Reading messages, chatting on social media, using apps: many visually impaired people now use their smartphones with complete independence. This autonomy relies on screen readers built into phones, such as VoiceOver and TalkBack, which convey information via voice or braille. To understand how they work in everyday life, we met with Sohail, who was visually impaired from birth and became blind at the age of 25.

How does a visually impaired person use a smartphone?

Tech companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and NV Access have developed solutions that allow people to use a phone or computer without seeing the screen. They all rely on text-to-speech, used as a screen reader: it provides as much information as possible orally, or in braille via a connected display.

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VoiceOver

Le lecteur d'écran intégré aux appareils Apple : iPhone, iPad et Mac.

TalkBack

Le lecteur d'écran intégré aux smartphones et tablettes Android.

NVDA

Un lecteur d'écran gratuit pour les ordinateurs Windows, développé par NV Access.

Using a smartphone is therefore primarily a matter of listening. On mobile, navigation follows three simple gestures:

  1. L'utilisateur pose le doigt sur l'écran : le lecteur d'écran annonce l'élément touché.
  2. Il fait glisser son doigt pour passer d'un élément à l'autre, que la synthèse vocale cite successivement.
  3. Une fois l'élément trouvé (une application, un contact, un bouton), il le sélectionne d'un double appui.
Smartphones, and iPhones in particular, have revolutionized my daily life by allowing me to gain independence, both in my personal and professional life.Sohail, blind user

Three levels of application accessibility

Most applications are now designed with digital accessibility in mind, but the level of quality varies. Sohail distinguishes three levels:

Accessible

L'application peut être utilisée en totale autonomie : chaque élément est annoncé avec sa fonction.

Semi-accessible

Le lecteur d'écran détecte les éléments, mais sans leur libellé. Il annonce par exemple « bouton » au lieu de « Rechercher ».

Non accessible

Les informations ne sont ni documentées ni lues : la navigation n'est pas possible.

The same service can be perfectly usable on one screen and difficult to access on another. This is why testing with screen reader users remains essential.

Varied uses for greater independence

Smartphones adapt to many needs. They allow users to:

  • lire ses e-mails et ses messages grâce à la synthèse vocale ;
  • écrire grâce à la dictée vocale, à la saisie vocalisée (chaque lettre touchée est annoncée) ou à un clavier braille connecté ;
  • naviguer sur internet et sur les réseaux sociaux ;
  • programmer, grâce à une lecture vocale mot par mot ou caractère par caractère.

Some applications go even further. Seeing AI, developed by Microsoft, describes a photo that has just been taken or indicates whether the lights are on in a room. Others, like Ezymob, help visually impaired people navigate their surroundings by describing their environment in real time.

What limitations remain?

These tools still have room for improvement. With voice dictation, it is not always possible to switch between languages without changing phone settings, and the pronunciation of the text-to-speech engine is not always perfectly clear.

Using a smartphone or computer also requires listening for long periods throughout the day. In an open-plan office, where it is not always quiet, this may require some adjustments.

What the regulations now require

Since June 2025, the European Accessibility Act has extended digital accessibility requirements to many private entities, particularly in transport, e-commerce, and banking services. The mobile applications concerned must now be compatible with screen readers. Their level of accessibility is assessed using the RAAM, the mobile application accessibility framework.

Conclusion

Thanks to screen readers and apps designed for accessibility, the smartphone has become a tool for daily independence for many visually impaired people. However, its effectiveness depends on how each application is designed, which is why it is so important to test services with the people who use them. This is the approach Ezymob takes with its user community. We would like to thank Sohail for his time and his involvement in this project.

Frequently asked questions

They use a screen reader built into the phone, such as VoiceOver on iPhone or TalkBack on Android. The text-to-speech engine announces the items on the screen as the user gestures: a swipe of the finger to move from one item to another, and a double tap to select one.

These are the screen readers built into smartphones: VoiceOver on Apple devices and TalkBack on Android. They read the screen content aloud or in braille, allowing users to navigate without seeing it.

An accessible application announces each element along with its function and can be used entirely with a screen reader. Its level of accessibility is assessed using the RAAM (mobile application accessibility framework) and is included in its accessibility statement, if one is published.