Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Smart Phone for Blind People (self.Blind)
submitted by GarbagePaleKidd
Hello. So, my best friend is blind and i want to get him a smart phone for his birthday. Im thinking an Iphone only because im familiar with it. Would an android smartphone be better? Is there a smartphone on the market that is made specifically for people who are blind? just looking for advice and opinions! thank you in advance for to everyone who responds...
MostlyBlindGamer 8 points 2y ago
Both iPhones and Android phones have built-in accessibility features. Most blind people prefer iPhones.
xmachinaxxx 6 points 2y ago
I was an Android only person until I became legally blind. Switched to Apple after about a year of being frustrated with my phone. The iPhone accessibility features are far superior IMO.
snow671 3 points 2y ago
It's true that iPhone is more popular amongst blind people, but I would encourage you to bring your friend to the phone store to try out multiple brands. Android TalkBack has a bit of a learning curve but I prefer it over VoiceOver now and I really love having more than one physical button on my phone. Support for iPhones is more accessible, which would be important for someone less tech savvy. Anyway, explore the features of both and decide based on your friend's needs and preferences IMO.
Fluid_Calligrapher25 2 points 2y ago
iPhone - Apple made all their products accessible using voiceover - first to do so waaay before anyone else jumped onto what is now the accessibility bandwagon.
retrolental_morose 2 points 2y ago
how's he gone this long without???
TroubleLevel5680 1 points 2y ago
I have a friend on a very fixed income that simply can’t afford a smartphone.
SLJ7 1 points 2y ago
This is what I'm wondering as well /u/GarbagePaleKidd. Did this person go blind recently? Do they currently use any kind of technology? A smartphone is pretty much essential to most blind people so I'm always surprised when I encounter someone who doesn't have one. More info might help us make a better choice.
GarbagePaleKidd [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Well, he lost his vision due to a traumatic brain injury from a car accident. about 10 years ago...he use his computer to get on the web with a program called jaws...he never had interest in getting a smart phone....i decided im just going to surprise him with one and hope he falls in love with it....
SLJ7 1 points 2y ago
Oh yeah, I'm familiar with JAWS. Using a phone is going to be a lot different, and depending on how he learns and how much time you have, it might be a good idea to learn a bit about VoiceOver and try it out yourself so you can be of some help when he gets it. but I do think an iPhone is a great option. Truthfully Android isn't a bad one either these days, but I think it's still a bit rough around the edges and the blind iPhone community is staggeringly huge in comparison.
GarbagePaleKidd [OP] 2 points 2y ago
Thank u so much 4 ur help!!!
blind_cowboy 1 points 2y ago
This. All the way back to the days of Mobile speak and Windows Mobile.
pekak62 1 points 1y ago
Look at Project Ray. Smart phones designed and built specifically for blind and low vision users.
https://project-ray.com/products/
https://project-ray.com/products/
GarbagePaleKidd [OP] 1 points 1y ago
wow! thank you for this..im gonna try it out...
TechnicalPragmatist 1 points 2y ago
There isn’t a smart phone for blind people specifically, nor is it necessary at all.
any smart phones would work if you learn the software well enough both android and ios are accessible. There’s far too much talk of how android sucks but it’s workable. I use an iphone, but androids should work well.
any smart phones would work if you learn the software well enough both android and ios are accessible. There’s far too much talk of how android sucks but it’s workable. I use an iphone, but androids should work well.
GarbagePaleKidd [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Thanks everyone! your all great!!! i probably will ask the community some more question when i start getting the phone set up for him...
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