WEBVTT - Talking Tech 10th September 2024 0:00:21.258 --> 0:00:25.398 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:25.398 --> 0:00:29.118 September the 10th, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have 0:00:29.118 --> 0:00:32.778 you with us listening maybe through Vision Australia Radio, associated 0:00:32.778 --> 0:00:36.948 stations of the Radio Reading Network or the Community Radio Network. 0:00:36.978 --> 0:00:39.438 There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you 0:00:39.438 --> 0:00:42.168 need to do is search for the two words talking 0:00:42.198 --> 0:00:44.988 tech and Dana can all come usually on a Tuesday 0:00:44.988 --> 0:00:48.558 afternoon just after it's been produced. Another option is to 0:00:48.588 --> 0:00:51.918 ask your Siri device or smart speaker to play. Vision 0:00:51.948 --> 0:00:57.228 Australia radio talking tech podcast. Vision Australia radio talking tech 0:00:57.228 --> 0:01:01.608 podcast with me for the last time on a regular basis. 0:01:01.638 --> 0:01:06.798 Leading Australian blindness technologist David Woodbridge. David, welcome to what's 0:01:06.798 --> 0:01:08.538 really a pretty special program. 0:01:08.748 --> 0:01:10.488 Well, it's a special in a couple days, isn't it? 0:01:10.728 --> 0:01:14.088 Number number one, it's sort of my last official regular, 0:01:14.118 --> 0:01:16.908 like you just said, last program. And number two, of course, 0:01:16.908 --> 0:01:19.518 it was all about the Apple keynote, which took place 0:01:19.518 --> 0:01:20.748 today as we go to air. 0:01:20.808 --> 0:01:25.428 And how fitting it is that this program is about 0:01:25.428 --> 0:01:28.338 an Apple event. Let's start with the event that happened 0:01:28.338 --> 0:01:33.468 at 3:00 this morning Australian time. Australian Eastern time. Firstly, 0:01:33.468 --> 0:01:37.218 your overall impression of the event itself. 0:01:37.248 --> 0:01:39.798 Yeah. Look, I mean as you saw, it's been pre-done. 0:01:39.798 --> 0:01:43.008 So it's been, you know pre-recorded. It's audio described which 0:01:43.008 --> 0:01:46.518 is really good. There was lots of information in there. 0:01:46.548 --> 0:01:49.668 Sometimes the audio description of course, which happened was a 0:01:49.668 --> 0:01:52.698 little bit too quick. And it's the same level as 0:01:52.698 --> 0:01:55.608 the rest of the audio. But overall it was a 0:01:55.608 --> 0:01:59.748 really good polished presentation from Apple. And they got all 0:01:59.748 --> 0:02:03.198 the marketing promo stuff in there very nicely. But yeah, look, 0:02:03.228 --> 0:02:04.908 if I was giving you a bit of a rating 0:02:04.908 --> 0:02:08.748 as far as content, I'd give it about a 8.5 0:02:08.778 --> 0:02:09.498 out of ten. 0:02:09.768 --> 0:02:11.898 So if you'd like to go and listen to it, 0:02:11.928 --> 0:02:14.478 it runs for about an hour and a half. Mhm. 0:02:14.508 --> 0:02:19.818 Lots of content there. Hardware devices were on center stages 0:02:19.818 --> 0:02:25.398 at were the Apple Watch, the AirPods, and the iPhones. 0:02:25.428 --> 0:02:30.018 Let's talk about those starting with the Apple Watch series. 