[nezza-_-]

Couple of things I learned from helping some blind people:

- All used iPhones (Check out https://www.apple.com/accessibility/vision/ )

- Disable passcode if he's okay with it

- Enable VoiceOver (Settings -> Accessibility) and learn how to enable/disable it (triple-tap the side button. Might be difficult for elderly) - Apple video on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDm7GiKra28

- Having a learning partner really helps the blind person. Try to learn to use a phone blind with him, it will allow you to help debug his (most definitely occuring) issues

- Watch some videos on how blind people use the iPhone, lots of tips there. For example Molly Burke, or even simple ones like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FVjLXIaBC4

- For elderly, an iPad is really nice. Especially as dexterity gets worse it's easier to use blindly. Also usability between iPhone and iPad is almost the same, so easy transition between both (i.e. on the go)

- For movies, check out Greta. It plays the AD in parallel with a movie via the iPhone - so they can watch movies together with the family, without everyone listening to AD https://www.gretaundstarks.de/starks/GretaAndStarks

And bring lots of patience :)

What is really amazing is how fast people tend to improve: VoiceOver lets you adjust the speech speed etcpp, and so it "grows" with you

[ceautery]

I worked under a blind manager when the iPhone first came out. He was a former dev before his vision started to go. He was a power user while blind, and knew twice as many hot keys as I did, had his screen reader speed cranked up to a rate incomprehensible to me.

I remember how happy he was with the iPhone. He said it was the first device he was able to use without special accessibility software, and that was in 2007, I imagine the experience is better today.

I’m sure you’re (OP) already on the ball with ways to help him, but if you haven’t looked into movies with described audio, apparently it makes a whale of a difference.

[baz00]

I was served by a blind person in the Apple Store this year who was using an iPhone as an aid. Absolutely amazing.

[crooked-v]

One other non-obvious but major thing there for a newly blind person using an iPhone - the Magnifier app can generate basic spoken descriptions of whatever object or text you point it at [1][2], including following your hand to tell you what text is on button labels [3].

[1]: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/receive-image-descrip...

[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI0KrPmS-DI

[3]: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7zHGBkkQGus

[colingoodman]

You can also use Siri to enable/disable VoiceOver

[lathiat]

Apple accessibility including VoiceOver is amazing and from everything I read second to none. Though I don’t have first hand experience on that, I did spend several hours one time lined up for an iPhone talking with a blind girl - she was showing me how she uses both her Mac and iPhone with voiceover and with the screen totally black. Was a fun night.

[sleepychu]

Does it turn off the backlight too? I wonder what the battery life you get if you don't need the LCD is!

[bregma]

I don't know if you're aware of the irony presented by suggesting videos about how to use a phone if you're visually impaired.

[kelnos]

I read that as a suggestion for (sighted) OP to watch the videos so he could understand how to help his (blind) grandfather better.

[midasuni]

The person asking isn’t blind

[lexicality]

Is there a website that works like youtube but for audio only? Because otherwise thoughtfully produced videos are going to be the best way for someone who doesn't know how to use a screen reader efficiently to gather information.

[dredmorbius]

Podcasts generally are the audio alternative to YouTube. Thankfully, podcasts remain largely decentralised and aren't restricted to a single website or service.

Podcast search is something of a challenge. There are a few websites that claim to do this though in my experience they do so poorly.

Podcast Republic (Android & iOS) is an app I've used that has an excellent podcast search capability --- both podcasts as a whole and individual episodes, with shownotes indexed (protip to podcast creators: your shownotes are themselves and excellent discovery tool, do not neglect them).

PR isn't my main podcast driver (I use AntennaPod from F-Droid), but I will bring it up to search for specific content when I need to do so.

[luplex]

Podcasts I guess

[gostsamo]

Either I'm not blind or I'm not using a phone, because I have an android. With pass phrase, thank you very much.

Both IPhone and Android have screen readers, with Android having the ability for alternative sr-s and voices. The Iphone is more integrated as far as I know, but the default google apps are pretty accessible on Android as well. There is a mailing list for blind android users if you want more advice, but if your grandfather is used to the Iphone, there is no reason not to use it. The default apple recourse on the topic is applevis, if I remember correctly.

[1f60c]

"Every blind person this person has helped uses an iPhone" doesn't imply "every blind person uses an iPhone."

[gostsamo]

you are right. the sr pronounced "used" as "use" and I've took it for more generalizating statement than it was. Still, the idea of removing security because people are presumed unable to enter their passwords or because it would make it more convenient for someone else triggered me badly.