Highly considering switching to Android, and never touching Apple again if no one can help.

I recently have changed job positions, and no longer am being required to use Apple products. I intend to keep this post as civil as I ever so possibly can, but just no, even after stepping aside and trying to take a break, I'm still pretty dang fumed!

This isn't the first time I've seen this with Apple, and though, especially on a forum like this that is so reputable for respecting Apple, I feel bad posting this, but I'm going to bring awareness. I understand before I start, not everyone has had this experience. Further, I know some of you are probably going to classify me as a little bitching troll, and you know, that's OK, it's your right of opinion. I know there are those in the AV community that will support and help me.

So, let me give some brief background. I am a professional audio engineer, and recently, I was promoted in my job to digital media manager specialist. This means I have to be responsible not only for creating content for my company in audio, I also have to create professional videos which look elegant.

Basically, I figured, OK, I'll learn Logic. and for doing movies, I'll learn iMovie. Right now, and this is why I'm posting this in the iOS forum, not the mac forum, highest priority is, I have a few videos I gotta make. Yeah, I know I could just use the camera app on iOS, shoot the video, and be done with it, but that's not gonna cut it for what I need done. I need to take multiple videos, join them together as one, and then add some background music as well. For the most part, with iMovie, I've figured this out, but the issue now is, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to shuttle my playhead back and forward in the project. I know some have said it can be done, but it's a pain in the kneck, I don't care a rat's hoot right now about it being a pain in the ass. I can deal with it being annoying. I just need to know straight up with VO on iOS, on either an iPad or on an iPhone, preferably iPhone, how to do this! Here's why I won't touch Apple again if this can't be resolved.

I've gotta job to do! It's not for fun. This is my business. This is my profession at this point! When I call Apple, regardless if it's about Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, Logic, Garageband, whatever it may be, they tell me they cannot help me in Accessibility, as oh, we know Voiceover, but we don't at all know Creative Media apps. OK, they get me over to Creative Media. Now, a 1 80! We know Creative apps like iMovie both on iOS, and on OSX, but God help us to know Voiceover.

Not once or twice, but up to about 5 times tonight, and probably 15 over the last month, just talking to different advisors in both departments, both tell me we cannot conference in the other department. We can warm transfer you, and stay with you until they come on the line, but our policy will not let us stay once they come on the line. I told them that was utter bull crap, as I know agents who've done it. Well, they weren't supposed to.

When I asked, can you at least do a screenshare, look at the app visually, and see if anything pops out at you on how to do one simple task, something as easy in iMovie as moving the darned playhead, they tell me, no Mister Gilland. I'll get fired by my boss, says the last agent I spoke to. I'm not trained on iMovie, and if I brick your phone, I'd be responsible. Jimminy H Christmas! For God dang sake! How is visually looking on my screen at where the playhead is, and directing me how to move it back and forth gonna brick my phone! Give me a break for God sake! Really? Seriously?

Take Logic, even with the new version that came out, there are still issues. When I report them, same thing, we can't help. We know Voiceover but not... fill in the blank... app. Oh, we know... fill in the blank... app, but not Voiceover. No, we can't partner together. The last rep I got who said he'd stay on the line with me even if it meant risking him getting in trouble, stayed on mute so they'd not know he was still there. After the Creative department hung up, he unmuted and tried helping me, based on now hearing what they said and what had to be done. Well, this guy hardly knew anything about iOS Voiceover. It clearly was obvious. He kept telling me to interact with areas on the screen, what happens if I tripple tap instead of double tapping, what happens if I touch the cursor, then try sliding left and right without first double tapping. Just do it like a sighted person. What if I try pinching, etc. Well, let's go into Voiceover Settings and see if there is an option to move iMovie playhead. I mean the guy was, I'm sorry to say it, a total idiot!

The bottom line: if I can't rely on Apple to help me with getting my professional job done, then I don't at this point have a choice but to switch to something more reliable and accessible. I don't much care for some of the clunkiness still in Android, but at least if you contact their disability support, they'll help you, and if they can't, they'll push it up to someone who does. I'm willing to stay with Apple, but I need to see some better training. I need to see that people actually there despite their probably good intentions, are more willing to learn their own products. I don't expect for them to learn every in and out of the professional creative apps, but at least learn it enough to help a Voiceover user with the basics. They say they care about accessibility, and I truly think they do for the most part, but then, why give me such a cold shoulder. They help me with anything, but the minute I say anything about a creative media app, or mention the department, they go coocoo on me, regardless the department. Creative will help, but as soon as I mention Voiceover, or "blind" oh, sh** I can't help ya, bud, talk instead to Jane Doe. Basically, I'm getting kicked around the curb by every agent I talk to when it comes to any type Creative Media app made directly by Apple. I dunno what to do! I've tried and tried and tried working with them, but it proves useless every time. I'm honestly completely out of patience at this point.