Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Smartphone's for Visually Impaired - my iPhone input (self.Blind)
submitted 8y ago by blind_visionary
Hi all, I'm very glad I've found this subreddit, as it seems most forums on the web for the blind don't generate much conversation.
I'm legally blind, so I have some remaining vision left, but that is getting worse. My post is specifically about smartphones for the visually impaired.
In terms of smartphones, I've only ever had an iPhone. For me, inverted colors helps tremendously, so the Accessibility settings allow you to create a shortcut (triple push the home button quickly) to turn inverted colors on and off. This makes looking at videos and pics easy when I can turn it on and off quickly.
On websites that allow you to use your fingers to zoom, reading text is great. However, there are certain mobile sites and apps that do not allow zooming and it is damn near impossible to read them. The iPhone does have a Zoom option where anything can be zoomed in, but I find it very clunky and difficult to use and navigate the screen.
I haven't updated to iOS 8 or iPhone 6 yet, but if/when I do, I'll be sure to post a review.
I'm curious if anyone has experience they can share with other smartphones, specifically for inverting colors and zooming on any website or app. I'm wondering if there are any options out there aside from the iPhone that could work better.
Thanks, and let me know if there are any questions on iPhone accessibility.
I'm legally blind, so I have some remaining vision left, but that is getting worse. My post is specifically about smartphones for the visually impaired.
In terms of smartphones, I've only ever had an iPhone. For me, inverted colors helps tremendously, so the Accessibility settings allow you to create a shortcut (triple push the home button quickly) to turn inverted colors on and off. This makes looking at videos and pics easy when I can turn it on and off quickly.
On websites that allow you to use your fingers to zoom, reading text is great. However, there are certain mobile sites and apps that do not allow zooming and it is damn near impossible to read them. The iPhone does have a Zoom option where anything can be zoomed in, but I find it very clunky and difficult to use and navigate the screen.
I haven't updated to iOS 8 or iPhone 6 yet, but if/when I do, I'll be sure to post a review.
I'm curious if anyone has experience they can share with other smartphones, specifically for inverting colors and zooming on any website or app. I'm wondering if there are any options out there aside from the iPhone that could work better.
Thanks, and let me know if there are any questions on iPhone accessibility.
Bob_0119 2 points
I use the safari reader feature on my iPhone and iPad a lot, and I feel ya on the websites that lock you in to a certain text size. The only thing I ever miss about Android was that when you pinched to zoom text, it reformatted the text to wrap it within the screen width.
I used to have a code you could save as a bookmark so that every time you clicked it, it increased the size of the text on the screen. I found I didn't use it much (because the reader is pretty good).
I downloaded IOS8 and there have been improvements in text size both in the iMessage and Notes apps and the safari reader allows you to adjust text size without having to go back through settings and you can make it ridiculously large.
**Edit: here they are. Bookmark these in your safari browser.**
Increase Font
javascript:var%20p=document.getElementsByTagName('*');for(i=0;i%3Cp.length;i++)%7Bif(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize)%7Bvar%20s=parseInt(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize.replace(%22px%22,%22%22));%7Delse%7Bvar%20s=1%7Ds+=2;p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize=s+%22px%22%7D
Decrease font
javascript:var%20p=document.getElementsByTagName('*');for(i=0;i%3Cp.length;i++)%7Bif(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize)%7Bvar%20s=parseInt(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize.replace(%22px%22,%22%22));%7Delse%7Bvar%20s=12;%7Ds-=2;p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize=s+%22px%22%7D
**Edit2: looks like they are cut off if you're having trouble copying and pasting them, Pm me and I'll send them to you**
I used to have a code you could save as a bookmark so that every time you clicked it, it increased the size of the text on the screen. I found I didn't use it much (because the reader is pretty good).
I downloaded IOS8 and there have been improvements in text size both in the iMessage and Notes apps and the safari reader allows you to adjust text size without having to go back through settings and you can make it ridiculously large.
**Edit: here they are. Bookmark these in your safari browser.**
Increase Font
javascript:var%20p=document.getElementsByTagName('*');for(i=0;i%3Cp.length;i++)%7Bif(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize)%7Bvar%20s=parseInt(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize.replace(%22px%22,%22%22));%7Delse%7Bvar%20s=1%7Ds+=2;p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize=s+%22px%22%7D
Decrease font
javascript:var%20p=document.getElementsByTagName('*');for(i=0;i%3Cp.length;i++)%7Bif(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize)%7Bvar%20s=parseInt(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize.replace(%22px%22,%22%22));%7Delse%7Bvar%20s=12;%7Ds-=2;p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize=s+%22px%22%7D
**Edit2: looks like they are cut off if you're having trouble copying and pasting them, Pm me and I'll send them to you**
angelcake 2 points
My boyfriend is not yet "legally blind" but his vision is deteriorating quickly because of early onset glaucoma - keeping the pressure low does not make a difference unfortunately. I would be very interested in hearing what you have to say about iOS 8 and especially the iPhone six or 6+ if you decide to opt for the larger one. He hasn't bothered getting a cell phone because so far anything that's much smaller than his 7 inch tablet is practically useless.
blind_visionary [OP] 1 points
Sorry to hear about your boyfriend's vision situation, it is not an easy transition. I'll be sure to provide feedback on iOS 8 and the iPhone 6 once I get them. If you have a friend or someone who owns an iPhone, I'd ask them to let your boyfriend try it out with Accessibility settings enabled (just go to Settings --> General --> Accessibility).
