Top 5 Apps, Devices and Games of 2021
Every year we publish the TripleTapTech Top 5 Lists. These are apps, devices and for this year games that we have used and have raised the bar when it comes to accessibility and visuall impairments.
Top 5 Apps.
Picture This.
Picture This is an amazing app for those with green fingers. This app can identify most plant by just taking a quick photo of them. It will then give you additional details about the plant such as where it is from and how best to look after it. If the plant is unwell the app can help diagnose what’s wrong and help you to fix it. You can also follow your plants life by saving it to your garden and updating the stats when needed. This is great if you have planted seedlings and want to follow how they grow. This app is functional with screen enhancements and screen readers and works on both iOS and Android
App Store :https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/picturethis-plant-identifier/id1252497129
Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cn.danatech.xingseus
Audible.
Audible is an audio book streaming app that allows you to listen to the latest and greatest audio books. Most of the audio books are available at the same time the printed version is released and Audible has a vast library of books. The app is available on both iOS and Android devices and is part of the subscription that starts at 7.99 per month.
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/audible-audiobooks-podcasts/id379693831
Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.audible.application
Amazon Music.
Amazon Music is available on both iOS and Android devices. This is a music streaming service that lets you stream your favorite track to the device that you are using. As with all streaming services there is a charge for this. This will vairy depending on the service that you want from the basic Prime membership to the Family tier that allows up to stream different songs on up to 6 different devices. Great for a family household. The prices for this service starts at 3.99 per month for one device up to 14.99 per month for the family option.
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/amazon-music-songs-podcasts/id510855668
VoxMate.
VoxMate is an app for Android that has been created for people with low to no vision and makes using the phone simpler by having only 4 main gestures Up, Down, Left and Right flick. The app is very simple to use but can only access its own content, you can use other apps from the Google Play Store with it. However, They have included many great inbuilt apps and features that mean for every day use it is fine. This app has a subscription that can be paid monthly (3.09) through the Play Store or annually (29.49).
Google lookout.
This app is available on Android devices and can recognize objects and items around you by using the phones camera. It works like Seeing Ai on iOS devices ad can recognize text, food labels and currency. It also has and open explore mode in which it can identify object around you. This app is free and can be found in the Google Play Store.
Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/detailsid=com.google.android.apps.accessibility.reveal
Top 5 Devices.
Emporia Talk Active Phone.
This is one of our favorite phones that was released in 2020. The Emporia Talk Active is a simple mobile phone that has been designed for people with low and no vision. It is a flip phone that has a physical keypad at the bottom and a hi vis 2-inch screen at the top. The phone is only designed to make calls and text messages and will read everything out to you using the inbuilt screen reader. We love this phone for its pure simplicity. This phone is ideal for somebody who is not interested in having an all singing and dancing smartphone. The phone costs 150.
https://shop.rnib.org.uk/emporia-talkactive-t221-4g-mobile-phone-blueberry-90700
Orbit Reader 20+
The Orbit reader 20+ is a braille display and keyboard that has been developed to connect to your Smart Phone, Tablet, Computer and other devices using a Bluetooth or USB connection. The device can also allow you to read books that are stored on a SD card without connecting to an additional device. The orbit 20 has a 20 cell braille display and a braille keyboard which give you full access to the braille experience using your smartphone. The orbit reader 20 + costs 675.00.
https://shop.rnib.org.uk/reading/reading-devices/braille-readers
AirTags.
AirTags are an item tracing device that apple has released in order to help locate important belongings such as keys and bags. The Air Tag is a small round device that you connect to your iPhone. Once it is connected to our phone you can that place the device for instance in your bag. Now if you were to misplace your bag you can locate it with you phone. The app will tell you where the bag is and if near by you can get the AirTag to play a noise to help locate it. However, if you might have left your bag at a friends or work the AirTag will let your phone know where it is and you can go get it. AirTags cost 29.99 for a single pack or 99.99 for a pack of 4.
