what cause it to go flying across the room.

Jeff Thompson:
Now, what kind of backing is on the 10? That is glass, isn't it?

Serena Gilbert:
It's glass, which is why it's cracked above the camera right now.

Jeff Thompson:
But once you put the case back on?

Serena Gilbert:
Oh, you can't even tell.

Jeff Thompson:
Right. And it still works?

Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, but I'm afraid I won't be able to upgrade this year because I'm on that upgrade every year plan with Apple and I don't know how it works when you have damage to the phone if you want to upgrade. But I'm not usually one that wants to upgrade on the S cycle of everything because it's usually the same form factor. I usually like to wait till every other year to get like a new form factor.

Jeff Thompson:
That's what I'm doing. I'm on the two years. When my one year came up and the eight came out, I was not in the mood to do it. It's just cost. I didn't want to be stuck with the eight for two years knowing that 10 is lurking or it was out but the next iteration of wherever it's going on.

Andy Munoz:
Really the eight was really no different than the seven other than the fact that it had the capability of wireless charging.

Serena Gilbert:
It's so true. It was basically this-

Andy Munoz:
Honestly, if they hadn't come out with the 10, I think last year Apple would have shot themselves in the foot by just coming out with the eight because it wasn't anything exciting. That was just kinda one of those throw ins I guess. I mean, they would have been better off just calling it the 7Sis my thought process on that.

Serena Gilbert:
I do understand it had quite the speed boost. I will tell you that because I had some people upgrade from the seven to the eight for whatever reason, I don't know. But they said it was massively fast.

Jeff Thompson:
Oh, yeah. They got a bigger chip in there and processor in there. I heard the speakers are better. Everything has a little bit better. The cameras are better especially on the 10. Have you noticed anything about OCR? Is the 10 better using Seeing AI than a seven?

Serena Gilbert:
I never had a seven because when I ... I had a six.

Andy Munoz:
Wow.

Serena Gilbert:
The dinosaurs-

Andy Munoz:
The big leap.

Serena Gilbert:
I'm not sure that as far as OCR goes, it's any better, but it is faster. If I'm using ... Because my work phone is still an iPhone 6 and then I have my iPhone 10. That's my personal phone. If I use Seeing AI on my work phone, it takes way longer. Not like it's minutes longer, but it's definitely longer before it starts by humanizing things.

Andy Munoz:
Obviously, that's going to be just because of the chip that's in that six as opposed to what's in the 10. But honestly, my work phone is an eight and then I have the seven. I honestly don't see any difference between the two. I mean, like I said, the only thing really significant to me it'd be the wireless charging. Other than that, even the sound quality and whatnot, I've not noticed anything that really would have made me jump out and spring for that. Now the 10 obviously, the camera aspect of it because I do take pictures and take videos. For me, that would certainly be a seller. Just wasn't sure that I wanted to spring for the 900 or 1,200 bucks depending upon the amount of storage I wanted, just wasn't sure I wanted to pull that trigger.

Serena Gilbert:
Well, and that brings up a really sort of related point to what I was thinking about. If you recall last year, the eight and the eight plus released, Gosh, I don't know, third or fourth of September, but then the iPhone tends didn't release until November. I wonder if that's going to impact people's even ability to upgrade this round because of the fact that you didn't get your phone until November or December this time as opposed to September or October.

Jeff Thompson:
Well, I think one of the things too to think about is again, coming up if they're going to release more phones. Let's say they're going to release the iPhone 10S or XS whatever we want to call it, and then let's say they decide they're going to throw in maybe an updated version of the SE. It's going to be dependent I think on how they decide to release it because I think purposely they did the 10 last year because they wanted that holiday push. I think on that part they knew what they were going to get more sales closer to the holidays. Are they going to release it in October or are they going to hold out till November?

Andy Munoz:
Well, it seems like there'd been holding out on the charging pad that they talk about. I think it's been so long. I've forgotten the name of it.

Jeff Thompson:
Because I'm pretty sure they talked about it at the keynote last year.

Andy Munoz:
Well, it's going to be here this year because they've talked about the case coming out for the Air Pods that's going to be waterproof and be able to just set it right down to charge it right on the flat pad. That's why I believe everything's coming out this year and I heard a rumor that next year, you're going to get the next iteration of the Air Pods in 2019.

Serena Gilbert:
Maybe this is just me being ignorant to what people do with it, but are the Air Pods going to be waterproof or just the case?

Andy Munoz:
I believe it's the case because that's the new form factor that they're coming out with is the case.

Jeff Thompson:
I guess the question I'm going to ask on that too, because there's two different terms, waterproof and then water resistant. The newer phones are water resistant, they're not waterproof. I was kinda thinking the same thing. I mean, what would be the point? I mean, I guess maybe have like your Apple Watch and then you have your Air Pods so that you could listen to music while you're swimming. That certainly could be a use for it, but I was kinda thinking that same thing. What would be the point?

