4 Top Cell Phones for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired

This post reviews six popular cell phones for people who are blind or visually impaired. Three of these are basic cell phones: the MiniVision2, Lucia and Jitterbug Flip. The remaining three are smartphones: the Google Pixel, Synapptic and the iPhone.

MINIVISION2 CELL PHONE

The MiniVision2 is a basic cell phone with large tactile buttons that is one hundred percent accessible to individuals who are blind.

The phone speaks everything on the screen and everything that is typed. It can also be controlled to a large extent through voice commands. The MiniVision2 is a basic cell phone but includes a number of features associated with smartphones. In addition to making calls and sending text messages, the MiniVision2 has an alarm, camera, FM radio, light detector, color identifier, money identifier, calculator, recorder, voice notes, flashlight, weather and a “where am I?” feature.

Physical Description

The MiniVision2 is a little smaller than the typical smartphone. It is 4.9 inches tall, 2.4 inches wide and 0.5 inches thick.

It is made of hard plastic and has rounded edges that makes it feel comfortable to hold. The lower sixty percent of the phone consists of the keypad, which has large black buttons with large white characters. The buttons are well spaced, making it easy to press the correct key. The navigation buttons are especially tactile. The OK button has numerous tiny bumps on its surface, giving it an unmistakable textured feel. The navigation buttons, which surround the OK button, are raised. And the Call and Power buttons each have three large bumps on their surfaces. In short, the MiniVision2’s keypad is the most tactile keypad we have experienced.

The bottom edge of the phone includes a micro-USB charging port, a 3.5 mm audio connector for headphones and two small holes to charge the phone when it sits in the charging station. The power and volume buttons are integrated into the keypad and not on the edge of the phone, as is typical on smartphones.

The Voice Guide

The voice guide is what makes the MiniVision2 a “talking phone” and therefore a fully accessible device for people who are blind. The voice guide speaks everything that is on the screen and everything that is pressed. For example, the MiniVision2 will read the user’s text messages. And when the user is typing the reply, it will speak the letters as they are typed. If the user deletes a letter, say the letter “h”, it will say “h deleted.” The MiniVision2 provides users all necessary information to use every feature of the device fully and independently.

In addition to providing the blind user access to all features, the voice guide provides him or her various types of information. For example, it speaks phone status information, such as the time, date and battery power level, and it notifies the user when the phone is charging.

The default language is English. The MiniVision2 supports 19 languages in total. Users can download premium voices for free so that they can select a voice that is most pleasing to their ears. The speed at which the voice guide speaks can be adjusted to either normal, fast, faster or very fast.

Voice Commands

Many of the basic functions of the MiniVision2 can be controlled by voice. Most importantly, calls can be made by pressing and holding the OK button and saying “call” and then the name of the person the user wishes to call. Similarly, the user can send a text message by pressing and holding the OK button and saying, “send message to” and then the person’s name. Messages can be composed by voice. In our experience, the accuracy of the speech-to-text is very good.

The user can use their voice to control other aspects of the phone, as well. For example, to add a new contact or create a voice memo. And virtually any text field can be filled by voice.

The level of voice control is generally excellent and provides the user who prefers to use their voice with ample opportunity to do so.

Making Calls

Calls can be placed in four ways: First, the user can dial phone numbers with the keypad. The numbers are spoken out loud as the user types the digits. Second, calls can be placed directly from users’ contacts. Third, calls can be placed from Call History. Finally, calls can be placed by voice command. As discussed above, the user presses and holds the OK button and says, “Call John”, for example.

Accessing Missed Call Information

The MiniVision2 presents the user’s Call History. As the user scrolls through Call History, the Minivision2 will speak information regarding those calls. For example, if it is a missed call from someone who is in the user’s contacts, the MiniVision2 will speak the name of the contact, as well as the date and time in which the call was received. Importantly, all information that is presented visually is spoken by the voice guide.

Sending and Receiving Text Messages

Text messages can be composed and sent with the assistance of the voice guide. The process for doing so is quite simple. Text messages can also be composed and sent using voice commands and voice dictation. Voice commands is by far and away the easier way to send text messages. The MiniVision2 will verbally notify the user when new text messages are received and will provide the number of new unread messages. Incoming text messages will be read out loud.

