Hi all!
I have some questions related to accessibility for visually impaired people on Mac. My friend is going to buy a MacBook. She is going to use both Voiceover and residual vision. She wants to learn more about some aspects.
1. Are there some good features for visually impaired people on Mac?
Can you give your subjective opinion on what is better for visually impaired people? IPad or MacBook?
3. What should my friend do if she needs to stay very close to the Laptop to read on it? The keyboard prevents her from staying close to the screen. Would it be a good idea to buy an iPad and a stand instead of a MacBook?
By Gabriela, 11 January, 2021
Forum
Low Vision Accessibility on Apple Products
Comments
Larger screen.
If this person really wants to use her vision, I'd suggest an external monitor or a pc laptop with a 17-inch screen. As far as using Voiceover, unless this person is really great at learning accessibility on her own, she may need training. She needs to find out what is available in her area, much better to learn before throwing a lot of money down on something that just frustrates you.
zoom
if your going with a mac apple has a zoom feature in the accessibility settings where you can either use the keyboard of have the screen follow your mouse as you move around. that sounds like what she would like although it makes me feel weird when i tried it.
Apple is the best in the business in terms of accessibility not only for blind/low vision but any disability. this shows the real lack of quality then really showing off apple. MS has nothing even close to what apple offers and they only have a built in screen reader.
as for which is better if your friend is non technical get an ipad. its truly an "appliance" and you do not need to worry about viruses incompatible software or anything. if you want a recommendation in terms of accessibility both are very good but ios has a slight edge that apple needs to work on with the mac.
apple store
as long as you live around an apple store(most people do) you are set. apple offers fantastic training in this area. they offer a paid service but you don't need to pay just have her go into the store and say she wants to learn voiceover. if she does end up paying she can get a lot more experience and more in depth training.