Andy Munoz:
I think if you have it in your pocket and it goes through a wash or it goes to something that it adds another layer of defense for that or if you just drop the case. Some people drop things into the toilet or into the sink or whatever that could happen. It's supposed to prevent just that instantaneous dunking of something. I've heard Air Pods go through the washer and dryer and they still work fine. I wouldn't recommend trying that or testing it and emailing me and saying, "Hey, it didn't work."

Serena Gilbert:
Insert disclaimer here.

Andy Munoz:
I think the idea that they're doing is just for those instantaneous things that ... not instantaneous, just those-

Jeff Thompson:
Just those accidents, those freak accidents that happen. That makes sense.

Serena Gilbert:
I guess I'm just the oddball that I've never ... I mean, I say this now and then I'll probably be like on the next show I'll be like, "So yeah, I dropped my iPhone in the toilet." But I've just never had that happen to me. I know that it happens, I know people who've dropped in bodies of water and things like that, but with the Air Pods in particular, I guess I could see how it could happen, but it's like-

Jeff Thompson:
I think it really happens to people who put the phone into their back pocket. I don't want to go through any description here, but that's my guess. I don't know.

Serena Gilbert:
Jeff, this has happened to you then?

Jeff Thompson:
No. I'm with you. I've never done it, but I don't want to jinx myself,

Andy Munoz:
For me personally, I've always been, "No way. I'm not putting the phone in my back pocket," because I worked through the time when band gate happened, we got a lot of those calls. I put it in my back pocket and it bent well.

Serena Gilbert:
Or you sat on it.

Andy Munoz:
I see people do it and I cringe. I'm just like, "No, don't do that."

Jeff Thompson:
I don't do that and I don't put my wallet in my back pocket. It's just something that I have never done it and I usually don't carry anything in my back pockets.

Serena Gilbert:
For those of you who want to pick pocket Jeff, don't waste your time.

Jeff Thompson:
It's really interesting in the fashion and everything. They talk about wearables and everything and how we use their device. I don't even put my phone in my front pockets because when you pull it out, anything else can come out with it. I like having it in my shirt pocket. A lot of my shirts now have pockets in them, so I like that.

Andy Munoz:
I put mine in my pocket but I usually it's dedicated so nothing else actually goes in that pocket but my phone. Of course now trying to juggle two phones, that's a trick. But anyway, another story.

Serena Gilbert:
You can get your man bag.

Andy Munoz:
No, thanks.

Serena Gilbert:
Jeff has a man bag.

Jeff Thompson:
Yes I do. I actually call it like a recording bag or a man. Yeah, it's a man bag. I don't care. It's a purse.

Serena Gilbert:
Just embrace it. It's a purse.

Jeff Thompson:
It's a purse. I got it in England and I'm going back there so I get to bring it back. It's like going home. My man bag is going home.

Serena Gilbert:
Now that you say you put your phone in your pocket because the 10 is surprisingly heavy.

Jeff Thompson:
Oh, really.

Serena Gilbert:
It's the difference between ... Do you guys remember the four to the 4S and how the 4S just felt like a really nice expensive phone and how it was a little bit heavier. That's how the 10 is compared to when you hold an eight. Just feels BNC

Jeff Thompson:
I'm always scared to like put it in my front pocket, like in my shirt pocket because I just, I'm always doing something. For me, I feel like it's safer in my front pocket. Like I said, I just dedicate, that'll put nothing else in there. To each their own whatever you're comfortable with, but at least for me it's ... Serena, how do you carry your phone?

Serena Gilbert:
Well, I'm a girl so I have these little teeny tiny pockets in all my pants. I don't have like the two feet pockets that you guys have. It's usually in my purse.

Andy Munoz:
They should come up with something and they should come up with something. It's-

Serena Gilbert:
Well, they have like the belt clips and stuff like that but they're not convenient.

Andy Munoz:
I hate anything attached. When iPhones were really brand new, had that leather thing, you put it on your belt, so I went and got one. I thought that was really cool until you go through a doorway and it takes it right off and just kaboom. It's like-

Jeff Thompson:
For whatever reason my hip always catches a corner. Give you an example. My son busted a screen on his iPhone 7, ended up going and didn't have the Apple Care, which I told him to buy, didn't do it anyway. Ended up having to pay like 180 bucks to get its screen fixed,

Serena Gilbert:
Which is about how much Apple Care costs because it's usually like 200?

Jeff Thompson:
it is for the 10 or for the X, whatever we want to call it. For the older models it's roughly 100 was 129 after taxes, something like that wasn't too bad. I mean, for what you got for it, you get the two accidental damage claims and then of course then you get the screen replacement or repair at a lesser cost. I mean, certainly can't beat that.