Other Features and Capabilities

Although the MiniVision2 is a basic cell phone with buttons, it offers much more than just calling and text message capability. The phone also offers an alarm, camera, photo gallery, FM radio, light detector, color identifier, banknote recognizer, calculator, recorder, notes, flashlight, weather, “where am I?” and an emergency feature. All of these are accessible to someone with no sight and work very well.

We tested the banknote recognizer feature with $1, $10 and $20 bills. The MiniVision2 recognized the bills correctly and consistently. Similarly, the “Where Am I?” feature consistently provided the correct location. These and other features should be very helpful for individuals who are blind.

Features for Low Vision

Font size can be set to either small, medium, large or very large. When set to very large, the letters are larger than any font size on a smart phone. In fact, when set to very large, some words are unable to fit on the display and scroll across the screen as a result.

Users can also adjust the color schemes. Available color schemes include white on black (the default), black on white, blue on yellow, yellow on blue, yellow on black and black on yellow.

Finally, characters can be made bold.

All of these options make the MiniVision2 an excellent phone for people who are visually impaired.

More Info

RAZ Mobility is offering the MiniVision2 phone on its website. It’s in stock and typically ships the next day with FedEx 2nd day shipping.

Wireless Service

The MiniVision2 is unlocked and operates on AT&T, T-Mobile or other wireless providers that operate on one of those networks, such as Red Pocket Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, MINT Mobile and Ultra Mobile. Except that the MiniVision2 does not work with Cricket Wireless or Consumer Cellular. Purchase of the MiniVision2 includes a free SIM card and three (3) free months of service from MINT Mobile. After the free months of service, MINT Mobile costs as low as $15/month for unlimited service.

SYNAPPTIC SMARTPHONE

The Synapptic solution consists of software that can be placed on most Android smartphones or tablets to make them more accessible to individuals with low vision or who are completely blind. Synapptic is a British company; the solution is more popular in Europe than the U.S. RAZ Mobility, however, believes that Synapptic is an excellent solution and deserves to be popular in the U.S., as well.

RAZ Mobility sells the Synapptic solution on a Motorola Moto e smartphone.

Physical Description

The Synapptic solution is software that can be placed on almost any android smartphone. As mentioned above, however, RAZ Mobility sells it on the Moto e.

The Moto e includes a 6.2-inch display with a teardrop-style display. At 6.2 inches, the device provides plenty of real estate to accommodate large font sizes. The Moto e generally has small bezzles, providing for a modern design. There is, however, a somewhat larger bottom bezel.

The top of the phone has a headphone jack, while a speaker and a micro USB charging port sit on the bottom. The left side holds a SIM card slot, while a volume rocker and textured power button are located on the right. The buttons are easy to recognize by touch.

The phone is water repellent but not waterproof.

General Approach

Synapptic replaces the standard Android user interface with its own user interface, which is more intuitive for individuals with vision loss. It includes a simple menu structure where every menu screen is presented as a vertical list. The text size can be increased and made very large, larger than on any other device; much larger than on a standard android device or iPhone. There are a number of options for different color schemes.

The ability to adjust text size and color schemes makes Synapptic an excellent option for individuals with low vision who want to rely on their own eyes to use a smartphone rather than a screen reader.

Synapptic offers many apps, each of which is designed by Synapptic. As a result, they all work in the same way, and once the user learns how to use one app, they have pretty much learned how to use them all. Because of this, Synapptic does not require very much training.

For individuals who cannot rely on their vision at all, there is a very simple screen reader, which most people can learn quickly. A user can exit the Synapptic software and use the regular Android environment whenever they wish.

Voice Control

Synapptic allows the user to control much of the device by voice. The user can dictate with their voice, make calls, request various types of information, open applications and control various device settings.

Basic functions, such as text messaging, emailing and calling can be accomplished by voice. For example, the user can say “send a text message to Jane,” and then compose the message by voice. The user can also ask Synapptic to “call Jane,” assuming that Jane is in their contacts.

Information, such as the time, date, signal strength and battery level can be obtained by voice.

