What phone should I buy? Legally blind

Hi Amelia,

I don’t own an iPhone at the moment, but i think i could provide some suggestions to you, seeing as i have studied the newest iPhone lineup to aid me in convincing my parents to get me a phone.

all of this year’s models have bigger screens than the biggest of last year’s models, (the iPhone 8+ with a 5.5-inch LCD display), so even with the regular XS, or possibly even last year’s iPhone X, you would get an ample amount of screen space in a small package. the iPhone XS Max has been compared by sighted users to an iPad Mini, so it is extremely big, at 6.5. i heard from some reviewers that since the display is edge-to-edge, it is harder to reach for the top of the screen with your hand, since the display is so large.

the iPhone XS is 5.8, which is larger than the 6s+ you currently own, so even if you buy that, it would be big enough. take this with a grain of salt, however, because i also heard that the XS does not support Zoom.

the iPhone XR, coming out in late October, has a 6.1-inch screen, so you should be happy with this model if you choose to buy it. it is also the cheapest, starting at $749, so it might be the best choice for you.

also keep in mind that you could get last year’s iPhone 8+, which has the same display size as the phone you currently own.

overall, all the current iPhones have large displays, so all of these would be good choices for you. if you would like to use Zoom, the iPhone XS does not support it, so you would be better off with the XS Max or the XR. however, the xR has an LCD display with lesser PPi, (pixels per inch), so if you want superior display quality, the XS Max would be your best bet. however, the XR is much less expensive, and still sports the edge-to-edge design coupled with a lot of screen real estate. plus, the LCD used in the XR is supposedly the “best ever made”, so yu would probably get superior display quality still.

hope this helps! sorry for the long comment.

Sincerely,
Maddy

hi!
see you'd like Face ID or Touch ID!
if you like the touch ID better. I think IPhone 8 or 8plus is the best!
but, if you don't mind trying new thing. and see the face ID is work in your side or not. you can get the IPhone 10S or 10 S max.
or later you also can think about IPhone 10r.
3 of them are using Face ID.

If you are total blind get the new xr. However if you can see and you want to take photos the xx will do. Using the new iPhone is easy and as you may be aware the home button is history. The only thing in the xr does not have 3D use. If I am planning to get one in the future, it will probably be xr. Camare is nice but if you are total blind how can youuse it. To much money for feature you are not going to useis not logical

xs max has the best battery out of all the new phones though, and also more ram than xr and xs.
now as to one of the phones not supporting zoom I doubt it means zoom as in the accessibility function, surely it means something to do with zoom and the camera, also if you heard zoom isn't supported, heard means you don't know for a fact, it might be worth checking with apple accessibility so your not accidentally giving out information that might be incorrect.
but as others have said it depends what your looking for, if you can it would probably be worth going into an actual apple store to look at phones in question and even try them out if this will be your first phone so you can try face id vs touch id etc.

I'd like the iPhone XR, with the cheaper prise, you can get the latest apple most advanced technology... The iOS 12 will be running smoothly too in this device.

optical zoom is available on the XS because of the dual camera setup. i read the accessibility feature wasn’t on the XS from BGR. I can post the link to the story later.

Before deciding what phone to buy, if you have the option, make a trip to the Apple store. Buy whichever phone you feel most comfortable handling. If you have doubt, make sure it fits your hands and is not uncomfortable to hold. Also, make sure with the new screens that you are going to be able to navigate the whole screen without stretching your grip too much.

zoom is supported on every single phone, what you are talking about is the so called "display zoom", it automatically blow up everything in proportion so all icons and texts are bigger. take the home screen for example, the zoom view will have larger but less icons, one row less. you can still zoom your webpage manually.

there is a reason why display zoom is not supported on the x and XS, this article gives a good explanation:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/26/iphone-xs-max-display-zoom/

just a thought if you use the camera to take photos of things to see them better, the iPhone does actually offer a specific feature called magnifier where you can point your camera at stuff and it will actually magnify it in realtime without having to take a photo, I guess its like a live video feed or something.

I have no idea what your talking about there, besuty? think you made a typo there.

aah right I think I vaguely read something about it, but I don't pay much attention to all the camera nonsense as it isn't of any interest to me the only reason I care about cameras at all is for improved accuracy when reading text or identifying objects.