0:02:30.168 --> 0:02:33.288 Yeah, so effectively there's going to be two Apple Watch 0:02:33.288 --> 0:02:35.928 versions that at least what they talked about. So that's 0:02:35.928 --> 0:02:41.838 the Apple Watch ten and also the Apple Watch Ultra 0:02:42.288 --> 0:02:46.278 which is the the two version. And they were really 0:02:46.278 --> 0:02:48.648 talking about the fact that and they did with this 0:02:48.648 --> 0:02:50.358 most of the stuff except for the AirPods that we'll 0:02:50.358 --> 0:02:52.008 get to in a minute. We're talking about the fact 0:02:52.008 --> 0:02:55.608 that it's thinner, lighter. The screen is slightly bigger, it's 0:02:55.608 --> 0:03:01.278 slightly brighter, it's slightly louder, um, nicer bands and all 0:03:01.308 --> 0:03:05.958 that sort of cool stuff. So as with most of 0:03:05.958 --> 0:03:08.508 the stuff that we'll talk about in the program today, 0:03:08.508 --> 0:03:13.188 it's incremental changes, which are actually quite good. So, um, 0:03:13.188 --> 0:03:15.708 I'd say if you're back at a sort of an 0:03:15.708 --> 0:03:20.448 Apple Watch, I'd say eight. Um, then absolutely. It's definitely 0:03:20.448 --> 0:03:24.588 worthwhile updating it, particularly for low vision, because the the 0:03:24.588 --> 0:03:27.498 actual face of the watch is a lot easier to 0:03:27.498 --> 0:03:30.558 see in, in bright sunlight. Uh, and of course, at 0:03:30.558 --> 0:03:35.508 night time, it lowers the luminosity of the watch face 0:03:35.508 --> 0:03:38.658 so it doesn't glare at you. But no, look, it 0:03:38.658 --> 0:03:40.668 looked really good. One of the things that caught my 0:03:40.668 --> 0:03:44.058 attention about the, uh, Apple Watch ten, of course, which 0:03:44.058 --> 0:03:46.308 I've always wanted on my Apple Watch, is the fact 0:03:46.308 --> 0:03:49.818 that you can actually listen to media on the Apple 0:03:49.818 --> 0:03:52.638 Watch itself, because beforehand, of course, as we all know, 0:03:52.668 --> 0:03:55.818 you really need to use AirPods or whatever else to 0:03:55.848 --> 0:03:59.358 listen to music or audiobooks on the Apple Watch, but 0:03:59.358 --> 0:04:02.808 now you don't. And the other little thing that also 0:04:02.808 --> 0:04:07.398 caught my attention was the sleep apnea, um, function. Uh, 0:04:07.398 --> 0:04:10.338 so that if you do suffer from sleep apnea or 0:04:10.338 --> 0:04:12.288 you don't, you don't even know that you've got it, 0:04:12.288 --> 0:04:15.118 as they pointed out. and then this will pick up 0:04:15.118 --> 0:04:18.988 if you've got breathing problems during the, uh, the night 0:04:18.988 --> 0:04:20.668 and I'll give you a report once a month. So 0:04:20.668 --> 0:04:22.288 that was quite fascinating as well. 0:04:22.588 --> 0:04:25.018 Now that won't be available straight away, but it will 0:04:25.018 --> 0:04:27.958 be in the coming weeks, hopefully in Australia soon. 0:04:27.988 --> 0:04:30.688 Correct. Yeah. And they did say that that will be 0:04:30.688 --> 0:04:34.438 available also on the previous Apple Watch, but not on 0:04:34.468 --> 0:04:36.808 the old ultra watch, the original one, but it will 0:04:36.808 --> 0:04:39.178 definitely be on the previous. What we now say is 0:04:39.208 --> 0:04:42.178 the series nine Apple Watch. So that was a really 0:04:42.178 --> 0:04:44.368 great thing to to have a chat about. 