Certain basic functions can be controlled by voice. For example, the user can use their voice to turn the Wi-Fi and speakerphone on or off, put the ringer on silent, view pictures, change the voice speed and more.

Synapptic’s voice recognition generally does a very good job at understanding the user.

Making Calls and Text Messages

The user can place a call primarily in three (3) ways: first, they can use a dial pad and type the phone number. Second, the user can select the person and number they wish to call from contacts. Third, they can call using a voice command.

To answer a call or hang up, users can press the green or red accept or reject buttons on the screen. In the alternative, the power button can be used to end a call.

All calling options are accessible to low vision and blind users (everything speaks) and are very simple to operate.

Text messages can be typed using Synapptic’s keypad, which is high contrast. In the alternative, text messages can be composed and sent by voice.

Searching the Web

Synapptic has its own web browser that is completely accessible. It presents in Synapptic’s large text and high-contrast format, as well as speaks.

Search results are also presented in Synapptic’s typical format with large text with high contrast. Search are also spoken out loud.

Websites are spoken and can be explored with either the volume buttons or the “Previous” and “Next” buttons at the bottom of the screen. Individuals with low vision can increase or decrease the size of the text on the screen. There is an advanced mode for exploring websites, that allows the user to move around a web page by heading, link, text or even letter by letter.

Other Applications

Synapptic offers many well-designed applications. These include a calendar, voice memos, note pad, camera, weather app, magnifier, OCR for reading, color identifier, GPS, letter writer, calculator, clock, flashlight, compass, music player, internet radio, YouTube, and a news feed. They are all presented with Synapptic’s large text and impressive color contrast.

Users can also download apps from the Google Play Store. Downloaded apps will appear in Synapptic’s menu system.

Synapptic Lite

Synapptic Lite is a less expensive version of the Synapptic software. It does not do those tasks that require an internet connection. Features that it includes are the following: All calling features, text messaging, magnification and changing color contrast, speech output, voice control, voice memos, address book, music playing via MP3s, calendar, reminder, alarms and note pad. The lite version does not include features, such as email, web browser, digital video magnifier, news feed, internet radio and others.

RAZ Mobility sells the Standard and Lite versions of the Synapptic software. Watch a video.

Wireless Service

The Moto e with the Synapptic software is unlocked and compatible with all major networks, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and their respective resellers.

LUCIA CELL PHONE

The philosophy behind Lucia is straightforward: it is an easy-to-use alternative to a smartphone. It is also 100 percent accessible thanks to its very intuitive voice guide.

The phone supports talk and text only; it does not support data. However, despite this fact, it offers quite a bit of flexibility and some very interesting features.

Physical Description

Lucia is five-and-a-half inches long, three-and-three-quarter inches wide and three-quarter inches deep. It fits nicely in the hand and has a sturdy feel. The display is two inches wide and a little more than one-and-half inches high. The display is very bright, but people who are blind can turn it off to save battery power.

The buttons are large and well-spaced. The tactile feel is excellent thanks to the fact that the buttons on the T9 keypad are concave. The buttons used to navigate the menu system, place a call and end a call are different shapes and colors.

At the top of the right edge of the phone is a circular button that serves three functions: when pressed while at the home screen it provides the time, date, battery strength and signal strength. When long pressed at the home screen it turns the voice guide on or off. When pressed elsewhere it repeats whatever is on the screen. The button below this is a square button that amplifies the audio while on phone calls. This feature is for people who are hard of hearing. The final physical feature on the right edge of the phone is a slider that is used to power the phone on and off or to lock the phone. On the left edge of the phone is the volume rocker.

On the top edge of the phone is the hole for a 3.5 mm jack. On the back of the phone is the SOS button, discussed in detail below.

The back panel can be removed to access the battery compartment. The battery is replaceable, which is a nice bonus.

The Voice Guide

The Lucia phone has a voice guide that allows users who are blind to use every feature of the phone. This is the phone’s real “magic.” While it speaks everything that is on the screen and everything that is pressed, it actually does considerably more than that. For example, if I am in the Call Log menu, the display might show that I have a missed call from “Robert.” But the Voice Guide says, “one missed call from Robert.” So, in some cases the Voice Guide provides more information than the display itself.

