Dear Fedi, advice and suggestions please! My father is losing his eyesight due to age-related macular degeneration; he has some peripheral and distance vision left, but almost no near vision, and is for example unable to read either screens or print. Might anyone have any ideas for making his life easier, either with assistive technologies (which is the best screen reader?) or general tips for navigating daily life?
Boosts for reach welcome!
❤️
#AskFedi
VoiceOver (Apple) and TalkBack (Android)
full screen readers already on any iPhone/iPad/Mac or Android device, no purchase needed. Also worth knowing: iOS/macOS have separate Zoom and Magnifier features that work alongside VoiceOver rather than instead of it, which suits someone with retained peripheral vision better than a pure audio-only screen reader.
Seeing AI (Microsoft, free, iOS) points a phone camera at printed text, documents, or products and reads them aloud; also does currency and basic scene description. Genuinely well-regarded and free is a big deal here.
Be My Eyes (free) : connects to sighted volunteers or an AI assistant via video call for anything the automated tools can't handle, reading a label, checking a stove dial, sorting mail.
@tuban_muzuru really helpful, thank you