Andy Munoz:
I brought my seven end because in the Betas they had a battery Beta where you can go in there and we'll say how much juice it's still has that's worn down to its potential. Mine was at like 82% possibility and so I brought it in there and I said, "I think I just want to get a brand new battery." They looked at it and they said, "Okay. Yeah." Because when it gets to 80, that's when they like to replace them. They said, "What we'll do, we'll just waive it, we'll just do it for you. I thought that was really cool because I had Apple Care and it was nice.

Jeff Thompson:
Of course, some of that store dependent from other stores might want to charge you because I've worked with folks that actually did time in different stores and so you got different feel for it. But either way I'm glad it worked out.

Andy Munoz:
If you're looking for a new phone and these phones that they're going to spring upon us. I heard there's going to be three of them that when you do go for your purchase plans, that's a big thing to consider. Do you want to do it through your phone company or do you want to do it on a yearly basis where you pay? I don't know, anywhere from 40 to $50 depending on tens or little higher, right Serena?

Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, I pay like 49. The extra cost is actually just because you're paying for Apple Care. Then I have the option to upgrade this year if I want to and trade in the old one or if I keep paying on it Then I just own the phone after the two years.

Andy Munoz:
It just continues on another two years, right?

Serena Gilbert:
Well, yeah, I'll just own it outright after the two years.

Andy Munoz:
That's what I did. I actually paid mine off early just for that. I was just getting tired of mine was like $36 or something because of the seven. It's a different feeling because this is the first time actually outright own my phone actually outright paid for it. It's always been on those plans. Like with Verizon a two year plan every two years you get a new phone.

Serena Gilbert:
I miss those plans. I miss being able to pay 199 99 or 299 99 because I've been at the same phone carrier for ever. The fact that I'm on a two year agreement doesn't bother me, I'd rather save the $800.

Andy Munoz:
Exactly. Exactly. Apple's got a racket, but I still got to pay my phone company. Wait a second. There's that $800 you're talking about, right?

Serena Gilbert:
It was when I bought my six, was the last year that they did that. You paid 199 or 299 depending on the model you got. The phone company subsidize the rest of it, so Apple was still getting all their money, but since you signed a two year agreement with let's say AT&T or Verizon, then that phone company thought it was worth it to them. Then all of a sudden, one company decided that they weren't going to do it anymore. All of the others followed suit.

Andy Munoz:
Lori is still on that plan.

Serena Gilbert:
She's lucky. If she ever needs a new phone, she's going to pay out right now. That's part of why I didn't upgrade because I used to upgrade like clockwork every other year and one year AT&T messed up my upgrades. I got to upgrade two years in a row. I was like, "Sweet." If they still had that plan where your phone was essentially subsidized, I probably would have gotten the seven and then the 10 I guess. But instead, I waited years and years to get a new one. I think a lot of people are doing that now. I think I've seen some people that still have 5Ss want to pay for the upgrades.

Jeff Thompson:
I think part of it ... I mean, even for me, I just finished up a lease. I'm still kind of in that limbo motive, what am I going to do? I'm actually on an extended lease, but it's like I can do one or two things. I can either pay 200 bucks now and have my phone own it outright or I can upgrade and continue paying X amount of dollars on a phone bill. It's like, "Okay, do I want to lessen my phone bill and maybe have that for a while and then kind of decide where am going to go?" Now obviously part of this is now that we have these new models coming out, once I see what those features look like, is it going to be something that's going to sell me that says, "Hey, go ahead and pull the trigger on the upgrade." Or, am I going to hold off again? Will pay that by year, but I think that's part of it. Obviously, if you can save a couple bucks on your phone bill, why not?

Serena Gilbert:
See? That's where those leases really almost irritate me because then when you get to the end of the lease, you're going to pay $200 for a felon that came out like three years ago. That just seems ridiculous.

Jeff Thompson:
The lease was 18 months, so I got it. The phone had only been out maybe two months. It wasn't a big deal. When you do the math, you're spending a little extra. It's like 32 a month, which basically came out to like 576. They're making a little bit extra money just based on the fact, you pay that extra 175 or 200 bucks, whatever it is to pay it off outright because you could actually buy that phone for I think ... What was it? 649 plus tax. They're making a little bit but not too bad.

Andy Munoz:
I think you know how you go about it, you're going to be paying at least anywhere from $40 to $50, 55 nowadays probably. And or you're going to be paying it straight up. There is no really wiggle room around it. It's just something that for the rest of our lives, we're going to be paying 50 bucks a month to have a phone.

Serena Gilbert:
As much as it costs us and it's super irritating, I can never imagine not having this device. Not because I'm spoiled and obsessed with technology, but because it is an accessibility tool now where even if you say, "Okay, this is $1,000 dollars." Well, even five years ago $1,000 would have maybe bought a portable magnifier, maybe. I remember my first KNFB reader, the portable one that was like the PTA and the digital camera attached to each other.

Jeff Thompson:
They give that care?

