Blind Android Users Podcast

Episode241: ARE CURRENCY RECOGNIZERS NECESSARY IN 2025? Welcome to Episode 241. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Our 3rd quarter “open-listener session” is scheduled for July 26, 2025 at 9AM Pacific time. Join us and interact with some Devs. Android Basics In this week’s episode, your faithful crew discusses as to whether or not “Cash Readers” are relevant in 2025 with all the AI capabilities. Spotlight Google drop...

EPISODE 240 SAMSUNG SUMMER2025 GALAXY UNPACKED Welcome to Episode 240. In this week’s episode, our focus is on the Samsung2025 Summer Galaxy Unpacked. Android Basics 1. Google July Pixel Drop 2. Android Canary 3. Galaxy S24 and S25 July Security patch Spotlight In the spotlight, we spotlight the “ Samsung2025 Summer Galaxy Unpacked devices App of the week For this week’s “App of the week,” we are...

EPISODE 239 THE STATE OF RADIO APPS IN 2025 Welcome to Episode 239. In this week’s episode, our focus is on the state of Radio apps in 2025. Android Basics: RADIO APPS IN 2025 1. TuneIn Radio , 2. VRadio , 3. Cloud Radio , 4. AudialsPlay AND 5. Radio - Apps (Radio FM). Spotlight In the spotlight, we spotlight the “ Nothing Phone .: App of the week For this week’s “App of the week,” our focus is on...

Episode 238, Blastbay TTS for Windows and the Quest for an Android Version Android Basics We discuss what's new in Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2.1 . Spotlight We have the privilege of talking to Philip Bennefall of Blastbay Studios , the developer behind new text-to-speech voices for Windows. We discuss the process of creating the TTS engine and the possibility of an Android Version. Staying in touch Mak...

Welcome to Episode 237. In this week’s episode, our focus is on the review and impressions of the Motorola Razr+2024 . Spotlight John treats us to a quick review and impressions of the Motorola Razr+2024 , where the crew members voice their opinions of the phone. App of the week For this week’s “App of the week,” our focus is on the “ Office Viewer Reader ” by “ nTools .” Staying in touch Make a d...

EPISODE 236 ANDROID 16 RELEASE AND MORE Welcome to Episode 236. This week has been busy for Google as Android 16 Public release drops including the “Pixel Feature-drop” and the Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2  ANNOUNCEMENTS We knew that at some point, the ElevenLabs Reader would become a subscription-based access, but we didn’t think it was coming this soon. The usage of this app requires subscription...

Episode 235, a visit with the developers of TableEx Android basics We discuss the release of Android 16 QPR Beta 1.1 . Spotlight We are joined by the developers of TableEx – an app designed so that blind and visually impaired people can play classic board and card games. App of the week Warren brings us a demonstration of a new bible app, Random Scripture Verse Picker . Staying in touch Make a don...

Episode 234, Seeing Assistant Go Android basics We discuss what’s new in the recently launched Samsung One UI 8 Beta available on the S25 series of phones.  Enroll via the Samsung Members app. Spotlight We are joined for a conversation by the developers of Seeing Assistant GO – an app we recently discussed when we surveyed the state of GPS apps. Talkback highlights John demonstrates the new t...

Episode 233, Google I/O 2025 Android16 QPR1Beta1 Google preceded the public release of Android16 with “ Android16QPR1Beta1 .” Spotlight This week, the focus is on Google I/O 2025 – Google’s annual developer conference which took place on 20 and 21 May.  The crew discuss the highlights, but it’s worth reading the 100 I/O announcements in full. App of the week Focusing on one of the I/O announc...

Episode 232, Talkback 16 Android basics This week, we discuss the release of Talkback 16. Spotlight It’s a busy section this week.  We talk about various phones including the Samsung S25 Edge , The Sony Xperia 1 VII and the latest Android 16 Beta. Talkback highlights John shows us how to ask follow up questions when you have a Talkback image description – a new feature of Talkback 16. Staying...

Episode 231, Screen readers for Android Android basics In recent episodes we have been revisiting app categories we looked at in the early days of the podcast.  However, we have never dedicated a full segment to screen readers though we have discussed the differences in passing, so we are remedying that now.  This week, we look at Talkback available as part of Google’s Android Accessibil...

Episode 230, GPS apps Android basics In recent episodes we have been revisiting app categories we looked at in the early days of the podcast.  This week, we look at the state of GPS apps in 2025.  Apps discussed include Google Maps , Lazarillo Accessible GPS , Seeing Assistant Move and the simpler Seeing Assistant Go , Goodmaps Outdoors and Waymap (disclaimer: this one hasn’t been tested...

Episode 229, Audio book apps Android basics In recent episodes we have been revisiting app categories we looked at in the early days of the podcast.  This week, we look at the state of audio book apps in 2025.  We discuss various apps including  Audible , Smart AudioBook Player , Listen Audiobook Player , mAbook and  LibriVox Spotlight We talk about the new phones from Motorola...

Episode 228, a look at browsers and Android 16 Beta 4 Announcements The developer of the app  Magnifier which John demonstrated a few weeks ago has very generously donated a number of codes which will remove ads from the app.  Get in touch if you’d like one. Android basics In recent episodes we have been revisiting app categories we looked at in the early days of the podcast.  This...

Episode227: The state of Email Clients in2025 Welcome to Episode227, where we discuss the state of email clients in2025. ANDROID BASICS Email clients continue to be a hot subject matter on both our email and Telegram groups. Thus, this week, we focus on the state of email clients in 2025. In this week’s discussion, we touch on the following clients: Gmail , Email Lite , Edison mail , Spark Mail ,...

Episode226: 2025 2nd Quarter Open-Listener Session Welcome to Episode226, our 2nd Quarter Open-Listener Session. SPOTLIGHT Since this is an open-listener session, we moved segments around some, thus, the “spotlight” segment is about Android16Beta3.2 and One UI7Beta for the Galaxy A55 phone. BACKUP DISCUSSION This segment is a general discussion on Android backup, especially focusing on Talkback. T...

Episode 225: The State of eBook Readers In 2025 Part 2 (Off-the-shelf Readers) Welcome to Episode 225 where we talk about the state of eBook Readers in 2025. Android Basics In this segment, we feature part 2 of the state of eBook Readers in 2025 with the emphasis on the “off-the-shelf” eBook readers in the way of the following apps: Speech Central , ElevenLabs Reader , @Voice Aloud Reader , etc. S...

Episode 224, launch of the Google Pixel 9A Android basics We discuss the changes in Android 16 Beta 3.1. Spotlight This week Google launched the Pixel 9A.  The crew discuss the phone and whether or not they’ll be buying it. App of the week John demonstrates the Button Mapper app. Tip of the week Warren shows us how to perform some basic phone operations using Google Gemini in place of the Goo...

Episode 223: PODCAST CLIENTS IN 2025 Welcome to Episode223. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Google is looking for participants from the U.S. and the UK for the “ Phone Typing Research study.” Details: Length of Study: 75 minutes Dates: March 20th through April 4th Compensation for your time: $100 or 80 British Pounds URL for remote participation : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYWM6XHX8WXtDN5o1XZ0I2DbH...

Episode 222: MWC2025 AND MARCH2025 PIXEL DROP Android Basics Welcome to Episode222. In this segment, Google dropped both the March Pixel Feature-drop for Pixel phones and the Watches.  SPOTLIGHT In the spotlight segment, we highlight what took place at the MWC2025 week, where Samsung dropped a trio of phones— A26, A36 and A56 . We also mentioned in passing phones from the likes of Honor , Xia...

Episode 221: OnePlus 13 Review and New Voices for RHVoice TTS  Android Basics Welcome to Episode 221. In this episode, Olga, the Dev of “ RHVoice ” informs us of what’s going on with the new voices for Armenian and Finish languages. Google dropped a little patch for Android 16 Beta 2 , bringing it to Android16Beta2.1 with the following fixes: Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented devices fr...

Episode 220, shopping with innosearch AI Android basics Talkback 15.2 has been released.  Braille displays which use the HID protocol are now supported via Bluetooth, such as the most recent releases from Humanware. Spotlight We are joined by Patrick Long from Innosearch AI, a shopping site which aims to make the experience of shopping from major retailers more accessible. App of the week War...

Episode 219: THE STATE OF AUDIO RECORDERS IN 2025 Welcome to Episode 219. In this episode, we continue on our journey of essential app categories in 2025 and this week, we focus on Audio Recorders. Android Basics Keeping in line with the subject matter of this episode, we discussed the following recorders: ASR Recorder , Easy Recorder , HiQ MP3 Recorder , Dolby On , Advanced Recorder , Parrot Voic...

Episode 218, The state of text editors in 2025 Android basics We continue our look at app categories we examined a few years ago, to see what has change as apps come and go, or simply get updated.  This week, it’s the turn of text editors.  We discuss the pros and cons of Google Keep - Notes and Lists , UpNote , Simple Text Editor , Microsoft Word , Google Docs , Simplenote and Joplin ....

Episode 217, First open listener session of 2025 We’re delighted to be joined by our listeners to discuss a range of topics related to Android. Unboxing John unboxes the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra . Staying in touch Make a donation via PayPal , Email us your Android journey stories, suggestions or comments, subscribe to our Email list , join our Telegram and Facebook groups, subscribe to our YouTube...