Essential iOS Apps for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Last updated 7/23/2019
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Adaptive Technology is ever changing.
There are many iOS applications available in the app store that can assist you while you are at home, school, work or on the go.
Our Rehabilitation Technology Specialists have compiled a list of free/paid accessible essential iOS applications for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch that can assist you to improve your independence.
We can train you on how to use these applications and many more!
What is an iOS app?
An iOS app is an application designed to fulfill a particular purpose on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch Apple devices that can be downloaded for free or paid from the app store.
There are many types of apps; to list a few, there are productivity, utility, game, navigation, radio and news apps.
Category: For Developers
iOS Accessibility Resouces
With built-in accessibility features, accessibility APIs, developer tools, iOS provides an extraordinary opportunity to deliver a superior mobile experience to every customer, including those with special needs. Award-winning features include VoiceOver—the revolutionary screen reader for blind and low vision users, Switch Control, playback of closed captioned or audio described video, Guided Access, Text to Speech, and more.
Click Here for Apple Accessibility Resouces
Category: Utilities
SuperVision+ Magnifier
SuperVision+ is the only magnifying glass app on the market that offers a supreme live image stabilization capability. Highly magnified images are usually shaking. It is a problem especially for old people. No more image shaking with SuperVision+ magnifier.
Free QR Scanner: Bar Code Scanner & QR Code Reader
Super fast & safe QR scanner, bar code reader & QR code reader! Scans all QR code & barcodes! Very simple & easy to use!
Click Here for Free QR Scanner
Prizmo Go - Instant Text Capture
Aim at text. Shoot. It's yours! Prizmo Go lets you quickly grab printed text with the camera. After text
is recognized in a blink of an eye, you can interact with it in many useful ways, or just send it to
other apps.
Prizmo Go comes with enhancements specifically built for VoiceOver, in addition to spoken
guidance prior to shooting. That, combined with its text-to-speech capabilities, make it a great
companion in case you need help reading printed documents.
iDentifi- Object Recognition for Visually Impaired
iDentifi is an app that empowers visually impaired individuals to gain more independence in daily tasks like grocery shopping, self-navigating in indoor environments, and reading. It uses artificial intelligence to enable a visually impaired user to click a photo of virtually any object or piece of text, and then speaks aloud a description of the object in an image or dictate any text in the image to the user. Furthermore, all of the app's functionality works in more than 25 languages. Finally, the app features an interface designed with visually impaired users in mind, while also giving users the option to choose from three different modes of object/text recognition as well as how fast they want the app to speak.
Speech Central: Web Text to Speech
Fully featured text to speech app. The first app ever to feature the interactive web on the go. Users can interact with web sites and RSS feeds and pick articles to be read aloud by using headphone or Bluetooth hands-free buttons. In all parts of the app functions of those audio buttons can be customized which results in high productivity and accessibility. The app is tested to be accessible with VoiceOver by legally blind users. It can be used as an assistive technology and helper for people with visual impairments and disabilities like dyslexia (dyslexia friendly font is included in the app).
Aipoly Vision
Aipoly is an object and color recognizer that helps the blind, visually impaired, and color blind users understand their surroundings. Simply point your phone at the object of interest and press the large toggle button at the bottom of the screen to turn on the artificial intelligence.
Digit-Eyes
Best. Barcode. Reader. Ever!
Scan UPC / EAN codes and hear the names of over 37 million products!
Make your own QR code labels on the Digit-Eyes website and print them on inexpensive address labels.
ColoredEye
ColoredEye will identify the colors from your camera in real-time!
Or you have option to identify colors within a saved photo.
*Color identifier app/devices are not 100% accurate as lighting is a big factor.
Light Detector
Have you ever listened to light? With Light Detector, now you can!
Light Detector transforms any natural or artificial light source it encounters into sound.
TapTapSee - Blind & Visually Impaired Camera
TapTapSee is designed to help the blind and visually impaired identify objects they encounter in their daily lives.
Dark Sky
Dark Sky can tell you at a glance exactly when it will rain (or snow) up to an hour in advance, so you're free to walk the dog or run out to lunch and know you'll stay dry.
You can also explore the most beautiful weather animation you've ever seen, both forward in time or back.
Talking Scientific Calculator
A comprehensively featured calculator that has become a favorite among adults and high school students around the world.
Designed for a wide range of users, this calculator has large colorful buttons, optional high contrast, full VoiceOver support, and unique to this calculator; the option to use speech for answers, buttons names and formulas!
