Are there alternatives to VoiceOver for blind users?
By OoohAaah, 13 May, 2021
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Is there any other function beyond the voice function for people who cannot see? Software including hardware that highlights the screen in, for example, Brail? It could also "display" pictures in the same way
Features that current Apple products support right now:
VoiceOver, for rendering text and screens into speech, changing the touch and swipe behavior, etc.
Integration with Braille displays.
Zoom, for embiggening things on your device.
Magnifier, for embiggening the world around you.
Something I would love to see in the future is multi-row Braille displays. Right now if you want the iPhone screen you have to do it the old fashioned way with a Braille display, one line at a time (with navigation enhancements, of course). I have seen these before in research settings but I think right now they are prohibitively expensive to mass produce. The displays I saw also didn't have something like the cursor routing button for these multiple rows, so they were better for displaying pictures than getting a truly 3D screen that you could touch and swipe.
SO in summary, VO is always going to be the main event for Apple products because of its tight integration. But there is still plenty of room for enhancements and additions, and I am excited to see what comes out in the next decade. Hope this answers your question!
Comments
Yes
Try googling screen readers for the blind
I guess it depends.
It all depends on what kind of device you are using.
Kinda sorta
Features that current Apple products support right now:
Something I would love to see in the future is multi-row Braille displays. Right now if you want the iPhone screen you have to do it the old fashioned way with a Braille display, one line at a time (with navigation enhancements, of course). I have seen these before in research settings but I think right now they are prohibitively expensive to mass produce. The displays I saw also didn't have something like the cursor routing button for these multiple rows, so they were better for displaying pictures than getting a truly 3D screen that you could touch and swipe.
SO in summary, VO is always going to be the main event for Apple products because of its tight integration. But there is still plenty of room for enhancements and additions, and I am excited to see what comes out in the next decade. Hope this answers your question!