0:04:44.428 --> 0:04:47.728 We'll talk about dates later because they're the same across 0:04:47.728 --> 0:04:50.488 all the devices. Let's come to AirPods now. 0:04:50.518 --> 0:04:52.318 Yeah. Look I'm going to say up front that I 0:04:52.348 --> 0:04:56.608 found the discussion about the AirPods a little bit confusing 0:04:56.608 --> 0:05:00.418 because they talked about sort of two versions of the AirPods, 0:05:00.418 --> 0:05:02.788 one of which was slightly more expensive. They did talk 0:05:02.788 --> 0:05:06.178 about the fact that they're reducing the size of the case. 0:05:06.238 --> 0:05:11.608 One of the versions of the AirPods had better sound 0:05:11.638 --> 0:05:14.758 acoustic quality, and a few other odds and ends. So 0:05:14.758 --> 0:05:17.368 what I would suggest, and I'm not talking about the 0:05:17.368 --> 0:05:21.628 AirPods Pro here, when they were talking about the two AirPods, um, 0:05:21.628 --> 0:05:23.038 I would say if you go back and have a 0:05:23.038 --> 0:05:27.238 listen or go to Apple.com now, and because they have 0:05:27.238 --> 0:05:30.868 the information about the AirPods online now and have a 0:05:30.868 --> 0:05:33.298 read about them, and they also talked about the new 0:05:33.298 --> 0:05:36.718 AirPods Pro. Now, the thing that caught my attention about 0:05:36.718 --> 0:05:40.678 that was another health one, and that's the hearing aid functionality. 0:05:40.678 --> 0:05:45.178 So what they've done is they've said that the AirPods Pro, 0:05:45.208 --> 0:05:49.468 the new one, will be the same as over-the-counter hearing 0:05:49.468 --> 0:05:52.648 aids that you can buy at the chemist or the pharmacy, 0:05:53.278 --> 0:05:57.148 as we call them in Australia. And it will allow 0:05:57.148 --> 0:06:03.088 you to have a audiologist, as in the iPhone, give 0:06:03.118 --> 0:06:06.028 you an audio test, and then it will actually give 0:06:06.028 --> 0:06:10.978 you a hearing aid through the AirPods Pro By themselves 0:06:11.188 --> 0:06:13.918 so you can use it. So that will be interesting 0:06:13.948 --> 0:06:17.218 to see how that goes against, you know, people that 0:06:17.218 --> 0:06:19.888 have to use like $6,000 hearing aids. 0:06:20.308 --> 0:06:24.568 Yes, certainly iPhones. The big one. 0:06:24.688 --> 0:06:26.968 The big one. Yeah. Look, there was of course, the 0:06:26.968 --> 0:06:30.568 of course there's the iPhone 16, the 16 plus, and 0:06:30.598 --> 0:06:35.728 of course the iPhone 16 Pro and the 16 Pro Max. 0:06:35.728 --> 0:06:41.698 So the 16 is basically 6.1 right up to the 0:06:41.698 --> 0:06:47.968 fairly large 16 Pro Max, which is 6.9in diagonally. So 0:06:47.968 --> 0:06:52.888 that's actually, you know, fairly fairly large, um, from a, 0:06:52.888 --> 0:06:57.208 I guess, a blindness and low vision type point of view. 0:06:57.238 --> 0:06:59.458 I'd say most people are probably going to be quite 0:06:59.458 --> 0:07:04.558 satisfied with the, the 16 or the 16 plus. Um, 0:07:04.558 --> 0:07:08.368 one thing they did start to talk about several times, 0:07:08.368 --> 0:07:11.158 which I only got worked out what they were talking about. 0:07:11.188 --> 0:07:13.858 There's a little touch surface on the side of the 0:07:13.858 --> 0:07:16.948 phone now, which is called the camera click and the 0:07:16.948 --> 0:07:19.438 camera click. You can do all sorts of wonderful things 0:07:19.438 --> 0:07:22.558 in it. Um, you know, launch the camera and you 0:07:22.558 --> 0:07:25.468 can do like a force press and a light press 0:07:25.468 --> 0:07:29.128 to bring up different functionality for the camera. One of 0:07:29.128 --> 0:07:33.058 the fantastic things was visual intelligence, because they did spend 0:07:33.058 --> 0:07:35.068 a lot of time, of course, when they talked about 0:07:35.068 --> 0:07:38.218 the iPhone, about Apple intelligence, which, by the way, they 0:07:38.218 --> 0:07:42.688 covered back in WWDC. There's nothing new. Um, and that 0:07:42.688 --> 0:07:45.088 was the fact that you could be wandering down the 0:07:45.088 --> 0:07:47.098 road and you could see a nice little puppy dog 0:07:47.098 --> 0:07:50.338 in a park. You could take a picture, and then 0:07:50.338 --> 0:07:54.418 you could do a search on ChatGPT or Google, and 0:07:54.418 --> 0:07:57.718 it would tell you the actual breed of the dog. 0:07:57.718 --> 0:08:00.388 Or if you're at a restaurant and you took a 0:08:00.388 --> 0:08:03.568 picture of the menu, it would go up and search 0:08:03.568 --> 0:08:07.768 the menu options, um, find prices and all that sort 0:08:07.768 --> 0:08:11.218 of really cool stuff. So that's almost getting to what 0:08:11.218 --> 0:08:13.048 we would like to have, as you know, blind and 0:08:13.048 --> 0:08:17.308 low vision people. And that is your camera taking pictures 0:08:17.308 --> 0:08:20.728 of objects in your vicinity and telling you more about them. 0:08:20.758 --> 0:08:23.578 Yeah, I can imagine this could be very useful in 0:08:23.578 --> 0:08:26.758 the shopping environment where you photograph something on the shelf 0:08:26.758 --> 0:08:29.308 and it goes to a website to tell you more 0:08:29.308 --> 0:08:29.758 about it. 0:08:29.788 --> 0:08:32.908 Yeah, no, that was quite fascinating. But keep keep in 0:08:32.908 --> 0:08:37.468 mind though, that with Apple intelligence it's not quite here yet. 0:08:37.558 --> 0:08:42.058 We've still got sort of 18.1 currently in beta. Um, 0:08:42.058 --> 0:08:44.398 so they did sort of point out that this is 0:08:44.398 --> 0:08:48.358 a building process. And these things will come online in 0:08:48.358 --> 0:08:51.118 the next month up to the next year or so. 0:08:51.118 --> 0:08:54.958 So just keep your ear out for a software update. 0:08:54.958 --> 0:08:57.388 And then all these other Apple intelligence stuff that they 0:08:57.388 --> 0:08:59.758 talked about today will be coming on board. But as 0:08:59.758 --> 0:09:03.268 far as 18.0 is concerned, the stuff they talked about 0:09:03.268 --> 0:09:05.518 today in the keynote actually won't be there. 0:09:05.548 --> 0:09:08.848 There's been some significant developments with audio. 0:09:08.878 --> 0:09:10.888 That's right. So what they were talking about is particularly 0:09:10.888 --> 0:09:12.718 when you're videoing and you're in a bit of an 0:09:12.718 --> 0:09:17.188 echoey room, what the system will do, it will do 0:09:17.188 --> 0:09:20.278 a lot of noise dampening on the echo or the 0:09:20.278 --> 0:09:22.888 sounds in the room. And the other thing it will 0:09:22.888 --> 0:09:27.958 also do is decrease the background sound. So it will 0:09:27.958 --> 0:09:31.318 focus on the main audio focus. But I think the 0:09:31.318 --> 0:09:35.788 fact that it's actually focusing on dampening the noise around 0:09:35.788 --> 0:09:39.298 you when you're recording, that's actually pretty amazing stuff happening 0:09:39.298 --> 0:09:40.618 as far as audio is concerned. 0:09:40.648 --> 0:09:43.018 This applies in the Voice Memos app too. 0:09:43.048 --> 0:09:46.648 That's right. So for budding podcasters or even maybe people 0:09:46.648 --> 0:09:48.748 that are doing their own little filming, um, that's going 0:09:48.778 --> 0:09:50.818 to work really nicely. Mhm. Yeah. 0:09:50.998 --> 0:09:56.098 Very interesting. You can preorder these devices from today. 