Click Here for Talking Scientific Calculator
Category: Lifestyle
Be My Eyes - helping blind see
Be the eyes for a blind person in need of help remotely through a live video connection if you are sighted or be assisted by the network of sighted users if you are blind.
Be My Eyes is all about contributing to and benefiting from small acts of kindness, so hop on board and get involved!
Category: Productivity
Boop Light Detector
Boop is an an app to detect levels of light and interpret this information with sound. It allows its blind and visually impaired users to detect whether lights are on or off. It covers a broad range of light levels which spans from sensing daylight through open windows to checking whether the indicator light is on for a wifi router.
Click Here for Boop Light Detector
RE.minder
Is your To-Do list app full of To-Didn’ts? You meant to get them all done but you forgot to check it in time. Maybe, instead of a to-do list, you need RE.minder!
Seeing AI: Talking Camera for the Blind
Seeing AI is a free app that narrates the world around you. Designed for the blind and low vision community, this ongoing research project harnesses the power of AI to open up the visual world and describe nearby people, text, and objects.
TextGrabber + Translator
TextGrabber + Translator easily and quickly scans, translates and saves your chosen text from virtually any printed material.
Talking Goggles - a camera with speech
Talking Goggles can recognize images and speaks out what it finds.
It recognizes almost any image within seconds.
Including logos, landmarks, books, products, artwork, text and more.
Click Here for Talking Goggles
KNFB Reader
The highly anticipated KNFB Reader converts printed text into high quality speech to provide accurate, fast, and efficient access to both single and multiple page documents with the tap of a button on the iPhone.
Picture accuracy is facilitated by a Field of View Report, Automatic Page Detection, and Tilt Control.
Dropbox
Dropbox lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily.
Access any file you save to your Dropbox from all your computers, iPhone, iPad, and the web.
With Dropbox you'll always have your important memories and work with you.
Microsoft Word
Now Word documents look better than ever on your tablet and phone.
When you edit or create documents, you can be confident they will look exactly how you want across PC, Mac, tablet and phone.
Voice Dream Writer
Voice Dream Writer helps everyone write better; Text-to-speech proofreading reduces mistakes, phonetic and meaning search help you use the right words, and an active outline helps you organize and improve the structure of your writing.
Click Here for Voice Dream Writer
Category: Navigation
Google Maps
The Google Maps app for iPhone and iPad makes navigating your world faster and easier.
Find the best spots in town and the information you need to get there via transit Voice-guided GPS navigation for driving, biking, and walking.
NearBy Explorer
Nearby Explorer is a full featured GPS app designed for use by people who are blind. Instead of just providing directions, it describes the environment in ways comparable to reading signage or observing road characteristics.
Click Here for NearBy Explorer
BlindSquare
BlindSquare makes you sense what's around you.
The only thing you need to do is listen.
Transit App: Real Time Bus & Subway Tracker with Offline Schedules
Find out when your ride is coming NOW.
Arrival times and directions for transit routes near you, using real-time data.
All transport options: bus, subway, bike share, Uber, car2go, and more.
Ariadne GPS
Ariadne GPS is more than a simple gps app.Besides offering you the possibility to know your position and to get information about the street, the number, etc.
It also lets you explore the map of what's around you.
Seeing Eye GPS
The Seeing Eye GPS is a fully accessible turn-by-turn GPS iPhone app with all the normal navigation features plus features unique to blind users.
Category: Education
Voice Dream Reader
The world's most accessible reading tool.
With advanced text-to-speech and a highly configurable screen layout, it can be tailored to suit every reading style from completely auditory to completely visual, plus synchronized combination of both.
Voice Dream Reader supports reading PDF and Word documents, DRM-free EPUB and DAISY eBooks, Web pages and more.
It's directly integrated with Bookshare, Dropbox, G-Drive, Evernote, Pocket, Instapaper, and Gutenberg.
Click Here for Voice Dream Reader
Talking Typer
Talking Typer is an accessible typing and computer keyboard tutorial app with a keyboard game to help increase speed and accuracy in a fun environment! Learn to type or improve your skills with drills, practice lessons, keyboard explorer, and an entertaining game. It is designed for blind and visually impaired students, but can be used by sighted students too.
Category: Business
Rev Voice Recorder: Audio Transcription and Dictation
Organize and edit recordings on your phone.
Share via email, Dropbox, Evernote, and GDrive.
Download with iTunes sync.
