Blind Bargains

Blind Bargains Qast 73: Dongles And Stuff


The big event happened and there are opinions aplenty about it on the web. But let us add four more to the cacophony as J.J., Joe, Scott and Patrick weigh in on the controversy in an iPhone Plus-sized Discussion-filled episode.

In The Non Apple News:

The Orbit Research and APH Tactile Graphics Display now has a Name; More Details Released

As we thought, latest NVDA is now ready for you to download

JAWS 18 Public Beta begins

Discussion Topic: Apple iPhone Event 2016

Like many other podcasts, we had an outline that was discarded fairly quickly. We move back and forth throughout the keynote, however, these notes are a more orderly way of reading up on what happened on September 7th.

iOS, Mac OS and Watch OS:

iOS 10 launches September 13 with iMessage apps, Siri API, and more

Apple to release macOS Sierra on September 20th

WatchOS 3 will try to speed up your Apple Watch on September 13

Watch Series 2:

Apple reveals new swim-proof Apple Watch Series 2

New bands, new partnerships, and new casings: This is Apple Watch Series 2.

[Apple s luxury watch dream is over]( http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/7/12839686/apple-event-2016-smartwatch-luxury-watch-market via @verge)

iPhone 7:

Apple introduces iPhone 7 ($649), iPhone 7 Plus ($769), and wireless earbuds

A Regular Person s Guide To Apple s New Phones (And Other Useless Shit)

iPhone 7: Hands-on first impressions!

Apple warns that its jet black iPhone 7 scratches easily

Inside iPhone 7: Why Apple Killed The Headphone Jack

Apple defends decision to remove 3.5mm headphone jack, cites courage

No, Apple, killing your headphone jack is not 'courage'

Here s how you charge an iPhone 7 and listen to music at the same time

Belkin not Apple comes to the rescue with an iPhone 7 headphone-and-charge dongle

What's up with Apple's new Lightning EarPods and wireless AirPods? Here's everything you need to know!

I Stuck Apple's AirPods in My Ears and It Shockingly Wasn't Terrible

The Apple Plug is today s perfect iPhone parody

Forget the iPhone's disappearing headphone jack, what about the home button?

Getting familiar with the latest iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus camera updates, one feature and two camera lenses! at a time.

Apple is trying to turn the iPhone into a DSLR using artificial intelligence

Apple quietly made it cheaper to replace a cracked iPhone screen

Apple kills 16GB storage option for iPad Air 2 and Mini 4, drops Pro prices

Why We re No Longer Desperate for the New iPhone

Sound Off:

We asked our Twitter followers what they thought of Apple's big day shortly before we recorded this show. Here's some of the responses...

@steveofmaine:

iPhone neat, Watch innovative, reasons to whine about it all, plentiful.

@y_sotomayor:

there are some accessibility concerns by removing the headphone jack. But other than that, decent update.

@jekis:

iPhone 7 is nice, not compelling for 6S owners. Lightning for audio can make charging awkward if you need to use headphones.

@jaybird110127:

Headphone jack going away? Not a big deal to me. Don't use it often enough for it to matter.

@FinnTurner0

this is when Apple falls. predict an uptick in Android device market share

@1drew:

Excited about the 7, camera improvements, faster processor, always opportunity for better AT. A bit ashamed of the blind community making the iphone jack a blind issue.

@ed_edwardson:

Instead of investing in a new audio standard, I wonder why they didn't do more work to support aptX? And get off my lawn!

@GregJohnsonNZ:

splash! Now the iPhone is toilet proof.

You might be thinking that this was the last of the big tech events for the year. Well, not so much really. Google might have an event, or at least a lot of press releases, in early October to support all that stuff they talked about in May at Google i/o. Rumor is that Microsoft will have an event in late October to spotlight a new line of Surface-based products. And don't count out Amazon. They tend to surprise everyone with product announcements as well. Except they did just quietly release a new 8 inch tablet and some updates to their Fire TV and Fire Stick lines. At any rate, the holiday shopping season is fast approaching. Have a good week everyone!

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Displaying 1 comment.
cw Friday, 16-Sep-2016 2:49 PM ET:

I like some of the features in the IPhone 7, but like of a head phone jack removed the temptation of returning my 6s. Yes, I wish I weighted a week or two before upgrading from my nokia 6620 to my IPhone, but when I upgraded, I wanted a phone that I had a really good idea that it would work for me. Sometimes though, I wish I checked out android a little bit better. The thing there was my lack of knowledge on what phone had the best accessibility out of the box, and how I would go about setting it up without sight. To me, setting a phone up without sight is a must. Also, I had an lot of apps on IOS. So, there was a bit of lock in there too. How many are just afraid to try android? A few try it of course but still. There really does seem to be the IPhone default for people I run into myself. Apple is sort of known for having accessibility type stuff in their products, but android does seem to get left out some in that department. The little bit I am hearing is that android just haven’t caught up to apple. My question is, how close are they? I am thinking myself that I might be tempted by android in about two years or so if the accessibility is there. Hopefully, I will know by then exactly what I want out of a smart phone. There really need to be some more competing in their area. Then again, that might come down to the chicken and egg thing. You know the question of what came first. Now to get down to the headphone thing. I am thinking about the word courage and how it was so close to September 11. That has to hurt them a little, but will the camera feature balance that out? How will their sells look in a month or two? Will the lack of headphone jack hurt sells any? I wonder how many IPhone sevens will break. This wall garden does not seem all that nice after you have been in it for a while does it? That is unless you like the weight it is. In a year or two, the headphone jack may be mute to me. Android may be more accessible, and or I would know more about it. The fact that apple has been the first to add accessibility to smart phones out of the box has to be the main or one of the reasons why people may not even think about switching. Sort of reminds me of the whole JAWS verses NVDA thing. That of course makes me wonder where things will be in a year or two. Sorry for going on endlessly. I would not blame anyone for shortening this up any. Then again, this does look a lot like what I heard on this vary podcast. Oops. Sorry for any copying I may had done. Just wanted to put my thoughts down and maybe share them. LOL.


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Joe Steinkamp is no stranger to the world of technology, having been a user of video magnification and blindness related electronic devices since 1979. Joe has worked in radio, retail management and Vocational Rehabilitation for blind and low vision individuals in Texas. He has been writing about the A.T. Industry for 15 years and podcasting about it for almost a decade.


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