List of apps

This is a list of some apps that people with vision impairment in New Zealand can use to enable
their participation in activities of daily life.
The focus is on iOS apps, as Apple devices appear to be highly rated by those who are living
with blindness or visual impairment. An added bonus is that if you download the iPhone version
of an app to your iPad, the font and display is larger.
My sources were: interviews with people living with visual impairment, an occupational therapy
student who worked with a group of people with vision impairment, my own exploration on the
iPad and internet, and the following references:
Royal National Institute of Blind People. (2014). iOS apps. Retrieved from
http://www.rnib.org.uk/information-everyday-living-reading-ebook-app-reviews/ios-apps
stella@appadvice.com. (2014). Apps for the blind and visually impaired. Retrieved from
http://appadvice.com/applist_ipad_client_view/apps-for-the-visually-impaired
Woodbridge, D. (2013). iSee. Retrieved from
https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/isee/id786823972?mt=11&ls=1

List of apps

Categories Ctrl + Click on the title to navigate, or scroll through the

document
Use to get around

Use to enhance vision

Use to read, write, and organise

Use for shopping 6

Use to listen to podcasts
Use to magnify

Use to explore iPad apps

Use to educate family and friends 8

Use to talk

Use to play

Use to assess for vision impairment

Name of
app

Features

iOS

Andro Pric
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Use to get around

Zoomy Zoomy Ltd

Large font and on screen keypad.

Fixed fare to airport.
Remembers your location.
Pre-load a credit card.
Emails you a receipt.
Promo codes give you a discount.
Create favourite locations, such as home, airport,
doctor, work, anything you like.
Only available in Auckland, Wellington, and
Christchurch.
No mobility service may be able to add this
information in the notes.

Free

Name of
app
MetroInfo

Features
Official app for anyone in Christchurch and Timaru
that wants to use Metro Bus service.

- Rhod
Pickavance Shows you closest stop and hooks into the real time
tracking system to tell you how far the next bus is
and where it is.

iOS

Andro Pric
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Also lets you browse all stops for any route, save
favorites etc.
Latest version contains real time bus position and
removal of the discontinued Metro card data feed.
iMove
-EveryWare
Technologi
es

Use with profile: know the address where you are,

know the points of interest around you, record
speech notes attached to certain locations,
customise messages, orientation and speed, about
speech notes, nearby points of interest.

Free

Name of
app
Ariadne
GPS Giovani
Ciaffoni

Features

iOS

Talking maps allow you to explore the world around

you by moving your finger around the map. While
exploring, crossing a street is signaled by vibration.
It has a favorites feature and can be used to
announce stops on the bus or train. Rotating maps
keep you centered, with territory behind the user on
the bottom of the screen and what is ahead on the
top portion. Available in multiple languages, Ariadne
GPS works anywhere Google Maps are available.

Works with VoiceOver

https://itunes.apple.com/NZ/app/id441063072?
mt=8

Andro Pric
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e

$7.49

Name of
app

Features

iOS

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Use to enhance vision

TapTapSee
Blind and
Visually
Impaired
Camera
- Image
Searcher

This is an iPhone app so it appears larger on iPad.

TapTapSee is designed to help the blind and visually
impaired identify objects they encounter in their
daily lives.
Simply double tap the screen to take a photo of
anything, at any angle, and hear the app speak the
identification back to you (Note: Spoken
identification requires VoiceOver to be turned on).
A written description is also provided.
* Identify images from your Camera Roll
* Repeat last image identification
* Share identification via text, email, or social media
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/taptapsee-blindvisually-impaired/id567635020?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=com.msearcher.taptapsee.android&hl=en

Free

Name of
app
Light
Detector
EveryWare
Technologi
es
VM Alert Adam
Uccello

Features
Point your iPhone camera in any direction. You will
hear a higher or lower sound depending on the
intensity of the light.

iOS

Andro Pric
id
e

$2.59

$2.59

Use to understand where the light fixtures are and

whether they are switched on, check if there is a
window and where it is, find out whether the shades
are drawn by moving the device up and down.
Video Motion Alert (VM Alert) is an advanced video
processing application for the iPhone capable of
detecting motion seen by the iPhone camera.
Use to alert you to colleagues walking up behind
you, or visitors arriving can warn with a tone or
alarm.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vm-alert-videomotion-detector/id387523411?mt=8

