Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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alternative to the apple watch (self.Blind)
submitted by ukifrit
So, I need something to track my steps, calories and so on but the apple watch is too expensive for me right now. Are the Mibands accessible for the blind? If not, are any of the cheaper smartwatches?
macadamia_owl 3 points 1y ago
The only good alternative right now are WearOS smartwatches.
For best comfort 1 GB RAM and of course speaker (you can always pair Bluetooth headphones for privacy so others won't hear Screenreader). The rest is personal preference.
There is Xiaomi Mi Watch with WearOS it's square watch with speaker but it's from 2019 so it's hard to say if it get new WearOS 3.0 update. Now it's hard to say which smartwatches will get it because it's not out no release date no info from Google only rumors only known right now for sure new Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 will ship with it as it was told already.
But updates aren't that significant, i have 6 year old Huawei Watch no updates since 4 years and it's still working i can still download everything. Few things are missing but i got refreshed UI without system update and "widgets or tiles or info panels" just like new watches did on this old watch. Got it refurbished for 70$.
There's many different styles (elegant or sport rugged) shapes (squares or round) with buttons, rotating crowns to move trough lists and scrollbars, extra side buttons to assign functions to launch, rotating bezel (right now Samsung Watch 4 Classic in pre-order). Not all have LTE or eSIM.
Now because new update is community out very shortly many companies will show new smartwatches so prices of old ones will drop. Wait a little bit.
For best comfort 1 GB RAM and of course speaker (you can always pair Bluetooth headphones for privacy so others won't hear Screenreader). The rest is personal preference.
There is Xiaomi Mi Watch with WearOS it's square watch with speaker but it's from 2019 so it's hard to say if it get new WearOS 3.0 update. Now it's hard to say which smartwatches will get it because it's not out no release date no info from Google only rumors only known right now for sure new Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 will ship with it as it was told already.
But updates aren't that significant, i have 6 year old Huawei Watch no updates since 4 years and it's still working i can still download everything. Few things are missing but i got refreshed UI without system update and "widgets or tiles or info panels" just like new watches did on this old watch. Got it refurbished for 70$.
There's many different styles (elegant or sport rugged) shapes (squares or round) with buttons, rotating crowns to move trough lists and scrollbars, extra side buttons to assign functions to launch, rotating bezel (right now Samsung Watch 4 Classic in pre-order). Not all have LTE or eSIM.
Now because new update is community out very shortly many companies will show new smartwatches so prices of old ones will drop. Wait a little bit.
ukifrit [OP] 1 points 1y ago
I checked out both the mi watch and galaxy watch. They cost almost the same as an apple watch, so it seems I'll save to buy one of apple's next year.
macadamia_owl 2 points 1y ago
There's oppo Watch too, Ticwatch 3/4, Fossil smartwatches and their underbrands on sale and fashion brands, sports brands like Puma, Garmin... There's many to choose check out r/WearOS
What's your budget? Your needs and preferences? What phone do you have? Does watch needs to have LTE? Those without can still make receive calls and messages if phone is nearby and they're standalone.
I have one without LTE for 135$ new on sale bought it 1,5 years ago it's ATM 3, stainless steel body with quick release bands, 3 buttons one rotates for easy menu navigation even with gloves on. Better battery life than apple watch.
Galaxy Watch 4 LTE at least in my country is much cheaper than Apple Watch LTE especially with preorder discount of extra 150$ it's in USA/Canada too from what I read on WearOS subreddit.
What's your budget? Your needs and preferences? What phone do you have? Does watch needs to have LTE? Those without can still make receive calls and messages if phone is nearby and they're standalone.
I have one without LTE for 135$ new on sale bought it 1,5 years ago it's ATM 3, stainless steel body with quick release bands, 3 buttons one rotates for easy menu navigation even with gloves on. Better battery life than apple watch.
Galaxy Watch 4 LTE at least in my country is much cheaper than Apple Watch LTE especially with preorder discount of extra 150$ it's in USA/Canada too from what I read on WearOS subreddit.
ukifrit [OP] 1 points 1y ago
I just want something to track my sleep and fitness TBH. I think that my budget is like 100 dolars, but prices are wild here in Brazil, so something that might be way cheaper than the apple watches may actually be quite close to it over here.
My issue is that, being totally blind, it’s hard to set the appropriate workout on a MiBand for example. Thus it seems that an apple watch is the better choice, despite it doing way more than fitness tracking.
My issue is that, being totally blind, it’s hard to set the appropriate workout on a MiBand for example. Thus it seems that an apple watch is the better choice, despite it doing way more than fitness tracking.
macadamia_owl 2 points 1y ago
I can use my Fossil 5 without issues gestures are really easy, all apps are natively accessible with screenreader (i don't use rest of my vision i use it blindly with screenreader gestures). My vision is useless for any screen type (i recognize movement and light/shadows before my right eye at half meter left one is fully blind) so i don't look at it at all. I recognize only visually if screen lights up or it's dark which isn't information compared to screenreader using it all the time not looking at it to not strain my neck muscles. I leave my phone at house and walk just with my watch i connect to hotspots if i really need it or take my phone/travel mini router. I may upgrade to LTE someday but it's not necessary but 99% of functions. Fitness, tracking, offline maps are working without that.
Forgotten to mention about Ticwatch.
"Old" Samsung Watches with TizenOS will be selling out now like crazy because people would like to buy newer model. These are having screenreader too and a speaker.
Forgotten to mention about Ticwatch.
"Old" Samsung Watches with TizenOS will be selling out now like crazy because people would like to buy newer model. These are having screenreader too and a speaker.
Laser_Lens_4 2 points 1y ago
Unfortunately no. Xiaomi's companion app is not accessible back when I had a Mi Band 3, and I wouldn't be surprised if that hasn't changed. The only good option is an Apple Watch. See if you can snag a deal on an older or refurbished model. Stay away from the Series 3. It's too old to be useful.
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Alternatively, you can look into WearOS watches. The newer models have more RAM, so there's a chance Talkback will run more smoothly on them, but you're in uncharted territory there.
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Alternatively, you can look into WearOS watches. The newer models have more RAM, so there's a chance Talkback will run more smoothly on them, but you're in uncharted territory there.
ukifrit [OP] 3 points 1y ago
I tested it this year and it seems you can navigate the app. I'll buy one of their smart scales, so I thought maybe the MiBands would be good too. I’m gonna save for the apple watch though.
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