In addition, the Voice Guide provides other useful information, such always saying “Lucia is ready” when the user is at the Home Screen, allowing the user to always know where they are in the menu system, and tell me when the charger is connected or disconnected. Also, the Voice Guide has a “Talking Watch” which speaks the time.

The Voice Guide can speak in a number of languages, including English, Spanish and French, and the user can select different voices. The Voice Guide audio can be made quite loud for those who are hard of hearing and is very clear.

Making Calls

There are three primary ways in which someone who is blind can make phone calls. First the user can simply dial the number from the home screen. As the digits are pressed, they are announced by the Voice Guide. The Voice Guide can also repeat the entered digits, if needed. If you delete a digit, for example the digit 5, the Voice Guide will say “5 deleted.”

Second, the user can go to their Contacts, scroll through the various names as they are spoken by the Voice Guide, and press the Call button when the user hears the name of the person that they want to call.

Third, calls can be placed directly from the Call Log, which provides an option to dial missed calls and previously dialed numbers.

Lucia does not currently support voice dialing, but this feature will be added in the future. Having said that, calling with the help of the Voice Guide is extremely easy.

Accessing Missed Call Information

Blind users can access missed call information with the assistance of the Voice Guide. Lucia will provide the name of the person who called (if the caller is in the contacts), as well as the call’s time and date.

Users will be notified of missed calls with a chime. If desired, Lucia can be programmed to vibrate, as well. Also, when there is a missed call or missed text message, the LED light will flash blue, which is useful for people with low vision.

Sending and Receiving Text Messages

Lucia’s Voice Guide allows users who are blind to send and receive text messages. While typing a message with the old T9 keypad takes some time to master, the process of sending and receiving messages is very simple. And text can be edited with ease.

Users will be notified of incoming messages with a chime and Lucia can be set to vibrate, as well. As with missed calls, the LED light will flash blue when a text message is received.

Entering Contacts

The blind user can enter contacts independently. With the help of the Voice Guide, the process is intuitive and simple.

Status Information

The Voice Guide provides a number of pieces of information that fall into the “status” category. Specifically, it will speak the battery level, the signal strength, the time and date and the name of the wireless provider. This information can be accessed by pressing the Status button on the top right edge of the phone while at the Home screen. Moreover, the user can customize the information that is spoken. In other words, if the user wants Lucia to speak only the amount of battery remaining and not provide the other status information, this can be done.

Setting Alarms

Lucia has a comprehensive alarm system. A user can set a one-time alarm or repeating alarms. For instance, the user can set an alarm to go off every morning at 9AM. The alarm can be accompanied by a reminder message. For example, the message can say “remember to take your medication.” Lucia can save hundreds of alarms at one time.

SOS Button

Lucia has a physical SOS button at the back of the phone. To prevent unintended activation, the button must be held for three seconds to activate. When activated, the phone starts calling up to five emergency contacts stored in the phone. If one of the called persons does not answer, Lucia will call the next person and so on, until someone answers the call.

The majority of people who use Lucia will be seniors, so this feature should be quite useful for many users. It provides an additional layer of security at no additional cost.

Like all of Lucia’s features, the SOS feature can be set up by someone who is blind, with the assistance of the Voice Guide.

Features for Low Vision

As discussed above, the buttons are large and nicely spaced. The buttons on the T9 keypad are concave to provide an excellent tactile feel. The buttons used to navigate the menu system, place a call and end a call are different shapes and different colors.

The display has good contrast and supports seven different color schemes. Font size is not adjustable but large, and the most recently typed character is always displayed in extra-large font size. For example, when typing a phone number, the most recently typed digit is one inch high; the other digits are almost half an inch high.

Wireless Service

Lucia is unlocked and operates on AT&T, T-Mobile or other wireless providers that operate on one of those networks. Plans for unlimited talk and text are available for as low as $19 through prepaid wireless providers, such as Red Pocket.

JITTERBUG FLIP

The Jitterbug Flip is designed primarily for seniors who are interested in emergency and health services. It does not have a Voice Guide. As a result, accessibility is quite limited. However, it does offer voice dialing.