Name of
app
Color ID Free GreenGar
Studios

Features
Color Identifier uses the camera on your iPhone or
iPod touch to speak the names of colors in realtime. It's an Augmented Reality app for discovering
the names of the colors around you!
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/color-idfree/id402233600?mt=8

iOS

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Free

Name of
app

Features

LookTel
LookTel Recognizer allows users with visual
Recognizer impairments or blindness to instantly recognize
- IPPLEX
everyday objects such as packaged goods in the
pantry, identity cards, soda cans at the grocery
store, or CDs in a music collection. Once a library
has been built, users can simply point the iPhone's
camera at an object and the phone will recognize
and describe the item instantly.
The app does not require an internet connection,
which means it will read money at any location, and
at anytime.
The app does not require an internet connection,
which means it will read money at any location, and
at anytime.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/looktelrecognizer/id501088555?ls=1&mt=8

iOS

Andro Pric
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$12.9
9

Name of
app
LookTel
Money
Reader
- IPPLEX

Features

iOS

LookTel Money Reader instantly recognizes currency

and speaks the denomination, enabling people
experiencing visual impairments or blindness to
quickly and easily identify and count bills.

Point the camera of your iOS device at a bill and the

application will tell you the denomination in realtime. Twenty one currencies are supported,
including the New Zealand Dollar, Polish Zloty,
Russian Ruble, Saudi Arabian Riyal, Singapore
Dollar, and United Arab Emirates Dirham.
Theres no need to hold the iOS device still or
capture a photo and wait for a result. The app does
not require an internet connection, which means it
will read money at any location, and at anytime.
LookTel Money Reader provides Voice Over support
for several languages including English, Spanish,
French, Italian, German, Polish, Portugese, Russian,
Korean, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian,
Japanese, Greek, Hungarian, and Mandarin.
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/looktel-moneyreader/id417476558?mt=8

Andro Pric
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$12.9
9

Name of
app
VizWiz ROHCHI

Features
VizWiz is an iPhone app that allows blind or visually
impaired users to receive quick answers to
questions about their surroundings.
You take a photo of an object or location and ask a
question verbally.
VizWiz combines automatic image processing,
anonymous web workers, and members of the
user's social network in order to collect fast and
accurate answers to the questions.
More info: http://www.vizwiz.org/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vizwiz/id439686043
?mt=8

iOS

Andro Pric
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Free

Name of
app

Features

Is it dark
outside? Dirk
Malorny.

Based on your current location and time zone, this

app determines, if it is dark outside or not.

Paul
Rogalinski

Works with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

iOS

Andro Pric
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Free

Free.

Additional, the current position, date, time and

times of todays sunrise and sunset are shown.
Information for blind users:
If you have VoiceOver enabled, you just have to tap
the middle of the screen after launching the app, to
hear "YES" or "NO"
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/is-it-darkoutside/id336536208?mt=8

Use to read, write, and organise

iBooks Apple Inc

Works with the built-in accessibility features - Zoom,

Invert Colors and VoiceOver.
Allows you to change the font of book content up to
approximately 40 pt.
Has three colour themes.
Can purchase books from within the app.
RNIB review and tutorials

Some
books
cost.

Name of
app

Features

List
List Recorder enables both visually-impaired and
Recorder - sighted users to create lists of items that can
Sixth Mode contain text and audio. For example:
Solutions
Record information given to you by phone or
face-to-face conversation
Record information someone reads for you such
as mail, articles or recipes and add text notes
Copy information from a website and add
auditory notes
Email a text or audio item you created to
someone else
List Recorder has the ability to be used eyes-free by
integrating VoiceOver (iPhone's built-in screen
reader) with additional accessibility features.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/listrecorder/id381936335?mt=8

iOS

Andro Pric
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$1.29
light
versio
n
$9.99
full
versio
n

Name of
app

Features

Siri - Apple Use voice prompts to use the iPad/iPhone features,

Inc
eg alarm, favourite radio station, weather forecast,
keep track of where you are on the bus on the way
to work, read out appointments, set reminders,
make quick notes, look up and call people, send
iMessages, set a timer, dictate text rather than
type.
Only on devices that came installed with iOS 8.

iOS

Andro Pric
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Free
with
iOS 8

Name of
app

Features

iOS

Dictation
and
Dragon
Mobile
Assistant
Nuance
Communic
ations

Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition

application powered by Dragon
NaturallySpeaking that allows you to easily speak
and instantly see your text or email messages.

Voice-to-text transcriptions that may be sent as

SMS, Email, or pasted into any application using the
clipboard
Submit update to Twitter & Facebook
Convenient editing feature that provides list of
suggested alternatives
Voice driven correction interface
Dragon Mobile Assistant (on Android)
Set reminders, make appointments, and search
the internet without lifting a finger.
Be prepared for your day and ask about the
weather or your upcoming appointments.
Turn on Attentive Mode to wake up your
assistant at any time, even if your screen is
locked.
Create your own voiceprint so your assistant
will be attentive to only your commands and no

Andro Pric
id
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Free.

