It can be said without a shadow of doubt that mobile apps like voice-over and talk-back can be used to assist people with visual impairments in many aspects of everyday life. The past several years have witnessed the exponential rise in the numbers of smartphone users worldwide. The same period has also witnessed a gigantic increase in the capabilities of these devices which have more processing power and memory storage that was not thought of few decades ago.
Today you can talk to your Smartphone and get the answer to your questions.
The growth of digital services has resulted in the convenience for users and created cost and time savings for users. The most vulnerable groups of people, the blind and visually impaired persons, should not be left behind when it comes to the use of mobile phones. It is of utmost importance to pay attention to giving them a positive mobile experience as well.
Companies have realised the importance of creating mobile services that are easy to use and which aid the user in accessing the devices. When it comes to accessibility, the developers are addressing the specific challenges related to the capabilities of the visually impaired to cater to them in the digital world.
Making the digital ecosystem a better place for the visually impaired persons. Mobile phones are important in our daily lives, including the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired. They make banking transactions and travel plans alongside their fully sighted peers. However not every mobile phone is optimally designed for use by users with visual impairments.
A part of Google’s Android Accessibility Service, the TalkBack is an application that stands blind and visually impaired persons in good stead when they are using and interacting with their mobile devices. It uses spoken word, vibration and other audible feedback to let the visually impaired uses know what they are selecting on their screen, what they are touching, and what they can do with it.
TalkBack can be turned on via the phone’s Settings > Accessibility menu. A visually impaired person may need the help of their sighted peers for the initial setup, but after that the phone will speak every time they turn it on.
The Apple iPhone operating system, known as iOS, has an accessibility feature named VoiceOver for visually impaired users. VoiceOver is currently available in all new models of iPhones and iPads.
Mobile apps have made life easier for the blinds and visually impaired persons. They had to take the help of their sighted friends to read things that are only in visual print. But apps have given them luxury of reading things and doing really anything in new ways. Voice-over and TalkBack are a game changer, granting the same access to the digital world to blind persons as everyone else. Companies are beginning to realize that visuals blind people matter too.