Serena Gilbert:
Yeah. That thing was $2,200 and that device served one purpose. As much as we like to be like, "Oh my God, it's so expensive." If you really put your perspective, given what we use it for, the accessibility factor, it's actually a bargain.

Andy Munoz:
They got to stop calling it a phone. I think it's more of a personal. It's more of a PDA than PDAs were.

Serena Gilbert:
Jeff, remember when you were trying to make a phone call to me and you ... so funny. I called Jeff and the call wouldn't go through and it kept dropping. Then he finally just ... What is it? WhatsApped me, I don't know. We finally used WhatsApp and he goes, "Well, how did you call me?" I was like, "I used the phone."

Jeff Thompson:
By the way. It is a phone.

Andy Munoz:
Oh, the thing is these devices are seriously game changers and it really didn't occur to me until two and a half years ago when I jumped into the accessibility role. I started learning how folks were using their devices and I was just completely blown away. Then obviously now that I use them on a daily basis, it's like, "Yeah, I use it for so much." Technology, it's never going to be cheating.

Jeff Thompson:
No.

Andy Munoz:
That's just the nature of the beast with it. It doesn't matter what it is, it's never going to be cheap and we just have to realize that, "Hey, we want to continue having our sense of independence and whatnot," and even for those that don't use it for the accessibility features, I mean those that use it for just everyday stuff, we've all become super dependent on technology in some form of fashion.

Jeff Thompson:
Well, it's access to information that you're readily on the go. You can't carry a wall calendar around with you. So many gidgets and gadgets that you would have to load up your backpack with that, you can do pretty much all of this on the phone. We're talking about putting it in pockets. I think this year I'm going to do the extra costs and have it surgically embedded so I don't have to lose it, dropped it.

Serena Gilbert:
Maybe sometime.

Jeff Thompson:
We've been talking about the phone and the plants and all that, but there's some other devices that they've been real bring up out. I heard something about it could be the 13 inch air coming out or it could be an iteration of the 13 inch MacBook.

Serena Gilbert:
So they're finally maybe going to refresh that?

Jeff Thompson:
Yeah. What has been 2014.

Serena Gilbert:
I don't know because I have a MacBook Air and I got it like three years ago and it said it was like from the year before. I don't know if that just means that's when it was manufactured or the last time that it was refreshed.

Jeff Thompson:
Probably 2014, but don't believe me. This is just speculation. I've heard a lot of people talk about the Air and some people has claimed that it's the best Mac that they've made.

Serena Gilbert:
Oh, it's my favorite, for sure. So fun.

Jeff Thompson:
Is it really?

Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, because it's thinner than the pros or even the regular MacBook, the one that's the 12 inches. I can fit it into my purse, believe it or not.

Jeff Thompson:
Oh yeah, that's really convenient and that's why I have a new iPad just because I do a lot of meetings and a lot of council stuff. It's so easy to carry that and just open it up and I got the Filo case where the keyboard is right there and I can take notes on a plane. I don't use it at home as much because I got my computer but when I'm out and about, I can just throw it in my backpack or throw it in my man purse, if I may.

Serena Gilbert:
I don't know why you're calling it a backpack.

Jeff Thompson:
Good one.

Serena Gilbert:
Well, we talked a little bit about the wireless charging pad too. We barely touched on that, but if they actually come out with that, which gosh, I'd probably be like a couple hundred dollars because nothing an Apple of sheet. But would that be something you would consider, especially if you updated your phone too?

Jeff Thompson:
If I got the phone then I would have to consider that when you pull that trigger and you go in and buy one. I don't know if you do it online or if you ordered it online and I'll send you realize you need that. You get off the phone, you went into it thinking it's going to be 899, then it's going to be $900. Then you get off the phone and you're sitting there at $1,499 because, "Okay, I wanted 256 gig, I wanted the pad, and I wanted the case and I wanted the Apple Care. So beware, buyer beware.

Andy Munoz:
Oh, I know personally for me, I'm one of those that I won't just buy a bare bones model. I've never felt good about like with Microsoft and stuff when they've done that where they just give you a bare bones, "Oh yeah, your machine will run just fine on this negative." I've never had good success with that. Because of that, I've always bought extra. You definitely come out of there spending more than you initially intended.

Jeff Thompson:
16 gigabyte in a small phone was really impressive back in the day.

Serena Gilbert:
Oh, man. I did buy the entry level model of the 10 because the bare bones model was still 64 gigs, which is plenty of space for me.

Andy Munoz:
Well, in that case. I mean, even I did go 32 gig on my seven. That for me has been good. I mean, I still have about 18 gigs of space available.

Jeff Thompson:
You got very short videos.