Name of
app

Features

Voice Brief Voice Brief reads aloud your customized contents of:
- Dong Baik - Calendar
- Weather
- RSS news (Retrieves full websites and read)
- Google Reader (Retrieve full websites and read)
- Email*
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Stock prices
- Gmail notification
- Any custom sentence you type
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/voice-brief-text-tospeech/id423322440?mt=8

iOS

Andro Pric
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$3.79

Name of
app
Audibooks
from
Audible AMZN
Mobile LLC

Features
Designed to read audiobooks from your Amazon
account.
No in-app purchase available.
Membership is $14.95 a month.
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/audiobooks-fromaudible/id379693831?mt=8

iOS

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Free
app.

Name of
app

Features

iOS

Kindle AMZN
Mobile LLC

Download books from your Kindle/Amazon account.

Some of the books in the Kindle library can be

paired with the audiobook of the same title. If you
have both downloaded, you can read and listen
from inside the Kindle app.
Need to purchase book plus audio companion.
Cannot purchase in app need to visit Amazon
store.
Accessibility features make it easier for blind and
visually impaired customers to navigate their Kindle
libraries, read & interact with books, and more.
Enable VoiceOver in your device settings to begin. A
quick reference to gestures can be found under the
FAQ section in settings.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kindle-read-booksebooks-magazines/id302584613?mt=8

Andro Pric
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Free.

Name of
app
Read2Go
and
GoRead Benetech

Features
DAISY ebook reader for iOS works with Bookshare
only (www.bookshare.org).
Read words on the screen with synchronized text-tospeech (Read2Go audio on)
Read with highly natural Acapela voices and
navigate with VoiceOver gestures (Read2Go audio
on, VoiceOver on)
Read with Apple VoiceOver gestures and voice
(VoiceOver on, Read2Go audio off)
Read with many choices of font size, color and
backgrounds, and no voices (Read2Go and
VoiceOver off)
Read with Braille displays connected via Bluetooth
Adjust font size up to 70 pts
Adjust text-to-speech audio, either on or off for
text-only or text-to-speech mode
Adjust rate of audio
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/read2go/id4255859
03?mt=8

iOS

Andro Pric
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e

iOS $24.9
9
Andro
id Free

Name of
app

Features

iOS

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Use for shopping

Countdown This is an iPhone app so it appears larger on iPad.
shopping
- Create a shopping list
app
- App tells you which aisle the item is in
- Send your order to online shopping
- Browse specials
- Scan the barcode items in your pantry or at the
supermarket so you can replace them easily

Free

Free

Use to listen to podcasts

Podcasts

Ask Siri to play specific shows or stations by name,

- Apple, Inc like play TEDTalks
Adjust the playback speed of your audio or video
podcasts
Turn on Sleep Timer to automatically stop playing
a podcast while listening in bed
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/podcasts/id525463
029?mt=8

Name of
app

Features

iOS

Andro Pric
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Need to Free
investiga come
te
s with

Use to magnify
Zoom
Accessibilit
y feature
on the
iPad/iPhon
e

Camera Manufactu
er of
device, eg
Apple Inc,
Samsung

- Use as a magnifier, either full screen or using a

window.
- Adjustable lens (zoom in or out to the resolution
you need)
- Filters: inverted colours, grayscale, grayscale
inverted, low light
- Zoom in and out with a three-fingered tap
- Intuitive navigation using three fingers to slide
- Optional floating controller tool that can be
moved to where you like
Can be used as a magnifier.

the
devic
e.

Free
come
s with
the
devic
e

Name of
app
Lumin Mahmoud
Zabetian

Features
Lumin is:
- a set of high-resolution reading glasses, with you
wherever you take your iPhone
- a versatile magnifying glass with the ability to lock
a magnified image
Use to
- read restaurant menus with ease, even in low light
- read and share wine bottle labels
- zoom the fine print on contracts
- grab the serial number - in the dark - on the back
of that cable box
- check your teeth, or makeup
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/lumin/id480343142
?mt=8

iOS

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$1.29

Name of
app

Features

iOS

ViA has been designed to help identify apps that are

useful for adults and children who are blind or have
low vision, including those with additional
disabilities. Users can easily sort through the
500,000+ apps in the App Store and locate those
that were built specifically for, or provide
functionality to, the user with a visual impairment.