Physical Description

As the name suggests, the Jitterbug Flip is a flip phone. When it is shut, it measures 4.3 by 2.2 inches and is .7 inches deep. It comes in red and graphite. On the left edge of the phone close to the top There is a standard headphone input on the left edge of the phone close near the top, and below it, a USB port. On the right side, near the top, is a button to activate a flashlight, and below this, the volume toggle.

The keypad is described in the section below that addresses features for people with low vision.

Making Calls

There are three ways in which someone who is blind can place a call: first they can dial the number with the keypad. Unfortunately, there is no voice guide. In other words, the Jitterbug Flip does not speak the numbers pressed. As a result, if a digit is entered incorrectly the user will not know and the call will be placed to the incorrect number.

The second method is to call the Personal Operator. The Operator is accessed by dialing zero and can look up phone numbers, connect to any number in the U.S. or Canada and place calls to anyone in the user’s contacts. This service costs $.99 per call and the time spent on the phone with the Personal Operator counts towards the user’s allotment of minutes.

The final method is the most useful for someone who is blind and that is voice dialing. The phone can be set up so that the user can dial by voice as soon as they open the flip phone. The user can initiate a call by speaking someone’s name if they are in the user’s contacts or by speaking the phone number.

Missed Calls

The blind user cannot access information regarding missed calls, and in fact does not have a way of finding out whether he or she has any missed calls. Users will need to ask someone who is sighted for assistance in order to find out whether they have missed calls, who called and when they called.

Sending or Receiving Text Messages

The Jitterbug Flip does not support text messaging for people who are blind since the phone does not have a voice guide. The phone will not speak incoming text messages or allow a blind user to compose text messages.

Entering Contacts

Because the Jitterbug Flip does not have a voice guide, contacts can be entered only with the help of the Personal Operator. As mentioned above, each call to the Operator will cost $.99 and the time spent on the phone with the operator will count towards the user’s allotment of minutes.

Phone Status

The phone will not speak the amount of battery power left, the phone’s signal strength, the time or the date.

Alarms

The Jitterbug Flip does not have alarms.

Features for Low Vision

The keypad is well designed for someone with low vision. The keypad is backlit, and each number is raised. There is also a raised rectangle around each key. The numbers are white, and the remainder of each key is black, providing good contrast.

In terms of the display, it has good contrast supported by five different color schemes. The font size cannot be adjusted but is quite large.

Wireless Service

People who purchase the Jitterbug Flip must user GreatCall wireless service. Greatcall uses Verizon’s network, so coverage is very good. However, rate plans are not very competitive compared to other options. For example, unlimited talk and text is available for $39.99. However, other wireless providers now offer unlimited talk and text in the twenty-dollar range.

The various health and safety features of the Jitterbug Flip cost additional; prices start at $19.99 per month. Users receive a discount on the talk and text if they also subscribe to a health and safety service.

Emergency and Health Services

Jitterbug Flip is really all about the health services. It advertises itself as a “personal safety device.” The Basic health and safety package costs $19.99 (on top of the cost of your cell phone service), and most notably includes a private emergency dispatch service, as well as a service that sends medication reminders. There is also a Preferred package for $24.99 and an Ultimate package for $34.99. The Preferred package includes access to a board-certified doctor or nurse without an appointment. The Ultimate package includes a personal operator that can help the user with tasks, such as looking up addresses or phone numbers.

GOOGLE PIXEL

Perhaps the best android device for blind users is the Google Pixel. Pixel devices receive updates prior to other devices, and Google guarantees that they will receive such updates for three years from the date that they first appear in the Google store. In addition, certain accessibility applications developed by Google are first available on Pixel devices

TalkBack Gestures

TalkBack is controlled by a series of gestures. Here is a list:

Basic gestures

Action Gesture Move to next item on screen Swipe right Move to previous item on screen Swipe left Cycle through navigation settings Swipe up or down Select focused item Double-tap

Back-and-forth gestures

Action Swipe Move to first item on screen Up then down Move to last item on screen Down then up Scroll forward

(if you’re on a page longer than one screen) Right then left Scroll back

(if you’re on a page longer than one screen) Left then right Move slider up

(such as volume) Right then left Move slider down

(such as volume) Left then right

Angle gestures

These gestures are two-part swipes at a right angle. For example, the default gesture for going to the Home screen is to swipe up then left at a sharp 90-degree angle.