0:09:56.338 --> 0:10:00.058 Indeed. And they said of course in in US terminology 0:10:00.178 --> 0:10:05.218 they'll be available from September 20th. Um and then they also, 0:10:05.248 --> 0:10:07.828 like I said just now, they kept saying that all 0:10:07.828 --> 0:10:09.988 the other some of the features will be in later 0:10:10.378 --> 0:10:16.108 iOS 18.1, but also to the FDA in the US. 0:10:16.378 --> 0:10:19.528 Um hasn't authorized some of the features quite yet. So 0:10:19.558 --> 0:10:23.788 things like the hearing aid audio function that hasn't been 0:10:23.788 --> 0:10:26.128 quite okayed by the FDA yet. 0:10:26.158 --> 0:10:29.638 The prices are pretty consistent with what we've seen previous years, 0:10:29.668 --> 0:10:32.248 aren't they? People can go to the website to check 0:10:32.248 --> 0:10:33.568 out the details of those. 0:10:33.598 --> 0:10:36.928 They are? Yeah. And look, they're still Apple. Um, they're 0:10:36.928 --> 0:10:40.798 still high end phones. Um, I know we've been talking 0:10:40.798 --> 0:10:44.278 about Apple, but I've been testing the r I headset 0:10:44.278 --> 0:10:50.548 and I bought a really nice Samsung A15 for $350, 0:10:50.548 --> 0:10:54.748 and it's been absolutely perfect. So whilst I've really enjoyed 0:10:54.778 --> 0:10:57.178 talking about Apple, it's not the only thing on the 0:10:57.178 --> 0:11:00.088 block and you can get cheaper smartphones out there. 0:11:00.178 --> 0:11:03.628 There are useful podcasts around about the hardware and the 0:11:03.688 --> 0:11:04.948 software there is. 0:11:04.948 --> 0:11:07.018 So of course all the normal people are doing all 0:11:07.018 --> 0:11:10.678 the all their own podcasts, Macworld and so on. But specifically, 0:11:10.678 --> 0:11:14.848 Jonathan Myerson just did a really good show on all 0:11:14.848 --> 0:11:18.358 the features of iOS 18.0. 0:11:18.388 --> 0:11:20.848 Living Mindfully Edition 300. 0:11:20.878 --> 0:11:24.208 That's correct. And he also did another podcast earlier on, 0:11:24.208 --> 0:11:27.628 I think about a month ago on the Apple intelligence 0:11:27.628 --> 0:11:31.768 features for 18.1 coming later this year. So those two 0:11:31.798 --> 0:11:34.648 programs will cover them quite nicely of what they actually 0:11:34.648 --> 0:11:36.028 talked about today in the keynote. 0:11:36.028 --> 0:11:37.738 And you're talking to the tech. 0:11:37.738 --> 0:11:41.548 Doctor I am indeed. So that'll be happening with Alison 0:11:41.548 --> 0:11:45.208 and Robert. So hopefully by the time you listen to 0:11:45.238 --> 0:11:48.958 this talking tech during the week, that podcast will be 0:11:48.958 --> 0:11:52.018 out and you can enjoy hearing me go on about 0:11:52.018 --> 0:11:54.508 the Apple keynote in more detail. 0:11:54.538 --> 0:11:58.228 Doctor Robert Carter with the Tech Doctor podcast. As we 0:11:58.258 --> 0:12:01.858 come to the end of the program, let's reflect on 0:12:01.858 --> 0:12:05.438 In your 12 years with talking tech? Prior to that, 0:12:05.438 --> 0:12:09.278 you used to do a Tuesday afternoon session on the 0:12:09.278 --> 0:12:12.458 afternoon program talking about what was the latest in tech. 0:12:12.488 --> 0:12:15.998 Give us some reflections on your 12 years, you and 0:12:15.998 --> 0:12:17.288 I chatting away. 0:12:17.318 --> 0:12:20.078 I've always been one for sharing information about stuff that 0:12:20.078 --> 0:12:23.708 I find to, you know, originally to just stuff inside, 0:12:23.738 --> 0:12:26.648 you know, Vision Australia. And back in the day, the 0:12:26.648 --> 0:12:29.858 old royal blind site in New South Wales. And because 0:12:29.978 --> 