Andy Munoz:
I mean, I don't take a whole ... My videos are super long. If I'm not using an app, I get rid of it. I'm always a space saver and even like my text messages. I have my text messages set to delete after 30 days. 32 was fine on that, but I was more or less talking from the computer side of things. I mean, they'll do all right, but eventually they're going to slow down the more you start using them and things like that. Let's face it, most folks don't do the maintenance that they're supposed to, so you're going to end up putting stuff on there that you didn't want. It's just going to slow it down. For me personally, it says minimum requirement for gigs. I'm going at least go six or eight as far as RAM is concerned. If I can get a faster processor in it, I'm going faster processor.

Jeff Thompson:
I think that's what people are looking at today. I heard someone that had 64 gigabyte RAM. I was thinking to myself, "Wow."

Serena Gilbert:
That was a new MacBook that just came out. The one that was like, will we price it out at like $6,000 or something?

Jeff Thompson:
Yeah. Yeah. You can build that sucker up to ... Oh, can I say sucker? You can build those things up very high and it's just fun. Once you get into that page, you start clicking on this stuff and the surface book two. I went in and checked it out and I started clicking on the 13 inch and bang I was up to $3,000 and that was for a 16 gigabyte I7 processor and a terabyte $3,000 Boom.

Serena Gilbert:
For a windows computer.

Jeff Thompson:
That's one thing that I'm really concerned about and we're talking about Apple stuff here, but Apple products, they say they're expensive. You saw the price tags on some of those things that we're just talking about. But even the surface pros, the surface stuff that's coming out, it's not cheap,

Serena Gilbert:
I get that the Apple computers are expensive, but I have a PC downstairs in our office and I have my MacBook Air The PC gives me way more trouble. My MacBook has never had one thing ever wrong with it. It's never slowed down. It still works like it's brand new and I've had it for like five years almost.

Jeff Thompson:
You want to know what the biggest seller for me was when it comes to Mac and PC? The fact that Mac has far superior accessibility built into it because obviously you have voiceover. Of course, that's nice because if you have a track pad, you can use some of the same voiceover gestures that you use with your iPhone or your iPad. Then of course, it has screen magnification. You have the ability to do dictation. You have all of these things already prebuilt in. The counterpart, Microsoft, has some of those things. They're just not to the same quality at least in my opinion, but then of course then if you don't use those then you're having to go out and you're having to spend ... What is it? $1,400 or something for jaws or $500 for zoom text. If you use a screen magnification and then of course whatever it is for fusion, if you decide to go with both.

Andy Munoz:
Well, you can get those third party stuff, but the thing that sold me on the Apple is when my PC fried. This is back when seven was coming out in the windows jaws and all that stuff.

Jeff Thompson:
It was seven. It was right after XP second edition. But anyways, when it fried I decided to go Mac and I really liked the part that they make the equipment. They make the software, it's one house, one company making everything. It just works fit for so many years. Today, I don't know if they use that as much, it just works, but I do like that. It's neat to see that Microsoft is coming out with their own surface line of computers and it just like ... I had to cock my head to turn and look. I had to give them some attention because that was interesting. When I priced it out, they're no cheaper than an Apple product.

Serena Gilbert:
There's some other rumors of what might come out as well. Do either one of you have an Apple Watch?

Jeff Thompson:
Yes, I do. I have the two.

Serena Gilbert:
I believe mine is a two as well. Do you have one, Andy?

Andy Munoz:
I do not. I've toyed with the idea. I was wanting the three, but-

Jeff Thompson:
Serena, he doesn't have a watch and you brought them on the show?

Serena Gilbert:
Hey.

Andy Munoz:
She-

Serena Gilbert:
Who did the screening?

Andy Munoz:
She noticed I really do want the watch. I'm actually curious as to the new series four that's coming out because what I was reading on that, especially as it's supposed to give more screen surface-

Serena Gilbert:
I was going to say you might really

Andy Munoz:
... small bezels yeah.

Serena Gilbert:
The way that they displayed it, I think it had next year, like three complications on it, which normally there's four I believe. Maybe it was next year four, but either way there was one-

Andy Munoz:
I think next four because the analog face said it could hold up to eight complications.

Serena Gilbert:
That's double.

Jeff Thompson:
Complicated.

Serena Gilbert:
Somebody said that on the picture that got leaked of the series four not that this is a useful feature, but whatever. Because we don't live in places like this. It's called the UV Index. It could read if it was safe to go out in the sun.

Andy Munoz:
Oh, really?

Serena Gilbert:
Yeah. There's that trademark.

Andy Munoz:
It makes you wonder this stuff that it's capable of doing.

Serena Gilbert:
I wonder because I haven't seen the series three, so I don't know. Is it thinner than the two do we know or is this the same form factor?

Andy Munoz:
I believe it's the same. They didn't change the size. There's 42 and 38.

Serena Gilbert:
I'd like to see it get a little bit thinner, honestly.

Andy Munoz:
I have to agree with that. I remember bulky watches especially on a girl's wrist. I see the problem right there, bang. It's like, "Hello." I was really wondering because the 38 is not really a compromise. There's still both big. Serena, you want a thinner?