Click Here for Rev Voice Recorder
Category: Books
Dolphin EasyReader
EasyReader is a FREE accessible reading app for readers with dyslexia, low vision or blindness. Browse & download from the World's largest collection of talking book and newspaper libraries. Or copy text from anywhere on your phone & hear EasyReader read it back to you. Experience perfectly synchronized text & audio. Or for text only titles, EasyReader can add a human sounding voice of your choice. Boost comfort or contrast - choose colours, text size and highlights to suit your visual needs.
BARD Mobile
The BARD Mobile app provides access to braille and talking books directly from the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD).
BARD contains nearly 50,000 books, magazines, and music scores in audio and braille formats, with new selections added daily.
Category: News
NFB-NEWSLINER Mobile by National Federation of the Blind
NFB-NEWSLINER is an information source designed to keep persons who are unable to read conventional newsprint who want to be informed about current events locally, nationally, and around the world.
It features the text of over three hundred newspapers, forty magazines, plus personalized television listings.
In order to use this application, you must be a NFB-NEWSLINER subscriber with a valid identification and security code.
To learn more, view eligibility requirements for this free service, and complete an online application, please visit http://www.nfbnewsline.org or call (866) 504-7300.
Click Here for NFB-NEWSLINER Mobile
Category: Reference
Parcel - Delivery Tracking
With this application you can promptly access tracking information for 265 delivery services, including UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, TNT, LaserShip, Aramex, OnTrac, China Post, SingPost, vPost and many other postal services.
Click Here for Parcel - Delivery Tracking
Category: Health & Fitness
TravelEar: Listen to the World
Travelear promises to take your ears on an adventure like never before! You can finally go to a variety of destinations and environments with a pair of headphones and the click of a button. With Travelear you can hop across the pond and experience the hustle and bustle of London's famous Flower Market or even take a trip down to New Orleans jazz-filled streets. If you're not in the mood for a new city sound then you can always get up close and personal with forest wildlife or simply sit back and relax on your porch as a summer thunderstorm passes by. Let our sounds immerse you into an environmental narrative and make you feel like you are actually there.
Stepz: Pedometer & Step Counter for Tracking Steps
Stepz is a convenient step counter app that leverages the clever Apple Motion Coprocessor which collects your motion data automatically in the background while saving battery life. This simple pedometer app has been specifically developed for the iPhone and Apple Watch.
Category: Food & Drink
ALL ACCESS: Scan logos, photos and QR codes to access menus & REVEAL A DEAL Coupons
All Access is great for everyone, and is ideal for Blind, Low-Vision, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Non-Verbal and Non-English speaking users.
Menus and other options can be read out loud, using Apple's VoiceOver or our own high quality TTS (Text-To-Speech) by turning Talking Hints ON in the app's settings.
You can 'build your order' and have it spoken out loud to the waiter staff!
All Bread Recipes
There's nothing quite like warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven home-baked bread, as these delectable recipes so comfortingly prove.
Here you'll find recipes for: Banana Bread, Biscuits and Scones, Breakfast Breads and many more!
Click Here for All Bread Recipies
Tappy Menu
Our simple design and layout provides you with the easiest way to find exactly what you're looking for in every restaurant. Tappy Menu eliminates the need for multiple apps of your favorite eateries and also saves the frustration of a mobile friendly restaurant website.This easy to use app gives blind and visually impaired people the freedom to read restaurant menus in a whole new way. Not only will visually impaired people be able to read the menu without sighted help, but they will never have to rely on bulky, out-dated, braille menus!Simply tap on the establishment of your choice, and scroll through the detailed menus, nutrition facts, ingredients, etc. Promote this amazing app to all your favorite eateries.
Category: Medical
Mango Health - Medication Manager, Drug Interactions, and Pill Reminder
Mango Health for iPhone and Apple Watch makes managing your medications fun, easy, and rewarding.
App feature highlights include: dose reminders, drug interaction info, a health history, and best of all - points and rewards, just for taking your meds!
Rewards include: gift cards from your favorite stores, donations to leading charities, and more.
VisionAssist
VisionAssist is a new category of handheld electronic magnifier that utilizes your smartphone.
It is designed to help people who are visually impaired with with Low Vision conditions including Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy, Cataracts, Color Blindness, and AMD (age related macular degeneration).
Why purchase an expensive dedicated electronic video magnifier when you can utilize your smartphone or tablet that is always with you!
PillPack
Automatically import your medications, sort into virtual "packs" by time of day, and create flexible reminders based on time of day, day of week, an location.
Have a Suggestion?
If you have an iOS app suggestion, feel free to email us at: junruh@blindnesssupport.com with the name and link to the app.
If you want more information you can contact us at the main office by calling:
(951) 341-9244.