Hi all,
I got my iPhone SE a few days ago, having gotten an iPad about a year earlier, and I was testing out some features on my new phone to see how they work. It appears that, unfortunately, Braille screen input is strange and nearly unusable on the SE. I am using Braille screen input comfortably and effectively on my iPad.
Could anyone give me some pointers on how to properly use Braille screen input on an iPhone SE?Thanks!
Sincerely,
MaddyR
Comments
Typoe
How come I always add extra letters on to my name at the end of a post? It was "Maddy." Don't know where the R came from XD.
Braillescreen Imput
Hi, Maddy! I am an iPhone SE user myself, and I absolutely love braillescreen imput! I would be more than happy to help. On the iPhone, there are two ways of using it: table top mode, which is where you have your phone flat, or screen away mode, where your screen is away from you, and the back of your phone is pointed to your belly button. With both modes, hold your phone in landscape mode with the home button on the right. I recommend using screen away mode, as it is easier on your hands so your wrists aren't twisted all the time. In this position, your thumbs will be on the back of your phone, your palms will be on either edge of your phone, and your fingers will be in the appropriate typing position to type the braille. I have never done braillescreenen imput on the iPad, but on the iPhone, the location of where you type the dots will be vertical. For instance, on your left hand, dot 2 will be below dot 1, and dot 3 will be below dot 2. This is while using your pointer, middle, and ring fingers. Same is true on your right hand. If you know all of the gestures for the spacebar, delete, etc on the iPad, they are exactly the same on the iPhone. I hope this helps, and please let me know if you don't understand something. Have a great night!e
More tips
Hi Maddy,
also, don't forget about the gesture to calibrate the dot positions, but I'm sure you know that from the iPad. This works equally well on an iPhone and you'll probably find yourself using it more often on a device as small as the SE than you probably did on the iPad.
From past experience with smaller iPhones, I found out you don't want to be typing on the very edges of the phone. Instead, try moving both hands more towards the center but not all the way, with a quite tiny space between them, probably less than you'd expect, so that all 3 fingers on each hand can get recognized properly by the touch surface. The closer to the edges you type, the greater the probability of recognition errors, or at least that was my case. I've been doing the same ever since I found this out, even on my current iPhone 7 Plus, and I have no doubt I'll be doing exactly the same on the XS Max which I should be getting any day now.
Finally, don't forget about the option to flip dots 1&3 and 4&6. This is found in the VoiceOver settings (can be launched immediately with Siri) under Braille, then on-screen input. It's called flip dot positions. Or at least I believe these are the exact names in English. I'm sorry but I didn't feel like switching my iPhone to English just to verify this. :-)
Hope this helps,
Lukas
It works!!!
Hey all!
Thanks for the replies. It finally works. Even though the logistics of braille screen input on the phone are difficult to grasp at first, it's relatively easy to get the hang of once you've tried it once. I'll try the flip dot positions option; it seems like it would make my life a lot easier. (When I was typing on my phone, I found it difficult to convert the Braille patterns into the right gestures on the phone, seeing as everything is reversed." :-)