Serena Gilbert:
Yeah. I want the actual form factor to be a little bit thinner to make it just look a little sleeker.

Andy Munoz:
Any of you ever done archery or something? They use those wrist pads that cover so the string doesn't. I wonder if there's ever going to switch to the phone or to the watch, be more oblong. Give you more surface. Why can't you have a come up here? It's a little bit further.

Serena Gilbert:
I'm sure that they've done some weird Apple study and found that people would just turn like that. You know how Apple is?

Andy Munoz:
That's so 2024.

Serena Gilbert:
We are already in 2052.

Jeff Thompson:
We're just not there yet. But I'm really excited. I've heard rumors about the Mac Mini getting a refresh, but these are just people. They got to put so much ink on the paper, so we don't know what's really coming out. I've heard the Mac Mini. I've also heard Apple TV that they're going to do something. If you get on Google long enough you'll find everything.

Serena Gilbert:
What they haven't ... Or at least, I haven't read anything about any sort of rumor about. I know they're not going to refresh this, but I have a HomePod and I know that I have to refresh the actual form factor or anything. But there has been absolutely no talk about what IOS 12 will bring to the HomePod at all.

Andy Munoz:
Didn't you just get your AirPlay 2?

Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, but that's weird. I don't have two HomePods. I don't really care. It is nice that from my phone I can tell it to play on the HomePod that's kind of convenient. But as far as actual features and Siri actually being smart on the HomePod, it's super disappointing.

Andy Munoz:
You can tell your phone to play music while Siri is built into the HomePod and you could just tell Siri.

Serena Gilbert:
If you're upstairs doing laundry or picking up your phone from the floor.

Andy Munoz:
Is that where you kept all the time doing laundry? Your phone breaks same day, you're playing music from the laundry?

Serena Gilbert:
That's usually where I listened to the Blind Abilities Podcasts.

Andy Munoz:
Serena-

Jeff Thompson:
Then you got to hope Siri understands what you're saying?

Andy Munoz:
Yeah. That's always-

Serena Gilbert:
I just don't understand why Siri is so lacking. They need to show her some love this year.

Andy Munoz:
They have. They've been trying to create shortcuts. If you look into the Betas or on your phone right now ... I believe if you're running the Beta, which I am, you can see the shortcuts and it's just redundant to things that you've already done.

Serena Gilbert:
I am looking forward to the series shortcuts being able to be more integrated with third party apps. It would be really nice for me to be able to tell Siri to play a specific station on Pandora. That is something that I don't understand never could do that in the first place, but it will be nice for those things to be able to open up a little bit. But I also feel like this is almost like a lazy way the Apple took of making Siri smarter by just opening it up a little bit differently to third party developers and then being make it do all these things that it should have already been able to do.

Jeff Thompson:
It's a workflow.

Serena Gilbert:
Which is what they purchased a couple of years ago.

Jeff Thompson:
I mean, I've gone into the workflow and I sat there for a little bit and it's like, "Okay." After about 15 minutes, I just closed it up and go,

Andy Munoz:
I don't know. To me there's just no excuse. I mean, when you've got a counterpart in Alexa who's fairly useful, at least from the things that I've done and heard from other folks, you would think that that would be something that Apple would bump up.

Serena Gilbert:
Especially since they were the first ones to even have the digital assistant. That's what makes it even more ... And I get when you're the first, somebody always makes it better, but I feel like they always say every year when they release the new IOS, Siri can do all these other things. Every time that they say all the things that Siri can do now I find myself thinking, "Oh my gosh, you already could do that. So okay, awesome." I have no faith in it now. I'm like, "Yeah."

Jeff Thompson:
Well, it was something that I've always thought about. It's like okay, you come out with a new phone every year or you come out with maybe a new model iPad, you're adding Siri to the Mac. But at some point, these products just become products. You've got to do something else that makes them stand out even more so than your competition. You give that an upgrade and you make it comparable to an Alexa. It's definitely going to make it a bigger seller. You're already one of the largest companies in the world as it is, but still as in anything, there's always room for improvement and I think even in the accessibility side of it, I mean, granted it's great. I'm not going to knock it, but really there are still some things I think even with some dictation on the Mac side of things, make it somewhat similar to dragon where you can create a voice file because it definitely has some nice things built in.

Jeff Thompson:
I mean, you can certainly do some text editing and do some different things like that, but there's certain things that it still can't do. If you start focusing on those areas, you're just going to enhance your product that much more.

Andy Munoz:
Well, with all of the voiceover stuff that we have, we got it on the watch. We have three heads Siri on the watch. We have all these ... It can tell your heartbeat, it can tell you, "Jeff breath, Jeff stand," and all that stuff. I want it to get to the point where I pick up a piece of fried chicken, it says, "Jeff, hey dude, dude, dude let's talk. Let's talk." I want that type of interaction where ... I'm serious. I mean, I want something that's smart. They're talking about artificial intelligence. To me, it's just database driven information. You go to the Amazon devices and stuff and they got 10,000 different skills that you can do. Give me 20,000, I'll use it just as less. Their stuff is games.

