The Echo Returns: AppleVis Extra 113 with Agiga

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