Oh, that. Beauty mode, or Beauty-gate, as Unboxed Therapy calls it, is a combo of aggressive noise reduction and reduced contrast. (I only read about it a little, and a while ago.) it basically makes people look younger and have pinker skin tones, as well as less wrinkles. No off switch. But it doesn’t matter to the AppleVis community that much, i don’t think. It’s not that important at all

Hello Emelia,

I'm glad you posted this question as I am in a very similar position (same phone, even). For me the size of the screen is certainly important, but so is the camera. I do a lot of OCR in my daily life, both on paper and on screens. I find my 6S plus and even my Ipad Pro 9.7 don't always do a good job with scanning screens, no matter what OCR app I'm using. Some are certainly better than others, and ironically given its price, KNFB reader is one of the worst. I am hoping having a better camera will improve the clarity of magnified text captured with the built in magnifier app or a few of the various other magnifier apps I have, and that it will do better with OCR. Given that the XS max is $1500 canadian - around the same price as a decent laptop - I'm very hesitant about choosing it, even though I think it might be my best option. My real question is how much of a best option would it be really? It's a hard choice, and I can't really go to an Apple store and try one out. I know anything I get will be a decent upgrade from my 6S Plus. Just as my 6S Plus was a pretty big upgrade from my 4S. I also need to buy outright, because phone plans in Canada are abismal compared to the states, and I'm currently on a grandfathered one which is far better than anything they have right now.

The $1500 price tag isn't true for the same models with lower storage capacities. The 256gb is I think $100 lower than the one you are referencing, which is the 512gb one.

Well I called ATT and got a nice deal. I got a free iPhone 8 and got the XX 240 memory for the same amount I was paying for my iPhone 7.

Hello,

Here is what I would do. If you are in the US, go to the Apple store and get the battery replaced for 29 US dollars and restore your phone to factory IOS 12. Try it and see if it works for you. If not, sell it and buy a new iPhone.

Since you have usable vision and enjoy taking pictures, get the XSMax instead of the XR. The Max has dual lens rear camera so when you zoom the pictures you took, the details will be better. The XR only has one rear lens.

The SXMax also has a sharper and crisp display compared to the XR. Some folks with limited vision say a sharper picture is better because it does not look washed out or fuzzy.

If you like the feel of an plus sized iPhone, the XSMax is about the same size. The XS will feel a bit small.

As far as OCR, all the phone will function the same. A single lens will not work better or worse than a dual lens.

HTH and good luck.

Personally, I would wait for the iPhone ITS and ITS Max prices to decrease.
I would get something that could last you for san another 3 years, then switch out again.
For example: You have the iPhone 6S Plus, you could advance one generation, or even two generations, upward.

So, from an iPhone 6S Plus to an iPhone 7 Plus, or an 8 plus.
HTH.

Always get the newest phone available, unless it’s 1 or 2 months away from September. Getting the newest handset will mean getting the longest support, the most advanced features for the longest time, and being able to keep your phone for longer. Right now, all of the phones are good, it just depends on what circumstances u are in.

Hi Amelia sorry to get late to the party
so I seen so many answers here some of them are good and another just politico answers.
The best suggestions to you few people has already recommended to you, before to get a new device
* I red your initial post and you wrote reinstall but will have some extra charge.
may you are referring to a factory restore, this process is free and basically is wipe the device and reinstall a fresh copy of iOS you will not lose your data or info if you have a backUp iCloud or iTunes wherever is better for your needs.
* replacing the iPhone battery will improve the performance and as someone recommend yes apple has some program to all costumers of iPhone 6 and newer to replace the battery for the price of US$29.99 plus taxes and fits
this program is only available until December of the current year
my suggestion is go to the local apple store and get the new battery and see if your current iPhone 6S Plus work better
* Also before to jump and get a new iPhone X edition 2018 should you wait until apple has the 3 models on the retailers
XS, XS Max and XR
do a deep comparison and pick the best for you.

I been saying in this forum for a while the price doesn't matter always if the device is wort it according to your needs.
per example if the apple watch will include sensors to help to check the blood sugar and blood pressure and the price will cost around #1,000 I will pay for sure I will however none of those features are available now per haves $399 is not worth it for me now because doesn't cover my needs.
same with the new iPhone XS as I am completely blind in my case doesn't matter the how good or bad is the display because always is off most of the time or all time is the screen off hopefully you got the point, but for you as you are legally blind and the most important is see the mayor details possible so then the screen is very important to you right
if the device that you are looking and fits your needs even when you have to spend over $US1200 doesn't matter because is going to wort in your case
here some info about the beauty mode and gates this youtube channel is neutral not apple fun or android fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndphYju6PVM&t=209s