Andy Munoz:
There's other things, informational stuff, but I want the thing to actually be smart. Not just a resource, a dictionary or encyclopedia or a Google search, I want it to be intuitive, smart. I see the shortcuts, it sees that it's remembering things that I've done. I wonder if that's going to build a database so it will be able to predict my tendencies, but, "Hey, let's talk Siri. Let's talk."

Serena Gilbert:
I just want something incredibly simple that they released in IOS 11 with voiceover. I just want it to actually recognize pictures. We've got this great feature that you released last year and I find it completely useless, honestly. I find it easier to take a screenshot and send it through Seeing AI than to even attempt even just the simple gesture because it's just so unreliable in my opinion.

Andy Munoz:
Well, that new feature in Seeing AI where it will actually label the pictures?

Serena Gilbert:
Yes. That is ingenious. Why couldn't Apple have built that in?

Andy Munoz:
That's amazing because you can't even go into your camera or your photos and you can actually label the photo. But as soon as you take the next pitcher and it moves. So I don't even know if it can do that. But it was a silly thing because I spent about two hours, one time labeling like 30 pictures and also I took a picture and it all shifted and it all went away.

Serena Gilbert:
You can still label them and that shifting must have gone away because I labeled a ton when I first got my new iPhone and I was like, "I'm going to label every picture that I take," because I was naive and so I started labeling them as I took them and they did keep the labels, but it's just so tedious. It's easier ... Even what I want to share a picture now I just go into Seeing AI because they do have that share button in there where you can push it out to whatever you want when you know for sure that's really the picture that I wanted to just send out.

Jeff Thompson:
It's coming a long ways and I think what they're announcing I'm going to be riveted to this. I'll be in England at the time, so it'll be 6:00 PM for me and Central Time I believe it's 12 because it comes on it what time? Ten o'clock in California?

Andy Munoz:
10:00 Pacific.

Jeff Thompson:
11:00 Time Mountain we got to get Colorado in there and-

Serena Gilbert:
[inaudible].

Jeff Thompson:
I don't want to lack this-

Serena Gilbert:
At 2,000 podcasts here, Jeff.

Jeff Thompson:
I know. Hey, I'm looking up to you guys, my Ohio, right?

Serena Gilbert:
Goodness. All of the jokes.

Jeff Thompson:
I just think they put on a great show. I mean, they come out and it's the same old, same old. Now we're going to call out and the guy comes out or the girls over there and she's flicking on the phone and doing all this stuff. It's exciting. What do you guys predict is going to be the thing that we're overlooking? Do you think there's going to be a surprise?

Serena Gilbert:
You mean the ... But wait, there's more moment like there always is. Every year.

Jeff Thompson:
Drum roll.

Serena Gilbert:
I think that ... But wait, there's more. It's going to be the refreshed I see.

Jeff Thompson:
Really?

Serena Gilbert:
Because people still like the smaller form factors and there's still a niche for that.

Andy Munoz:
Well-

Jeff Thompson:
6.1 is not the small form factor?

Serena Gilbert:
No, a lot of people don't like that,

Andy Munoz:
In speaking with a lot of ... Obviously being in that support role for the last several years, I've found that a lot of our blind and visually impaired customers did like that smaller phone. I personally, I could go either way. I'm not so much a big fan of the plus just because it just doesn't feel right in my hand even using an iPad. If I'm going to use it, it's got to either be on a flat surface or it's got to have a case that's got a stand where I can use a keyboard and navigate it that way because for me it just feels awkward. I guess it's all in who you are and what you feel comfortable with.

Andy Munoz:
But I've found that a lot of folks that have the SE or have a 5S and would like to get an SE but just didn't want to get the current one because again, as we all know, their lifespan is only so long and they'll only take so many updates. That was a question I got all the time is, do you know if they're going to make a new SE? I was like, "Well, you just never can tell." I mean, if Apple holds true to form at some point, yeah. I thought it was going to be this last year and it wasn't. We'll have to wait and see what turns up.

Jeff Thompson:
I'm excited for the SE for people if it does come up because I understand the real SE and you're right about the iPad. I don't like using it just as an iPad, I use it as a keyboard input type of device in meetings. It's portability, everything like that. There's a reason to have certain pieces of equipment. I'm just excited to ... I keep saying the plus but is it the 10S? I said you guys's style, the XS. Isn't that going to be as big as a plus though.

Serena Gilbert:
What they're saying is that the ... because you know how they just call the iPad, the iPod now. They don't call it ... Because I do know that they have the iPad Pro but they have two sizes of the iPad Pro, but they don't call them something different. They're saying they're just going to bring the whole iPhone 10 under one name and then you're just either getting the 10S 5.1 inch or whatever it is or the 10S inch. I forget what the measurements are. That's the-

Jeff Thompson:
XS, 6.5.