Action Swipe Home button Up then left Back button Down then left Overview button Left then up Notifications Right then down

(see note below) Screen search Left then down Open local context menu Up then right Open global context menu Down then right

Some people may find the right angle gestures a little difficult. However, the need to use such gestures can largely be avoided by customizing the gestures. Specifically, new actions can be assigned to the one finger gestures, replacing the right angle gestures. For example, instead of going back to the home screen by using the up and to the left gesture, the user could simply swipe down.

Browsing the Web with TalkBack

Browsing the web with TalkBack is quite easy. First, open a web page in Chrome. Next swipe up or down to hear the various ways that TalkBack can read the page for you. When you hear the way that you want to explore the page, stop. You can then explore the web page using the selected method by swiping to the right to go forward or to the left to go backward.

The various ways that you can explore a page include the following:

Headings – TalkBack will navigate the user from heading to heading

Links – Navigate from link to link

Controls – Navigate by other elements, such as form fields, buttons, or menus.

Characters – TalkBack will read a single character

Words – TalkBack will read a single word

Lines – TalkBack will read a single line

Default – Explore every element of the page in order

Apps for People who are Blind

There are many excellent android applications for people who are blind. Examples include Be My Eyes, Bard Mobile and Eye-D.

An excellent list of android applications for people who are blind or low vision can be found on the RAZ Mobility Accessible App Installer. This application lists and describes the top applications for individuals who are blind.

Google recently launched an excellent application called Lookout. This app was developed specifically for people with vision loss. It recognizes objects and tells the user where they are located in relation to the user, reads text, currency, barcodes and more. Lookout is available on Pixel devices, as well as certain devices from Samsung and LG. There is no iOS version of this application.

While there are some excellent android applications for people who are blind, applications developed specifically for people with vision loss tend to be launched on iOS first.

Sending and Reading Text Message

The easiest way to send a text message is with the Google Assistant. The user can easily ask the Assistant to “send a text message” and the Assistant will respond “who do you want to text and guide the user through the process.

While the Google Assistant will read new text messages, it will not read text messages that the user has already viewed. In order to access messages that already been viewed, the user must go into the Messenger app using the TalkBack gestures.

There may be times when you want to use your messaging app rather than the Google Assistant. In that case, the easiest way to draft a text is voice dictation. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut for activating voice dictation. The user must find the voice dictation button and double tap to select.

Editing text is quite easy in TalkBack; perhaps easier than in VoiceOver.

Obtaining Status Information

The user can access the information in the status bar (such as battery level and signal strength) with explore by touch and then swiping to the right or left to have the different elements in the status bar read out loud.

In the alternative, the user can obtain the remaining battery strength information by asking the Google Assistant “what’s my battery level.” The Google Assistant cannot provide the signal strength.

The Google Assistant

The Google Assistant is probably the best virtual assistant available. It has excellent speech recognition and allows the user to perform many functions by voice. A few examples include calling, managing your calendar, playing music, listening to audio books or podcasts, sending text messages, listening to the radio, setting alarms, performing Google searches and much more.

iPHONE

The iPhone is the most popular smartphone with people who are blind or visually impaired, and for good reason: Apple was the first to develop an excellent built-in screen reader, called VoieOver.

Gestures

Explore and speak items on the screen

Action VoiceOver gesture to

perform actiom Select and speak an item Tap or touch the item Select the next item Swipe right Select the previous item Swipe left Select the first item on the screen Four-finger tap near the top of the screen Select the last item on the screen Four-finger tap near the bottom of the screen Speak the entire screen from the top Two-finger swipe up Speak the entire screen from the selected item Two-finger swipe down Pause or continue speaking Two-finger tap Speak additional information, such as the position within a list or whether text is selected Three-finger tap

Scroll up, down, left, and right

Action VoiceOver gesture to perform action Scroll up one page Three-finger swipe down Scroll down one page Three-finger swipe up Scroll left one page Three-finger swipe right Scroll right one page Three-finger swipe left

