Vision Resources

Various apps we found that are useful for Blind and Low Vision persons using Apple and Andriod products.

4to24 App: Preparing Your Child for Success

Accessible Reading Comparison Chart, developed by Julie Ann Lieberman, MS and Laura Cantagallo, help the user decipher the differences between a number of accessible PDF reading apps available in Google Play.

APH Free Apps

AroundMe - App that quickly allows user to find out information about their surroundings. Free from AroundMe on iTunes. Works with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Ballyland Apps by Sonokids is an educational iPad game that helps young children with vision impairment to learn and practice a number of VoiceOver gestures.

BARD (Braille and Audio Recording Download) which is offered as a way to download audio books and WebBraille files from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) now is available as a mobile app for iOS from the iTunes and App Store.  To access this free app download visit BARD on iTunes. View the user guide for the newly released NLS BARD Mobile App.

Be My Eyes Be My Eyes is a free app that connects blind and low-vision people with sighted volunteers and company representatives for visual assistance through a live video call.

Braille Tutor, from iEnable, is an app to teach and practice UEB braille skills. Visit Perkins eLearning to read the app review by Diane Brauner. You can learn more about Braille Tutor by visiting the iEnable website. Braille Tutor is free through the Apple store for lessons 1-19, uncontracted braille. There is a fee for lessons 20-91 in contracted UEB. Free at Braille Tutor on iTunes.

Digit-Eyes - An audio scanner and labeler, enables people without vision to read barcode labels. $9.99 from Digit-Eyes on iTunes. Requires iOS 6.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Digit-Eyes Lite QR Bar Code Reader and Labeler – Audio scanner and labeler for the iPhone or iPod Touch. Free from Digit-Eyes Lite on iTunes.

Draw2Measure Protractor is a free app for iOS® devices designed for students who are blind and visually impaired, and can be used by sighted students too.  It gives all students an alternative way to measure angles.  Students can place an angle over the screen of a device, such as a phone or tablet, and trace along the sides of the angle with a fingertip or stylus. The app records the locations of the sides and then calculates the angle. For objects that may not fit on a screen, students can find measurements by rotating the device itself, which utilizes the built-in gyroscope sensor to measure the angle. It reports angle measurements in both degrees and radians. Watch a short YouTube video to see the Draw2Measure app in action. Draw2Measure is a free download from the Apple App Store and works with devices running iOS 8 or later. It cannot be downloaded directly from APH. Free on Draw2Measure Protractor on iTunes.

eMagnifier- Variable zoom from 1x to 8x with option to freeze and save image to camera roll. Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Free from eMagnifier on iTunes.

Eye Note - A mobile device application to denominate paper currency. For use on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Free from Eye Note on iTunes.

Fleksy - This auto-correct iOS app allows blind and visually impaired users to type faster without worrying about typing mistakes. It is compatible with the iPhone and iPad. Free from Fleksy on iTunes and offers in-app purchases.

OneStep Reader - App for iOS recently released version 2.7.3 which now allows the user to take a picture by pressing the Volume Up button on their device and the Volume Down button to execute field of view. Cost $99.99 from OneStep Reader on iTunes.

Learning Ally Link for mobile is an educational reading app designed for learning through listening. Learning Ally provides more than 80,000 human-narrated audiobooks and audio textbooks for dyslexic, blind and visually impaired readers. Free on Learning Ally on iTunes.

MBraille is an intriguing new iOS app. The $39 version allows you to write in contracted English Braille, send a variety of communications, and edit. The free version lets you learn the app and send tweets. To download visit MBraille on iTunes.

overTHERE is a free, accessibility app that helps individuals who are blind explore and interact with the surrounding environment by using virtual audible signs. Free from overTHERE on iTunes.

Prizmo Go- Instant Text Capture is a free, iOS app that allows the user to quickly capture printed text with the camera. Recognized and selected text can be read aloud. The app works with VoiceOver, provides spoken guidance prior to shooting and has text-to-speech capabilities for reading printed documents. Free from Prizmo Go on iTunes.

Seeing AI, developed by Microsoft, has been released to the Apple App Store. The app harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to open up the visual world and describe nearby people, text and objects. The app uses artificial intelligence and the camera on your iPhone to perform a number of useful functions: reading documents, identifying a product based on its barcode, recognizing people based on their face, providing a description, and recognizing images within other apps. Free from Seeing AI on iTunes.

Talking Calculator - Scientific calculator for blind and low vision users. Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. $1.99 from Talking Calculator on iTunes.

TapTapSee - An iOS app to help blind persons identify objects they encounter in their daily lives. The user takes a picture of what is in front of them and the app identifies and speaks the identification back to the user. The application also features instant recognition on all US paper currency. Free from TapTapSee on iTunes. In-app purchases available.

ThumbJam- With over 40 sampled instruments and hundreds of scales this app allows user to effortlessly play any musical genre.  Compatible with iPod Touch, iPad and iPhone. $8.99 on ThumbJam on iTunes.

VisualBraille - Translate common words, sentences, and numbers from text to Braille. For use with iPhone and iPad.

VisualBraille Lite - Free app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad from VisualBraille Lite on iTunes.

VisionSim by Braille Institute - A Free app developed by Braille Institute of America for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices to simulate nine degenerative eye diseases. Free from VisionSim on iTunes.

VO Lab is a new app by Sonokids for adolescents and adults who are blind or have low vision. This educational iPad game is designed for students aged 14+ to learn touch gestures and concepts of VoiceOver and VoiceOver gestures, Apple’s built-in screen reader on iOS Devices. The app is both entertaining and educational, and provides beginning learners of VoiceOver with opportunities to gain the required foundation skills to use the iPad or iPhone independently. App is $4.99 on VO Lab on iTunes.

Voice Dream Reader is a mobile reading tool, text-to-speech (TTS) app for iOS. It comes with 78 voices, will extract text from PDF, ePub, text-based DAISY, Word, and Text files in Dropbox, Google Drive or on your device. Users can listen to web pages with built-in Browser, or on their Pocket or Instapaper reading List. It reads books from Gutenberg and Bookshare. It has a personal pronunciation dictionary, sleep timer, work and line highlighting, VoiceOver support, large font size and customizable colors, and navigates through text by sentence, paragraph, page, and chapter and 15, 30, 60 seconds. Users can add bookmarks, highlights, and notes. For more information, visit the Voice Dream website. Available from the Voice Dream Reader on iTunes for $9.99.