Jim Rossman: Phone tips for the visually impaired - TribLIVE

Google Assistant, Siri can help users with phone calls, text messaging and so much more.

I’ve written a few recent columns about technology helping seniors, but I received an email with a slightly different request.

“My situation is a little different. My sister is blind. Any ideas of tech that could make her life easier? Right now, she relies on Siri if she has to make an emergency call. An Apple phone does no good since she cannot feel the numbers. Any advice would be appreciated.”

Your sister is on the right track with Siri, and not just for emergency calls.

I also want to say this advice isn’t just for iPhone users. I get some grief when I’m answering a question from an iPhone user and I leave out Android users.

Google Assistant on Android phones is just as capable as Apple’s Siri when it comes to dialing a phone.

The best advice is to input all of your frequently called numbers into the phone’s contacts.

Setting up hands-free access for Siri and Google Assistant is done in Settings.

That way, the caller can simply say, “Hey Siri, call David Smith,” or “OK, Google, call 214-555-1212.” Calling by name or number is very simple. You will get spoken verification of what call is about to be dialed.

You also might need to specify a number if you have a contact with more than one phone number saved. If I tell Siri to call my mom, I’ll be asked whether I want to call her home or her iPhone.

iOS and Android phones can also be set to announce incoming caller ID information so a visually impaired person can know who’s calling. This is a pretty new feature for Android, so you may need to upgrade your operating system to get this feature.

You can also ask Siri or Google Assistant to read your text messages and dictate outgoing texts.

Android and Apple phones have more accessibility options that can help visually impaired users.

Apple has VoiceOver, which can read every bit of text on every screen on your phone, including such important things as battery percentage and the time of day.

Android has a similar feature called TalkBack.

You’ll find these features in your phone’s settings under Accessibility.

This is just a small taste of the accessibility options for iOS and Android users. There is so much to learn.

If you do a Google search for technology tips for the visually impaired, it brings up weeks’ worth of reading.

One page I found helpful was this one from the American Academy of Ophthalmology: bit.ly/3hc7DSl.

Here’s a page on Apple’s VoiceOver: apple.co/3zVPaAT. And here is a tutorial on Google’s TalkBack: support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/6283677?hl=en.

If you have any tips you’d like to pass along, send them to me at jrossmandallasnews.com, and I’ll collect them for future columns.

Jim Rossman writes for The Dallas Morning News. He may be reached at jrossmandallasnews.com. Visit The Dallas Morning News at dallasnews.com.

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