Andro Pric
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Use to explore iPad apps

ViA
(Visually
impaired
apps) Braille
Institute

Using the industry leading accessibility features

native to iOS devices, ViA allows users to sort apps
by category, price, and the App Store star rating.
The apps that appear in ViA are suggested by users,
educators, parents, and Braille Institute partner
organizations.
ViA can also be used by teachers, orientation &
mobility specialists, and rehabilitation therapists to
identify apps that enhance learning and support
educational outcomes, while family members will
find apps to assist loved ones in their daily lives.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/via-by-brailleinstitute/id528499232?mt=8

Free

Name of
app

Features

iOS

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Use to educate family and friends

VisionSim - Braille Institute's VisionSim (v3.0) app for iPhone
Braille
and iPad was developed to allow people with
Institute
healthy vision to see the world through the eyes of
a person experiencing one of nine degenerative eye
diseases. The eye diseases that are simulated are:
age-related macular degeneration, cataracts,
chronic open-angle glaucoma, corneal edema,
diabetic retinopathy, homonymous hemianopia,
macular degeneration, retinal detachment, retinitis
pigmentosa.
This application was designed to foster
understanding and compassion for the millions of
people affected by these eye conditions.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/visionsim-by-brailleinstitute/id525114829?mt=8

Free

Name of
app

Features

iOS

Send and receive voice messages with other HeyTell

users with the press of a single large button.

Andro Pric
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Use to talk
HeyTell Voxilate

Use HeyTell as a walkie talkie, intercom, or instant

voice messaging system to send quick voice
messages to friends and family with iPhones or
iPods. Use the integrated geolocation feature to find
your friends when they've given you bad directions
and you're just around the corner!
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/heytell/id35279183
5?mt=8

Free.

Name of
app

Features

iOS

Andro Pric
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$1.29

Use to play
Audiorun Alexander
Shen

Traverse the rooftops of the city with nothing but

your sense of hearing? This game has also been
designed in such a way that the visually impaired
can also enjoy it.
Please note: As this is a game designed for the
visually impaired and blind, there are no actual
visuals corresponding to the rooftop running in the
game. It is best experienced in a quiet area with
headphones.
Users using VoiceOver will have to disable
VoiceOver while this game is running for it to work
properly.

Name of
app
BlindSide Epicycle

Features
Accessible for blind and sighted users.
BlindSide throws you into a fully-immersive 3d audio
adventure set in a world youll never see. Put on
headphones, hold your iPhone, and face the
direction you want to go. Listen as the world rotates
around you and explore the darkness. The gyros in
your device will point your in-game avatar the same
direction you're facing in the real world!

iOS

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$3.79

$6.49

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blindside/id524772
888?mt=8
Papa
Sangre Somethin
Else

Explore an entire world created in real-time using

incredibly realistic 3D binaural audio
"See" with your ears we'll teach you how, and
then it's up to you to survive
Turn, walk and run using a beautiful, intuitive
interface
A fully accessible game, tested by the RNIB.
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/papasangre/id407536885?mt=8

Name of
app

Features

Stem
Stumper Ananse
Production
s LLC

Puzzle game for the iPhone and iPod Touch you can
play with your eyes closed.

Wheres
my rubber
ducky? Accessibilit
y
Foundation

First person shooter game designed for the blind

and visually impaired.

iOS

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e

Free

Free

The app is fully compatible with VoiceOver.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stemstumper/id428175527?mt=8

This app is compatible with iPhone 3GS+ and iPad

(WIFI + Cellular), but does not work on the iPod and
iPad (WIFI only). Because GPS and compass are
both required.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wheres-my-rubberducky/id515304336?mt=8

Name of
app

Features

iOS

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Use for Functional vision assessment

SightBook

The SightBook mobile App contains a set of

quantitative near vision tests which an individual
can take at home or elsewhere using an Internetconnected mobile device. This self-testing enables
the individual and, if desired, his or her physician, to
detect changes in eye function, thereby facilitating
timely diagnosis and therapy.
The SightBook mobile App tests include Snellen
Visual Acuity, Amsler Grid, Contrast Sensitivity,
Color discrimination and Low Light acuity and
contrast..
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/sightbook/id468016
180?mt=8

Free

Name of
app

Features

Visual
Glaucoma is called the silent thief because of the
Fields Easy way that it insidiously steals peripheral vision. Early
diagnosis is really important. The Visual Field Easy
app simulates a visual field test on an ipad and it is
comparable with the traditional industry standard
visual field test upt to 79% of the time
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141
020084751.htm)
You can download it here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/visualfieldseasy/id495389227?mt=8

iOS

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free