Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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SmartPhones (self.Blind)
submitted by laconicflow
So I'm oldschool and haven't gotten a smartphone ever. But when I was getting my new Seeing Eye Dog I saw that everyone at the seeing eye, the blind students, all had smartphones and I've decided to join the twenty-first century. Is there a consensus on what's best for blind people? What I want is a smoothe experience, even if it means fewer apps with blind support. I don't want to think about this descision too much, I want someone to tell me what to do. Really I'm leaning towards an IPhone, I just want someone to tell me if this is the wrong call. Hows the learning curve? How is browsing the web? Does it take way longer to do stuff on a phone verses a laptop as a blind person?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Marconius 3 points 6y ago
In my personal experience, iOS devices are much more robust and advanced than anything else in terms of screen readers. Google talkback is extraordinarily frustrating and Apple has definitely put a lot more user experience design work into the voiceover experience. The learning curve really isn't that steep, and you can literally turned it on right out of the box.
KillerLag 1 points 6y ago
Really true about right out of the box. I had a client who got a new iPhone from Fedex, and I went with him to get depot to get it. Turned on VoiceOver and got the phone up and running pretty fast (the longer part was getting the SIM card activated)
Vaelian 2 points 6y ago
Personally the only reason why I use a smart phone is because it has a built-in screen-reader and GPS; it doesn't replace my computer.
laconicflow [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Right. . . But could it? I'm not really looking for a computer replacement, just want to buy the right brand if I get one.
Vaelian 2 points 6y ago
If all you do with a computer is browse the web and read E-mail then sure it can replace a computer. I do not have Facebook or Twitter accounts so I can't advise you about their respective apps, but as far as reddit is concerned, it's much easier to navigate on a desktop than using the reddit app in my opinion. Typing is the worst problem, since you have to confirm every keystroke by double-tapping on the screen, but for short messages dictation is fine.
Marconius 2 points 6y ago
Are you not using touch typing? It makes typing with a screen reader so much easier on the iPhone. You just move your finger to the letter you want and let go of the screen and it types the letter, so much better than finding the letter and double tapping it.
Vaelian 1 points 6y ago
Yeah I am using it now that /u/awesomesaucesaywhat mentioned it. Do you happen to know what is the use case for direct touch typing? The difference seems to be that it cancels the keystroke if the finger is moved to another key.
awesomesaucesaywhat 2 points 6y ago
There's another keyboard setting with voiceover that I really like. It's called touch typing and you slide your finger around the screen and it tells you which letter you are over. When you want to select that letter you lift your finger up off the screen to select. Cuts your tapping in half :)
Vaelian 1 points 6y ago
Interesting, so it works like when VoiceOver is disabled! I had noticed the three typing modes before, but never figured out how to use the touch typing modes and am still wondering about the use case for direct touch typing since it seems to cancel the keystroke if I drag my finger.
Marconius 1 points 6y ago
Direct touch typing means that the keyboard works exactly as normal if you have vision, where immediately touching individual keys without dragging your finger around will type the letter. Personally, I mainly dictate messages, which is much faster once you get the hang of it and learn how to add punctuation and other formatting on the fly.
laconicflow [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Thanks.
KelCougarMellen 1 points 6y ago
It is true that out of the box the iPhone is a great accessibility tool but I'm a tinkerer so I'm biased toward Android. The google play store has endless accessibility apps and customizable UI apks so the possibilities are endless. The cameras are better than iPhones so they rock at magnifiers and OCRs. But if youre not tech savvy or if you're completely blind the iPhone is your sword to cut through the darkness and by no means lesser.
laconicflow [OP] 1 points 6y ago
I wouldn't say I'm not tech savvi. But my savviness is only on the level of your tipical mellenial.
k00l_m00se 1 points 6y ago
iPhone is a good bet. VoiceOver is very practical and functional, and you get many apps that can help. I'm never going back to android
laconicflow [OP] 1 points 6y ago
I've read about how the touch screen is controlled with an app. . . When you get used to it is the IPhone easy to use? Not just for making calls, but say for sending texts, checking email, maybe writing something down, browsing the web, just kinda general shit.
k00l_m00se 2 points 6y ago
I think it is. Take into account that I am a teenager, so I'm a little biased here. It's very easy for texts, browsing the Internet and such. I'm quite fond of mine, and I even use it for some of my school assignments. I think VoiceOver is much more practical and useful than JAWS and other screen readers. The only thing that is a major adjustment is typing. Typing with voice over is kind of a pain. If you're getting an iPhone, I'd get a 6S Plus, because the extra screen size makes it easier to use VoiceOver. I hope this helps!
laconicflow [OP] 1 points 6y ago
It does help. Cant you dictate with the IPhone if you want?
k00l_m00se 1 points 6y ago
Yep. Although I would go back and edit the text after I dictate, as it isn't 100% accurate. All Apple products have VoiceOver built in for free, and have native Braille display support as well. With iPads, I use a keyboard to type, as it makes things go a little quicker.
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