0:12:33.068 I spent a lot of time on social media. Um, 0:12:33.068 --> 0:12:41.138 so LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram X, Mastodon and so on. Uh, 0:12:41.138 --> 0:12:45.188 for my own information, myself, plus sharing it out to 0:12:45.218 --> 0:12:48.308 people now. Um, that's always worked out really well. And 0:12:48.308 --> 0:12:50.948 the other thing too, is that I always assume that 0:12:50.948 --> 0:12:53.708 I don't know enough. Um, you know, there's somebody else 0:12:53.708 --> 0:12:56.258 that knows a lot more than I do. And that's 0:12:56.258 --> 0:12:59.498 one reason why I keep delving into the whole range 0:12:59.498 --> 0:13:03.668 of mainstream and assistive technology, because the only way that 0:13:03.668 --> 0:13:05.318 I can keep up to date and make sure that 0:13:05.318 --> 0:13:08.228 my knowledge and skills are up to date as well. 0:13:08.228 --> 0:13:10.718 So in a way, doing talking tech over the last 0:13:10.718 --> 0:13:14.858 12 years has made me really focus on all the 0:13:14.858 --> 0:13:18.668 technology trends that are happening in the field. So that's 0:13:18.668 --> 0:13:21.188 been really great. So it really has done wonders for 0:13:21.188 --> 0:13:24.668 my professional development, looking into what's happening and then sharing 0:13:24.668 --> 0:13:27.188 it with us. Because, you know, before you and I 0:13:27.218 --> 0:13:29.258 could talk about it, either one of us have got 0:13:29.258 --> 0:13:32.708 to understand what what we're actually talking about. So it's 0:13:32.738 --> 0:13:35.498 actually worked out quite well. And making it concise in 0:13:35.498 --> 0:13:38.348 a 15 minute program every week has worked out really nicely, 0:13:38.348 --> 0:13:39.308 I think, for everybody. 0:13:39.338 --> 0:13:41.828 And don't worry, we'll be picking your brains in the 0:13:41.828 --> 0:13:48.398 future for more insights into this evolving world of blindness technology. 0:13:48.428 --> 0:13:50.888 Before we go, a reminder of details of what we've 0:13:50.888 --> 0:13:54.188 been talking about in this and previous editions of the program, 0:13:54.188 --> 0:13:56.048 this address for the last time. 0:13:56.048 --> 0:13:58.538 Indeed. You can go to my blog site, which is 0:13:58.538 --> 0:14:02.468 David It would be our podbean pad ban com. 0:14:02.468 --> 0:14:09.548 David would be our podbean podbean.com to write to the program. 0:14:09.548 --> 0:14:12.098 You can drop me a line again for the last time, 0:14:12.098 --> 0:14:13.688 or you can just keep it in your thing and 0:14:13.688 --> 0:14:16.238 just send me an email anyway. And that's David would 0:14:16.268 --> 0:14:19.478 be our@gmail.com. 0:14:19.508 --> 0:14:25.238 David would be our@gmail.com. We will give you details of 0:14:25.238 --> 0:14:29.348 new contact information next week. And in next week's program 0:14:29.348 --> 0:14:33.248 I'll be introducing my new partner in crime, Damon McMorrow, 0:14:33.278 --> 0:14:37.958 who is the National Access Technology Manager with Vision Australia. 0:14:37.988 --> 0:14:42.698 But today I've been speaking with David Woodbridge, leading Australian 0:14:42.698 --> 0:14:45.998 blindness technologist. It's great to have been working with you, David, 0:14:45.998 --> 0:14:48.608 and look forward to from time to time in the future. 0:14:48.758 --> 0:14:52.088 See me, I'm Stephen Jolly, this has been talking tech. 0:14:52.088 --> 0:14:54.488 Stay safe. We'll talk more tech next week. See you.