Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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An article on the current state of Android accessibility (marcozehe.wordpress.com)
submitted by devinprater
Laser_Lens_4 4 points 3y ago
Yeah don't go low end with Android if you plan on using TalkBack.
honestly the worst part about it is that the context menus are kind of clunky. Other than that it's pretty competent. Braille support is shit though so get an iPhone if you plan on using Braille
honestly the worst part about it is that the context menus are kind of clunky. Other than that it's pretty competent. Braille support is shit though so get an iPhone if you plan on using Braille
devinprater [OP] 5 points 3y ago
Wishful thinking: I really hope one of these articles gets Google's attention. But it won't because Google doesn't give a crap.
Laser_Lens_4 3 points 3y ago
Sadly no. TalkBack is quite usable but it didn't get that way until Android nougat and the rate of improvement since then has been logarithmic. I stick with Android for a couple of reasons. The main one is that, as someone who was formerly cited, I had the luxury of choosing a brand that wasn't Apple. Since Android is what I know best it's what I stuck with when I lost my sight and I've been sitting in my own little corner being a salty asshole about it for a while now. I'd like to switch and I'm really only waiting on a few things. Mainly accessibility support for Discord. No good way to block ads, especially on YouTube, as well as that stupid lightning connector are hard pills to swallow though.
both of them are good and a blind person can get by on TalkBack with a decent phone. I'm living proof of that. But voice-over is just a bit better.
Also damn I want that series 5 Apple watch yo. WearOS is dogshit
both of them are good and a blind person can get by on TalkBack with a decent phone. I'm living proof of that. But voice-over is just a bit better.
Also damn I want that series 5 Apple watch yo. WearOS is dogshit
devinprater [OP] 2 points 3y ago
The *only* reason I'd get Android is emulators. Even then, there's now Altstore, so once devs start actually developing for iOS...
AllHarlowsEve 2 points 3y ago
Discord's gotten really good as of the past like, 3 updates. I use it for multiple tabletop games and a few social servers and I have no issues with swapping servers, joining voice chats, muting and unmuting myself, etc. There are small fiddly things that could be improved, but for the bulk of the app, it works extremely accessibly.
Laser_Lens_4 2 points 3y ago
Ooh, that's good to hear. When I tried it out on an iphone SE it was practically impossible to switch servers and even scrolling chat was problematic. Honestly if Discord works then I could probably stomach the other grievances I have. I'll be sure to keep this in mind once my current phone gives out.
rkingett 2 points 3y ago
wow. You'd think this is where google would shine because they bought the fitbit. I tried Android for a while. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I actually like the Apple sandbox. When I was in my early 20's I'd love to hack the phones and tweak them all day. Not anymore. But I hear Talkback has gotten a billion times better. Still, I feel like Google, as a whole, treats even it's most used services to be just a thing they are ready to shut off the minute it stops making them money.
Nighthawk321 1 points 3y ago
Talkback has gotten better, but still not even close to Voiceover, in my opinion.
Laser_Lens_4 1 points 3y ago
WearOS in general has been in a pretty sorry state since its inception as Android Wear. Between Google's mediocre attempts at maintaining and updating and Qualcomm's severely outdated wearable-tech chips, it's mostly floundered. It's usable by sighted people and pretty nice. Talkback got the short end of the stick. I don't know if it's a stripped-down version but I'd be willing to bet that they just jammed the fullfat version in there. I don't know how it runs on the newer hardware but it was literally unusable on a ZTE Quartz I tried out.
Google only just bought Fitbit. I have no idea what accessibility is on those devices and it's too early to tell how this will affect WearOS.
So yeah, WearOS, like many of Google's products, is really great... as long as you aren't blind. Even Samsung is miles ahead of Google in accessibility on their watches. Too bad they use Bixby which is dumb and Samsung Pay which cannot be set up with a screen reader.
Apple, at least in software, eats Google and Samsung for breakfast when it comes to smartwatches.
Google only just bought Fitbit. I have no idea what accessibility is on those devices and it's too early to tell how this will affect WearOS.
So yeah, WearOS, like many of Google's products, is really great... as long as you aren't blind. Even Samsung is miles ahead of Google in accessibility on their watches. Too bad they use Bixby which is dumb and Samsung Pay which cannot be set up with a screen reader.
Apple, at least in software, eats Google and Samsung for breakfast when it comes to smartwatches.
snailarium2 -4 points 3y ago
How the fuck did you write this?
rkingett 2 points 3y ago
The article author is a totally blind contributor to FireFox
snailarium2 -3 points 3y ago
I mean the title of the post, it's on r/blind
AllHarlowsEve 5 points 3y ago
We literally have a FAQ for sighted people who mosey on over here.
snailarium2 1 points 3y ago
I was just scrolling through r/all sorry for annoying you
devinprater [OP] 1 points 3y ago
I'm flattered that you think I wrote that article.
Laser_Lens_4 1 points 3y ago
They made a pact with the spaghetti monster
snailarium2 0 points 3y ago
Hmmmmmm
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