"Focus"
  • MCB/DDS
    • About >
      • Site Accessibility & Download Policy
      • Vision Loss Terminology
    • APH Federal Quota Account >
      • APH Activity Ideas
    • DDS Collaborative Eye Care Clinics
    • Orientation & Mobility/Low Vision Services >
      • Areas Served
      • COMS Log In
    • Let's Walk Together
    • Vision Loss Support Groups
    • EOHHS Resources
  • Eye Care
    • Find an Eye Care Provider >
      • By Town >
        • Athol
        • Ayer
        • Beverly
        • Boston
        • Burlington
        • Cambridge
        • Chelmsford
        • Chelsea
        • East Bridgewater
        • East Harwich
        • Fairhaven
        • Fall River
        • Falmouth
        • Fitchburg
        • Framingham
        • Franklin
        • Gardner
        • Greenfield
        • Groveland
        • Holyoke
        • Lexington
        • Lowell
        • Marlborough
        • Melrose
        • New Bedford
        • Newton
        • North Dartmouth
        • North Reading
        • Plymouth
        • Quincy
        • Revere
        • Sagamore
        • Salem
        • Sandwich
        • Shelburne Falls
        • South Dennis
        • Spencer
        • Springfield
        • Sturbridge
        • Sudbury
        • Taunton
        • Tewksbury
        • Waltham
        • Wareham
        • Watertown
        • Wellesley
        • West Springfield
        • Winthrop
        • Worcester
    • NECO SEMA >
      • NECO Student Access
    • MCPHS Eye and Vision Center
    • DDS Vision Care Guidelines
    • Eye Health & Safety
    • Eye Conditions & Simulations >
      • A
      • B
      • C
      • D
      • E
      • F
      • G
      • H
      • I
      • K
      • L
      • M
      • N
      • O
      • P
      • R
      • S
      • T
      • U
      • V
    • In the News
  • Everyday Life
    • Strategies
    • COVID Resources
    • Deafblind Resources
    • Orientation & Mobility >
      • Movement, Safety and Fun
    • Recreation >
      • Leisure and Learning at Home
    • Local & National Organizations
  • Tech and Access
    • Apps for Vision Loss
    • Technology Equipment
    • Technology Resources
    • Products for Accessibility
    • News and Information Access
  • Students
    • Birth - 22 >
      • Team and IEP
    • Transition
  • Connect
    • Inspiring Lives >
      • Dejan
    • Focus Blog
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Training
    • "Focus Talks"
    • Conferences & Workshops
    • Online Courses & Webinars
    • Downloadable Resources & Videos
    • Train the Trainer: Human Guide >
      • Trainer Log In (password needed)
    • Train the Leader: Support Groups >
      • Support Group Leader Log in (password required)

Home  >  Tech and Access

Apps for Vision Loss

 
Daily Living Apps​
  • iOS & iPadOS Apps Developed Specifically for Blind or Low Vision Users from Apple Vis
  • Best Android Apps for People with Low Vision - a list from AFB AccessWorld Magazine. 
  • Currency Identification Mobile Apps by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing
  • Seeing AI - a free app that narrates the world around you by harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence to describe people, text and objects
  • Envision - a free app that articulates everyday visual information--text, scenes, colors--into speech. 
  • Be My Eyes - a free app that connects people with vision loss with sighted volunteers for visual assistance through a live video call.
  • Google LookOut - free app using the camera and sensors on an Android device to recognize objects and text
  • Tap Tap See - a free app that utilizes device’s camera and voice over functions to take a picture or video of anything and identify it out loud for you.
  • Aira - Using the camera and an app on your smartphone, a trained agent will assist by visually interpreting your surroundings, from describing to reading, from explaining to navigating
  • iOS Magnifier App ​

Text to Speech Apps
  • Free Text to Speech Apps
    • Seeing AI ​
    • Envision 
  • For Fee Text to Speech Apps
    • KNFB Reader (OneStep Reader)
    • Speechify
  • Phone/Tablet Settings
    • How to navigate your iPhone or iPad with VoiceOver
    • How to have your iPhone and iPad read text to you
    • TalkBack – Accessibility on Android


Sensory Apps
  • Motivational Apps designed by Inclusive Technology to meet a range of needs including low vision, cerebral visual impairment, and switch access for those with physical disabilities. Some specifically designed for individuals with Cortical Vision Impairment (CVI)
  • Fireworks! Simply tap the screen to create your own fireworks display complete with light and sound against the black night sky background.
 