Serena Gilbert:
Then the first one is what the original form factor is and then there's going to be one that I guess will have the same screen real SE as the pluses currently have, but it will actually be a smaller form factor because of the Bezel being gone.

Jeff Thompson:
That makes sense. We're all going to be surprised maybe what's coming out and if you're in line for a certain product, hopefully, this is your time to pull the trigger. I know I always get tempted, but lately you said, Andy, when the eight came out and I'm sitting there on a seven, there was no reason to make any big changes, so the thing that I will be moving into is probably something that I'll be charging on a flat surface, hopefully, if that ever comes out.

Serena Gilbert:
Jeff, if you get the 10, I can send you Me-mojis.

Jeff Thompson:
Oh, that's right. Awesome.

Serena Gilbert:
I haven't seen it that's accessible yet.

Andy Munoz:
But isn't that the one where you can take the different emojis like an animal or something and you can actually do the recording?

Serena Gilbert:
That's like the Animoji but then IOS 12 you can actually make a Memoji.

Andy Munoz:
Oh, okay.

Serena Gilbert:
This is a very important feature you guys, seriously. It can tell if you stick your tongue out or if you wink.

Andy Munoz:
Oh, wow.

Serena Gilbert:
It's very important because you want to be as expressive as possible, right?

Jeff Thompson:
Of course, yeah. I mean, hey. It's all about being expressive.

Serena Gilbert:
This is why you should upgrade to the 10, but you're completely forgetting about a piece though too, is if you're not impressed with the 10S or whatever they're going to call it, you can always just get the 10 and save a little bit of money but have a really solid phone.

Andy Munoz:
I think they should call it the XSF. That way, it would be totally excessive.

Serena Gilbert:
Oh.

Jeff Thompson:
I always like when you do that because it saves me a sound effect.

Andy Munoz:
One last thing, I can't remember where I saw this. I almost want to say that I saw something that even the iPads are going to soon be ... the home buttons are going to soon be gone.

Serena Gilbert:
I totally forgot about that. I have read that too. They traditionally have an event in October. Usually, they refresh the Mac Books and stuff in October. But they already did that, so I bet it'd be refreshing some brand new iPad.

Jeff Thompson:
I heard that the new phone is not going to be equipped for the pencil either.

Serena Gilbert:
Does anybody use the pencil?

Andy Munoz:
With me, no. I mean-

Serena Gilbert:
I mean, I know that in certain education environments and things like that and obviously maybe graphic design and stuff like that. But I wonder if the everyday person uses that. What is it a $200 add on?

Jeff Thompson:
It's $100 add on, isn't it? I have no use for it. It's just one of those things that are out there just like the color of the new phones.

Serena Gilbert:
Oh my goodness, you guys. I have one final question for you guys and we'll check back to see how, if we're right or not. How many times do you think that Tim Cook or ... What was the other guy's name? Phil, whatever his name is [crosstalk 00:47:07] all the Apple nerds, how many times do you think they're going to say, "No, isn't that fantastic?" What is the word they like the most and-

Jeff Thompson:
If you can actually count that and be accurate ... I know I'm not going to try it but if you could come up with that number, I'd be impressed.

Serena Gilbert:
If one of our listeners can count how many times they say, "Fantastic," or, "Innovative," Blind Abilities' T-shirt.

Jeff Thompson:
There you go. There you go. We got to come up with a number.

Serena Gilbert:
I mean, if you played a drinking game to that, you would just be absolutely on the floor.

Jeff Thompson:
How is your Gatorade by the way?

Serena Gilbert:
It's all gone.

Jeff Thompson:
We guess it was a Gatorade?

Serena Gilbert:
It was definitely Gatorade.

Jeff Thompson:
Well, I'll be watching from England. I'll be tuning into it 6:00 PM in England.

Andy Munoz:
By the way, I was off on my price of the Apple Pencil. It's 99 bucks.

Jeff Thompson:
Jeff, you were right.

Andy Munoz:
Jeff is on the money with it.

Serena Gilbert:
Add that to your two times that you can write.

Jeff Thompson:
Well, three times is right is the left, isn't it?

Serena Gilbert:
I confused. You just made my head hurt. Well, I've enjoyed chatting with you guys and I can't wait for us to do a recap of this special event next week. We will somehow catch Jeff in the middle of the night, I hope so. We shall figure out the logistics, but we will definitely be back to recap everything that you hear from the special [inaudible] and thanks for listening to you the brand new Access Abilities Podcast on the Blind Abilities Network. We look forward to hearing from you and we will talk to you next time.

[Music]  [Transition noise]  -When we share

-What we see

-Through each other's eyes...

[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]

...We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.

Jeff Thompson:

For more podcasts with the blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter at Blind Abilities. Download our app from the App Store, Blind Abilities. That's two words. Or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening.