As I said, according to the customer service rep the fact that the Instant Pot app is accessible is by design and not just something that just happens to be so. I would therefore assume Instant Pot as a company is aware of the needs of visually impaired users and has made a commitment towards offering an accessible product. Anyhow, by software update I don’t mean updates to the app but updates to the pot’s firmware. The app of course is also important as it’s your portal to the hardware, with something like the Instant Pot the app really is no more than a remote control which let’s you select a cooking program and maybe set a timer etc. Of course if the buttons, labels and other controls in the app are made to be inaccessible that makes the entire product inaccessible. But the real “smart” stuff happens inside the software and the processor that is built into the pot and this is where it would make sense if this could be updated just like I can update the firmware of my router, my Netatmo Weather Station, my Schlage Sense smart doorlock, my Ring Video Doorbell or my Philipps Hue lights so it should be possible to update the firmware of the actual Instant Pot. The issue you describe with the iGrill is of course not because the actual hardware has become inaccessible, the hardware only communicates with the app, but here iGrill has messed up by making the app inaccessible, basically now the remote control or the gateway/the portal to the iGrill is inaccessible.
Regards, Sieghard From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kay Malmquist Sent: Sunday, December 3, 2017 9:11 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: New Instant Pot Smart coming soon, was: Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1 I get a bit nervous talking about software updates after our experience with iGrill and their updates which rendered the product basically useless. Lets hope they keep the functionality and accessibility going. Kay Malmquist [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ----- Original Message ----- From: Sieghard Weitzel<mailto:[email protected]> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2017 10:41 AM Subject: RE: New Instant Pot Smart coming soon, was: Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1 No, he didn’t give me any additional information nor did I ask, all he said that they are working on a new model with better software. It’s too bad they don’t make them so the software can be updated like it can be on a Sonos player or many other connected devices, in fact I am surprised now that I think about it. Maybe the new Instant Pot will have that functionality, it really would make sense since the pot itself probably won’t change very much and improvements will generally be software related. I don’t know if the new Smart will be an 8 quart or if it continues on as a 6 quart. One thing I do know is that trying to constantly update to the latest devices is probably a quick path to financial ruin, everything now has software or is connected and the next version is always better and so on and so on, it’s almost not possible to almost get the latest and in many cases also not necessary. One example is the TV. It used to be people would buy a TV and then you would have this TV for 15, 20 or even 25 years. Nowadays you buy a TV and a year or two later there is a newer, better one with more pixels, better connectivity, a larger screen or a faster processor etc. Of course it’s not feasible for the average user to update their TV every 2 or 3 years like most of us update their phone, but that is what companies ideally want. Regards, Sieghard Regards, Sieghard From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kay Malmquist Sent: Saturday, December 2, 2017 7:34 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: New Instant Pot Smart coming soon, was: Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1 Did he give you any indication as to what would be forthcoming in the new smart? I don't regret buying this one and if I think there is a need to buy the new one I might do that but in an 8 quart instead of the 6 that I now have. I can either keep this one or give it to my daughter who would like it as well. But I think since it would be at that point an older model I would happily use it myself. Kay Malmquist [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ----- Original Message ----- From: Sieghard Weitzel<mailto:[email protected]> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2017 4:14 PM Subject: New Instant Pot Smart coming soon, was: Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1 Hello, I have not read that the Ultra has a Sous Vide function, but I have seen the stand-alone Instant Pot Sous Vide cooker which seems to be its own unit but somehow can also be used with an existing Instant Pot, haven’t quite figured it out. Anyhow, I called Instant Pot and was surprised by the knowledge of the person I spoke with. The phone connection was poor, but when I asked the customer service agent when the current Instant Pot Smart was released he immediately told me it was last May. I told him I had ordered the Ultra, but that I was blind and found it was not accessible in a meaningful way he said that Instant Pot currently recommends not to buy the existing Instant Pot Smart. He further told me they were working on a new and improved version which should come out in the first quarter of 2018. Since it is not like I’m desperate and couldn’t live another day (or week or months or 3) without an Instant Pot I will definitely wait to see what this new Instant Pot Smart has to offer. I also asked him whether the good accessibility of the app was accidental or by design and he said it was by design. Lastly I asked if the new Instant Pot Smart would be more expensive implying jokingly that I didn’t expect him to answer this and he answered without delay or hesitation that no, it would not be more expensive. Well, all we can do now is wait and see, I certainly will wait and anybody who doesn’t already have one of these gadgets is probably better off doing the same. One thing I am glad about is that I have not yet purchased one especially since they were not on sale last weekend. I guess if I had been able to pick one up for half price this might have been a good deal, but I am going to much more willing to pay full price for the new model as soon as it comes out without experiencing buyer’s remorse. Regards, Sieghard From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kay Malmquist Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2017 2:08 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1 Hi Sieghard, I was just going to write to the list and see if you had gotten it yet. I really hoped that you would say it was accessible. The new pot is supposed to have a Sous Vide function which is cooking under vacuum in a water bath. I wasn't to worried about that myself because we already have a Sous Vide Supreme and so that would not be as important. I do not know when this is supposed to come out though. Whatever you decide,you will like the instant pot. Every time I use it I just love how the iPhone makes it so easy to use. Kay Malmquist [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ----- Original Message ----- From: Sieghard Weitzel<mailto:[email protected]> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2017 3:31 PM Subject: Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1 Hello, I mentioned last weekend that I had ordered the Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1 pressure cooker. As many of us found out, nobody seemed to have any deals on the Instant Pot Smart and except for on Amazon here in Canada I have not even found it for sale anywhere else, Best Buy Canada doesn’t carry it, they only have the Duos 7-in-1 and I think 9-in-1. This Ultra 10-in-1 which states it is a 2017 model was on sale on Amazon.ca for $119.99 and that was definitely a good buy because now it is listed as $229.99. Anyhow, I received it yesterday and unfortunately it would appear that it is not accessible for a blind person. We never did actually plug it in, but all it has in terms of controls is a single dial which can also be pushed in to sort of “click” or select your program that you turn the dial to. It has 16 programs and I assume these are all selected via the dial. There are also two buttons just below and to either side of the dial, probably for maybe setting the timer, maybe an up and down arrow. The dial does click as you turn it, well, not audibly click, but you can feel how each position clicks into place, but there is no tactile reference point on the dial and no stop like where you could turn it all the way to the left or right to a stop position and then count clicks forward or backward. The dial just as in so many appliances nowadays just spins around and around and you have to visually confirm what you selected. Anyhow, I packed it up again and it will become a wedding present for my store manager and his wife (they just got married today) and I will probably order the Instant Pot Smart. Amazingly when I checked it again on Amazon.ca it told me that it had dropped in price by just over $2 from $189.99 to $187.something, I guess I am getting my deal after all *smile*. The only thing I’m still a bit hesitant about is the fact that Instant Pot may come out with a new version shortly. I was going to call them to ask when this version was released since I haven’t really found that information. Best regards, Sieghard -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. 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