For me, the smartphone has been a positive game changer with my vision lose. Specifically the GPS and vocal directions when finding a new location has helped tremendously, especially when using public transportation.
For me, the smartphone has been a positive game changer with my vision lose. Specifically the GPS and vocal directions when finding a new location has helped tremendously, especially when using public transportation.
angelcake 1 points
I have an iPad but I never thought about the accessibility feature that changes the colours. When I go to his place I will bring it along so you can have a look at it. I don't know if you have updated to IOS 8 yet but I find that the dictation is a lot more accurate. I use it all the time, I tend to get pretty bad case of iThumb if I do too much typing on the small screen.
It is tough for him because his interests are thinking. He was a technical writer and could no longer work but his vision is not "quite bad enough" to qualify for disability benefits. He loves videogames movies. Thankfully there is huge selection of audiobooks available. We both love trouble but he's not sure if another year if you can going to be worth it for them and it's very sadbecause there are so many places we would like to see together. However that is life, all we can do is play the cards that we are dealt.
It is tough for him because his interests are thinking. He was a technical writer and could no longer work but his vision is not "quite bad enough" to qualify for disability benefits. He loves videogames movies. Thankfully there is huge selection of audiobooks available. We both love trouble but he's not sure if another year if you can going to be worth it for them and it's very sadbecause there are so many places we would like to see together. However that is life, all we can do is play the cards that we are dealt.
TXblindman 1 points
iOS 8 has added some interesting new features, along with something that raher annoys me. when doing the zoom shortcut (double tap with three fingers) it lags a second, then zooms. on topic now, i was just discussing this with a classmate of mine, he has a samsung, and swears that it has all the same accessibility features an iPhone does, only problem is, the background on an android phone is dynamic (moves, changes cooler when swiping pages) and the apps are very tiny. lastly, i can walk into an apple store, and make ANY product of theirs, iPhone, iPod, Macbook, and iMac accessible in under 2 minutes. whereas i wouldn't even know where to start on an android. in my personal opinion, the iPhone is far simpler and easy to use for visually impaired people.
jage9 1 points
Perhaps the largest community of blind and visually impaired iPhone users is on $1. The site definitely has a lean toward VoiceOver and speech usage but there's some info for low vision users there as well.
Marconius 1 points
I became legally blind this year and have little to no functional vision. When I had vision, I loved using the invert colors and zooming functionality on my iPhone and on my main Mac computer when working. Now, I primarily use voice over and dictation to interact with and type on my iPhone 5s. When it comes to this kind of interactivity, Apple is pretty much the only company putting any effort into this. Google and windows have nothing that comes close to the level of accessibility that iOS or the Apple operating system offers.
As for the clunky zooming, remember that if you triple finger tap it once and then twice but hold your fingers down where you tap and then slide them up, you can control the amount of zoom on the screen. It has a very nice scale and smooth zooming function, then just press three fingers to the screen and drag around to navigate within the zoomed field. Double tap with three fingers to return out of the zoom. It can still be frustrating navigating some pages that aren't built for the pinch zooming functionality, but after a little while you get quite used to it.
I am looking forward to playing with the iPhone six. I have put iOS eight on my iPad air, and so far the voiceover, typing, Siri, and other accessibility options have been quite good.
As for the clunky zooming, remember that if you triple finger tap it once and then twice but hold your fingers down where you tap and then slide them up, you can control the amount of zoom on the screen. It has a very nice scale and smooth zooming function, then just press three fingers to the screen and drag around to navigate within the zoomed field. Double tap with three fingers to return out of the zoom. It can still be frustrating navigating some pages that aren't built for the pinch zooming functionality, but after a little while you get quite used to it.
I am looking forward to playing with the iPhone six. I have put iOS eight on my iPad air, and so far the voiceover, typing, Siri, and other accessibility options have been quite good.
blind_visionary [OP] 1 points
Hey thanks for the input. I've heard before that Apple is by far the leader in Accessibility technology, and your post helped confirm that. Yeah the triple finger tap takes some time to get used to. I just wish Apple would allow any site or app to be zoomed in with the pinch zoom, it would make use much quicker and easier. Great to hear your feedback on iOS 8, I'm looking forward to installing it and testing it out. Do you use ZoomText when using a desktop or laptop?
Marconius 1 points
Still playing with iOS eight on my iPad… Not entirely sure about it yet. I have run into some issues where voiceover would simply disappear especially when telling Siri to do things for me. Definitely needs a little more testing.
I have resorted to using voice over on my main computer, but going from a power user to being completely hobbled this year has been one of the most frustrating experiences ever. I will be starting voiceover training at the lighthouse soon, as it is simply too difficult to learn on my own time. I feel that if I am properly guided through its use, I won't feel the need to punch my computer screen every two minutes. I have not tried Zoom text yet.
I have resorted to using voice over on my main computer, but going from a power user to being completely hobbled this year has been one of the most frustrating experiences ever. I will be starting voiceover training at the lighthouse soon, as it is simply too difficult to learn on my own time. I feel that if I am properly guided through its use, I won't feel the need to punch my computer screen every two minutes. I have not tried Zoom text yet.
angelcake 1 points
That's what my BF found, that it was a real struggle to find accessibility features on android. Fortunately he has enough vision left that he can still go onto the Google play store and find things but they don't make it easy. Grey on white print, tiny tiny fonts. His other major frustration is that none of the book reading apps, Kindle is one that he used to use all the time, have built in voice over anymore. You have to use the android voice over which is tolerable at best. Amazon says just buy are really expensive book reading tablet and then you'll have it.
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