by Joe Lonergan
This week we are going to cover the apps that I cannot do without on my
iPhone. I will talk about these as a VoiceOver user with little or no vision
and the use of said apps with the support of Siri.
This doesn't mean the apps I spend the most time using online such as
Facebook or X (formally known as Twitter), or any other social media app
that we might mindlessly scroll during our spare time. I am referring to
those apps that I use to make life easier and that helps me to be more
independent as a blind person. It is a question we are often asked - what
are the best apps to download on my phone? The answer can be very subjective
and in fact, it is not a one-size-fits-all kind of answer, so I will give my
view from a VoiceOver user perspective, and we will cover low vision the
next time around.
So here we go the number one app on my iPhone is:
1. Seeing AI
I put Seeing AI in number 1 because of its versatility and usefulness. By
its name, you can guess it sees things with the iPhone camera and uses AI to
tell you what it is. Seeing AI has cleverly separated everything into
channels such as short text, document, product, currency, scene, person,
world, colour, and light.
To be honest I don't use all these channels but the ones I do use I use them
a lot. For example, I use the document channel for anything from reading my
post to reading a bag of frozen chips out of my freezer, I do not find the
short text channel much use. I use currency to check how much is in my
wallet before I go out, and with the new AI features, I will be using the
scene channel a lot more going forward.
I can use the product channel to recognise products with a barcode on them.
I can grab products from my pantry quickly and point the camera at the
package and once it recognises the barcode it tells me the name of the
product instantly.
I have set up Siri Shortcuts in this app also so I can access channels
quickly by saying commands like :
. Siri, recognise currency
. Siri, recognise document
. Siri, recognise scene
. Siri, recognise product
2. Be My Eyes
My second favourite app is Be My Eyes.
The great thing about this app is you can actually call a volunteer for help
and have a video call with a human for those difficult tasks like checking
dates on food products or finding something on the ground. Be My Eyes has
also recently started rolling out a new feature called Be My AI where you
take a picture and it provides you with a detailed description of what's in
that picture. It is a real game-changer and we have written extensively
about this feature already.
Another great feature of this app is an area called specialized help, which
gives you a direct hotline to Google, Microsoft, Sky Ireland, and more, I do
not use this feature enough.
I have gone into settings and set up Siri Shortcuts in Be My Eyes to do the
following:
. Siri, call a volunteer
. Siri, call Microsoft
3. Soundscape Community
Now I will mention my favourite mobility apps.
When I am out and about, and I want to know my surroundings I open up the
Soundscape app and put in my AirPods Pro.
As I pass points of interest, the ones on my left are announced in my left
ear and the ones on my right are announced in my right ear, giving me that
3D sound experience. It is also great for announcing intersections. I can
set markers to my favourite places like a bench, or I can put a marker on an
upcoming obstacle like steps or overhanging branches. It also has an option
to put a beacon on locations, but I prefer to use step-by-step navigation
from Apple Maps for this instead.
Again, you can go into Settings and set up some Siri Shortcuts. My favourite
shortcut is Siri save marker, which allows me to save a marker quickly.
Others include:
. Siri what's around me?
. Siri what's ahead of me?
4. Apple Maps
I also like to use Apple Maps because I can request directions with Siri. I
can put my home address and my work address into my contact card. Then I can
give requests like:
. Siri, take me home, and then step-by-step directions will be announced to
my home, handy if I am in a taxi.
. Siri, give me walking directions to Green Street, then step-by-step
walking instructions startup.
I find the voice prompts very good and not too distracting.
I can ask Siri where am I? VoiceOver will announce my location and it will
appear on the screen. I will get options to share my location if I wish.
5. WhatsApp
I couldn't write this without mentioning a messaging app that I use a lot, I
could have mentioned a couple of apps here, but I chose WhatsApp because of
its versatility and many uses in everyday life.
WhatsApp is great for connecting with groups, family, or common interest
groups, or even if it's to get updates from your local sports or GAA club
about upcoming training sessions, etc.
It's good for sending short videos, photos, links, PDF files, and voice
notes. Also, you can make video calls and audio calls all over the WhatsApp
network.
I receive a lot of photos in WhatsApp and with the arrival of AI in other
apps I can find out what's in the photos by tapping share and then
navigating down to recognise with Seeing AI or Describe with Be My Eyes and
get a detailed description so I can get involved in conversations and stay
in the loop.
WhatsApp also works with Siri, which means I can say things like:
. Siri, make a WhatsApp call to Tommy
. Siri, send a WhatsApp message to Tommy
. Siri, read my new WhatsApp messages
So that's the top five apps I cannot do without on my iPhone. Honourable
mentions have to be given to Facetime, MS Teams, and the Podcasts app.
If you want any more information on how to use these apps on your smartphone
contact:
labs@xxxxxxx <mailto:labs@xxxxxxx>
NCBI Technology News.
