Exploring the Use of Smartphones and Tablets among People with Visual Impairments: Are Mainstream Devices Replacing the Use of Traditional Visual Aids?

This study found that smartphones and tablets often replace traditional assistive devices for many everyday tasks for blind and low vision users. It also found that traditional assistive devices still matter, especially for tasks that involve a lot of typing or editing.

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This is an audio summary of the article, Exploring the use of smartphones and tablets among people with visual impairments: Are mainstream devices replacing the use of traditional visual aids?, published in Assistive Technology in 2019.

Exploring the Use of Smartphones and Tablets among People with Visual Impairments: Are Mainstream Devices Replacing the Use of Traditional Visual Aids?

Why does this study matter?

Many blind and low vision people use traditional assistive devices, such as magnifiers, screen magnification or screen reading software, and braille displays. Smartphones and tablets now include built-in accessibility features, so this study explored how much these tools are changing everyday device use. This matters because cost, convenience, training, and social comfort can all affect which tools people use.

What did we ask?

This study explored three questions. First, which smartphones, tablets, accessibility features, and apps are being used by people who are blind or low vision? Second, are these mainstream devices replacing traditional assistive aids for specific tasks? And third, which factors, such as age, vision level, and user skill, influence those choices?

Who took part?

Four hundred and sixty-six adults with self-reported blindness, deafblindness or low vision completed our online survey. Everyone was at least eighteen years old and had used a smartphone or tablet for at least three months. Most respondents lived in the United States, Canada, or Germany. Our sample was mostly younger adults, and most reported being blind. Because our survey was online, we likely reached people who were already more comfortable with technology.

What did we do?

We ran an anonymous online survey in English, French, and German in late 2017. We shared it through social media groups, rehabilitation centres, consumer organizations, and word of mouth. The survey asked about traditional assistive devices, smartphones, tablets, training, technical support, and daily tasks. We also asked how often mainstream devices replaced traditional tools for those tasks.

What we found

Almost everyone used a smartphone, and about half also used a tablet. Apple devices were much more common than Android devices. Accessibility was the main reason people chose a specific device. Most people learned to use their phones or tablets on their own, from websites, or from other blind and low vision users, rather than from rehabilitation professionals.

Nearly nine in ten agreed at least somewhat that smartphones or tablets were replacing traditional assistive devices. Replacement was especially common for object identification, navigation, asking a sighted person for help, listening to audiobooks, reading e-books, and optical character recognition, which means turning printed text into readable digital text. Younger users and people who felt more skilled with their devices were more likely to report this replacement. Age was not the driving factor. Older adults who felt skilled with their devices reported just as much replacement as younger ones. Still, traditional devices remained preferable for some tasks, especially long typing and editing, or for specialized tasks (for example stand-alone braille devices), although braille displays can also be connected to mainstream tools.

What this could mean

This study widens the traditional definition of “assistive devices”, since many tools today can provide access to diverse users, including those who are blind or low vision. Smartphones and tablets should be seen as important access technology tools. For rehabilitation professionals and assistive technology specialists, these findings suggest that teaching mainstream device skills can support independence and access across many daily activities. For funders and policy makers, these results suggest that access to mainstream devices can matter as much as access to specialized tools. At the same time, mainstream devices do not replace everything. Blind and low vision users may still need traditional tools for specific tasks, especially when physical buttons, full keyboards, or more advanced document work not currently supported by mainstream tools are important.

What happens next?

Future research should include more older adults, more people with recently acquired vision loss, and more people who do not use smartphones or tablets at all. Future research should also look more closely at facilitators and barriers to technology adoption, the perspectives of users with additional disabilities, and the use of mainstream tools for specific tasks.

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Why does this study matter?

Many blind and low vision people use traditional assistive devices, such as magnifiers, screen magnification or screen reading software, and braille displays. Smartphones and tablets now include built-in accessibility features, so this study explored how much these tools are changing everyday device use. This matters because cost, convenience, training, and social comfort can all affect which tools people use.

What did we ask?

This study explored three questions. First, which smartphones, tablets, accessibility features, and apps are being used by people who are blind or low vision? Second, are these mainstream devices replacing traditional assistive aids for specific tasks? And third, which factors, such as age, vision level, and user skill, influence those choices?

Who took part?

Four hundred and sixty-six adults with self-reported blindness, deafblindness or low vision completed our online survey. Everyone was at least eighteen years old and had used a smartphone or tablet for at least three months. Most respondents lived in the United States, Canada, or Germany. Our sample was mostly younger adults, and most reported being blind. Because our survey was online, we likely reached people who were already more comfortable with technology.

What did we do?

We ran an anonymous online survey in English, French, and German in late 2017. We shared it through social media groups, rehabilitation centres, consumer organizations, and word of mouth. The survey asked about traditional assistive devices, smartphones, tablets, training, technical support, and daily tasks. We also asked how often mainstream devices replaced traditional tools for those tasks.

What we found

Almost everyone used a smartphone, and about half also used a tablet. Apple devices were much more common than Android devices. Accessibility was the main reason people chose a specific device. Most people learned to use their phones or tablets on their own, from websites, or from other blind and low vision users, rather than from rehabilitation professionals.

Nearly nine in ten agreed at least somewhat that smartphones or tablets were replacing traditional assistive devices. Replacement was especially common for object identification, navigation, asking a sighted person for help, listening to audiobooks, reading e-books, and optical character recognition, which means turning printed text into readable digital text. Younger users and people who felt more skilled with their devices were more likely to report this replacement. Age was not the driving factor. Older adults who felt skilled with their devices reported just as much replacement as younger ones. Still, traditional devices remained preferable for some tasks, especially long typing and editing, or for specialized tasks (for example stand-alone braille devices), although braille displays can also be connected to mainstream tools.

What this could mean

This study widens the traditional definition of “assistive devices”, since many tools today can provide access to diverse users, including those who are blind or low vision. Smartphones and tablets should be seen as important access technology tools. For rehabilitation professionals and assistive technology specialists, these findings suggest that teaching mainstream device skills can support independence and access across many daily activities. For funders and policy makers, these results suggest that access to mainstream devices can matter as much as access to specialized tools. At the same time, mainstream devices do not replace everything. Blind and low vision users may still need traditional tools for specific tasks, especially when physical buttons, full keyboards, or more advanced document work not currently supported by mainstream tools are important.

What happens next?

Future research should include more older adults, more people with recently acquired vision loss, and more people who do not use smartphones or tablets at all. Future research should also look more closely at facilitators and barriers to technology adoption, the perspectives of users with additional disabilities, and the use of mainstream tools for specific tasks.