Navigation Apps
  • Microsoft Soundscape - a map delivered in 3D sound (iOS)
  • BlindSquare - accessible GPS-app developed for the blind, deafblind and partially sighted (iOS)
  • ​Clew - path retracing app designed for blind and visually impaired for indoor navigation (iOS)
    • Overview of how to use App
  • Lazarillo - intelligent application for the blind and visually impaired which guides users through their city and building environments with real-time voice messages (iOS and Android)
  • GoodMaps - "Explore" and  "Outdoors" help people who are visually impaired navigate safely and efficiently (iOS and Android)
  • Moovit - One app for all transit options (iOS and Android)
  • All Aboard - Helps visually impaired find MBTA bus stops. Developed by Mass Eye and Ear. (iOS)
  • Blindways from Perkins Solutions is a free iPhone app that helps people who are visually impaired locate bus stops in the Boston area using crowdsourced clues that describe permanent landmarks at each stop.​ ​(iOS)
​​See also Navigation Gadgets​​

Vision Simulation Apps
  • VR App: "I Have Low Vision"
  • Aira Vision Sim (for iPhone/iPad)
  • Vision Sim from Braille Institute (for iPhone/iPad)
    • Note: Medical Cause information is not updated. Use as Vision Simulator only. 
For more information please contact: 
Lisa DiBonaventura,  M.A.,  COMS
Statewide Director Vision & Vision Loss Services
Department of Developmental Services  (DDS)
Email: Lisa.DiBonaventura@mass.gov
About                   Contact                  FAQ
Site Accessibility & Download Policy
Please note: By posting these Web links, it is not our intention to endorse or recommend the sites. These sites are being offered only as informational resources.  
"Focus" on Vision and Vision Loss: Meeting the Needs of Individuals with Intellectual Disability
  • MCB/DDS
    • About >
      • Site Accessibility & Download Policy
      • Vision Loss Terminology
    • APH Federal Quota Account >
      • APH Activity Ideas
    • DDS Collaborative Eye Care Clinics
    • Orientation & Mobility/Low Vision Services >
      • Areas Served
      • COMS Log In
    • Let's Walk Together
    • Vision Loss Support Groups
    • EOHHS Resources
  • Eye Care
    • Find an Eye Care Provider >
      • By Town >
        • Athol
        • Ayer
        • Beverly
        • Boston
        • Burlington
        • Cambridge
        • Chelmsford
        • Chelsea
        • East Bridgewater
        • East Harwich
        • Fairhaven
        • Fall River
        • Falmouth
        • Fitchburg
        • Framingham
        • Franklin
        • Gardner
        • Greenfield
        • Groveland
        • Holyoke
        • Lexington
        • Lowell
        • Marlborough
        • Melrose
        • New Bedford
        • Newton
        • North Dartmouth
        • North Reading
        • Plymouth
        • Quincy
        • Revere
        • Sagamore
        • Salem
        • Sandwich
        • Shelburne Falls
        • South Dennis
        • Spencer
        • Springfield
        • Sturbridge
        • Sudbury
        • Taunton
        • Tewksbury
        • Waltham
        • Wareham
        • Watertown
        • Wellesley
        • West Springfield
        • Winthrop
        • Worcester
    • NECO SEMA >
      • NECO Student Access
    • MCPHS Eye and Vision Center
    • DDS Vision Care Guidelines
    • Eye Health & Safety
    • Eye Conditions & Simulations >
      • A
      • B
      • C
      • D
      • E
      • F
      • G
      • H
      • I
      • K
      • L
      • M
      • N
      • O
      • P
      • R
      • S
      • T
      • U
      • V
    • In the News
  • Everyday Life
    • Strategies
    • COVID Resources
    • Deafblind Resources
    • Orientation & Mobility >
      • Movement, Safety and Fun
    • Recreation >
      • Leisure and Learning at Home
    • Local & National Organizations
  • Tech and Access
    • Apps for Vision Loss
    • Technology Equipment
    • Technology Resources
    • Products for Accessibility
    • News and Information Access
  • Students
    • Birth - 22 >
      • Team and IEP
    • Transition
  • Connect
    • Inspiring Lives >
      • Dejan
    • Focus Blog
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Training
    • "Focus Talks"
    • Conferences & Workshops
    • Online Courses & Webinars
    • Downloadable Resources & Videos
    • Train the Trainer: Human Guide >
      • Trainer Log In (password needed)
    • Train the Leader: Support Groups >
      • Support Group Leader Log in (password required)