Take action on an item

Action VoiceOver gesture to perform action Activate the selected item Double-tap Double-tap the selected item Triple-tap Drag a slider Tap the slider to select it, then swipe up or down with one finger; or double-tap and hold the slider until you hear three rising tones, then drag the slider Start or stop the current action (for example, play or pause music or a video, take a photo in Camera, start or stop a recording, start or stop the stopwatch) Two-finger double-tap Dismiss an alert or return to the previous screen Two-finger scrub (move two fingers back and forth three times quickly, making a “z”) Edit an item’s label to make it easier to find Two-finger double-tap and hold

Tip: As an alternative to selecting an item and double-tapping to activate it, touch and hold an item with one finger, then tap the screen with another.

Use gestures to control VoiceOver

Action VoiceOver gesture to perform action Mute or unmute VoiceOver Three-finger double-tap.

If both VoiceOver and Zoom are enabled, use the three-finger triple-tap gesture. Turn the screen curtain on or off

(When the screen curtain is on, the screen contents are active even though the display is turned off.) Three-finger triple-tap.

If both VoiceOver and Zoom are enabled, use the three-finger quadruple-tap gesture. Use a standard gesture Double-tap and hold your finger on the screen until you hear three rising tones, then make the gesture. When you lift your finger, VoiceOver gestures resume.

For example, to drag a volume slider with your finger instead of swiping up and down, select the slider, double-tap and hold, wait for the three tones, then slide left or right. Open the Item Chooser Two-finger triple-tap.

To move quickly through the list of items, type a name in the search field, swipe right or left to move through the list alphabetically, or tap the table class=”table-bordered” index to the right of the list and swipe up or down. You can also use handwriting to select an item by writing its name.

To dismiss the Item Chooser without making a selection, double-tap.

Use the VoiceOver rotor

Action VoiceOver gesture to perform action Choose a rotor setting Two-finger rotation Move to the previous item or increase

(depending on the rotor setting) Swipe up Move to the next item or decrease (depending on the rotor setting) Swipe down

Browsing the Web

Browsing is quite simple. Open Safari, select the search field and enter your search. You can swipe right or left to move down or up the list of suggested search phrases. After you hear the desired search phrase, double-tap the screen to search the web using the selected phrase.

Just like with the Pixel, you can explore a web page by element type. For example, you can explore by heading or link. Use the rotor to select the desired element type, then swipe up or down to move between the headings, links, or whatever was selected.

Apps

The iPhone has an excellent selection of apps for people with vision loss. Apps designed for people who are blind are frequently, but not always, launched on iOS first. This is definitely an advantage that the iPhone has over the Google Pixel. In some cases, developers decide only to develop an iOS version of their application. As an example, Seeing AI, a popular app developed by Microsoft for people who are blind, launched the iOS version of their app a few years ago, but has yet to launch an android version.

Sending a Text Message

As with the Google Pixel, the easiest way to send text message is with the virtual assistant. Simply activate Siri and say “send text message” and Siri will prompt you for the rest. You can also ask Siri to read your received messages. Again, activate Siri, and say something like “read my texts.” Siri will announce how many messages you have waiting for you. Siri then starts reading all new messages, beginning with the sender’s name — or if the name is unknown, the phone number it’s coming from. Like the Google Assistant, Siri will not read old messages.

If you want to send a text message with the messaging app, the easiest way to draft a message is with voice dictation. VoiceOver offers a great shortcut for activating voice dictation. After you open the app and select the recepient, use a two-finger double tap to start dictation. The two-finger double tap also ends dictation. Editing text is easy using the rotary tool.

Status Information

An easy way to obtain certain status information, such as the battery level, is to ask Siri. You can also tap the status bar at the top of the display and swipe left or right to hear the time, battery, signal strength and more. This is much like the Pixel.

Siri will not speak the signal strength.

Siri

Siri can do many of the same things that the Google Assistant can do. For example, it can play music, make calls, text, set timers and more. Some people feel that Siri falls short in speech recognition, which most people agree is not as good as Google’s speech recognition.