Hive Smart Heating
Hive is a Smart Heating solution for your central heating. It replaces your existing thermostat with a Smart Thermostat that is connected to the Hive Hub which connects to your internet. This then allows you to control your heating from your smart device such as tablet or phone. You can also connect it to an Amazon Echo and ask Alex “to set the heating to 21” or turn the heating on or off. The app also helps you to monitor the heating of your home to save money on your bills.
Next Gen Gaming Consoles.
This year it has been very difficult to separate the new consoles from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and PC. Over the past few years there has been a giant leap in the accessibility of gaming consoles for people with low and no vision. All the main systems now have the option to enhance the screen to make it easer to see and include a screen reader. The games that have been developed for these consoles too are becoming accessible. We love the Xbox Series X and S and have to say that these are our favorite. Please see our top5 games list below which will cover some of the games on these.
To learn more about these consoles please visit out Accessible Gaming Section on our site here.
https://tripletaptech.org/accessible-gaming/
Top 5 Games.
Swordy Quest.
Swordy Quest is a RPG game that is fully compatible with voiceover on iOS. In this game you have to complete challenges and overcome great challenges and even beat your enemies in order to build your character up and unlock new items. Beware once started this game can and will take up much of your time. You can also purchase additions content for the game to which helps the developer with running costs. You can get this game from the App Store on devices that run iOS
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/swordy-quest-an-rpg-adventure/id1446641513
Blind Drive.
Blind Drive is an Audio Game that is available on most devices from PC to Smartphones. In this game you find yourself in a car blindfolded and must drive and avoid obstacles and complete goals in order to progress to the next level. You can choose a difficulty level that is suitable for you and being an audio game, it is fully accessible to low and no vision gamers. You can get this game from your devices app store.
Beat Saber.
Beat Saber is a rhythmic music game in which you must hit block with a light saber in order to get as high a score as possible. This game runs on both the Oculus Quest, PSVR and PCVR. Using the devices Virtual Reality Headset. In this you are standing in the center of a room where square blocs fly toward you, and you must hit them in a specific direction to smash them. If too many hit you then the game is over. The game allows you to change the visuals of the game such as colour scheme and what is happening on the screen. You can also change the game modes to make it easer to play. This is a must have for any VR Gamer.
Forza Horizon 5
This is an open world racing game that has a vast range of accessible options built in to help with low and no vision players. In this game you have been invited to Mexico to participate in the Horizon series of racing events, these events cover everything from dirt and rally racing to road and speedway to stunt and story modes too. This game can be played on its own or you can play online with your friends. The game allows you to enhance the screen and has an inbuilt text to speech reader that will read out all the text on the game for you. You can also enable and disable driver aids which can help with the driving of the cars and make it more suitable for non-visual players.
This game can be played on both the Xbox Series S and X Consoles and on a PC using the Xbox Game Pass.
https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/forza-horizon-5
The Vale Shadow of the Crown.
This is the very first Audio Only adventure to be released of the Xbox consoles. You play this game by using your hearing to explore the environment around you from walking through vibrant towns to find an inn to stay, to trying to be stealthy and make you way through your enemy’s army encampment. On the Xbox this is a truly unique experience, and it has become successful to the fully sighted gamers too. We hope that this will be the start of such games on the new accessible consoles. The game is available on the Xbox Store and on PC through Steam.
https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/the-vale-shadow-of-the-crown/9n4vkp9f0s68
We are very interested in your opinion on this and if you would like us to include any of these for our 2022 Top 5 then email us at Info@TripleTapTech.org.
f you would like to find out more about devices for people with a visual impairment contact us at.
Triple Tap Tech
The Renfield Centre
260 Bath Street Glasgow G2 4JP
0141 353 1567
0780 5353 149
Info@TripleTapTech.org
We are a small charity that rely solely on donations to continue to run our services. If you are able please make a donation.