Blind Abilities iPhone 101

Blind Abilities is an informational resource created by blind/visually impaired people. They share these resources by producing blogs, podcasts, and an App. Topics they cover range from using an iPhone/iPad with Voiceover to alternative techniques for daily tasks like cleaning.

This guide will provide you links to their audio series for their learning how to get the most out of an iPhone/iPad using VoiceOver. But be sure to check out the rest of their resources by visiting their exploring their website: https://blindabilities.com

last updated: 3/26/20

How To Use & Navigate This Guide

This guide uses Headings and special links to make navigating to and playing episodes as easy as possible. If this is your first visit I recommend reading our Using this Guide page.

Introducing A New Series – iPhone101

Description

Blind Abilities presents a brand new series: Introducing iPhone 101. In this new series, Jeff Thompson and Pete Lane will introduce listeners to the world of the iPhone. While we know there are several different iDevices, including iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch, they’re all similar and possess so many of the same attributes. So, we’re going to keep it simple, and refer to all of those devices as iPhone! For those who haven’t yet taken the plunge to purchase their first iPhone, we offer information, resources and knowledge to help you make that life-changing decision. For those who have already made the decision, we’ll provide all the information you’ll need to learn and even master your iPhone. This may be the only resource you’ll need for all things iPhone! That’s right, we’ll take you to “iSchool,” We’ll help you overcome your “iPhonaphobia”! So keep it right here as Blind Abilities helps you enhance your “iPhone-abilities”.

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iPhone101, Episode 2, How To’s, and Resource Books

Description

Blind Abilities presents Episode 2 in their new series: iPhone 101. In this segment, we address those who are still on the fence about whether or not to take the leap and buy that first iPhone. Pete introduces some feedback from other blind individuals who were also unsure if they should make the plunge, but later decided to do so, and they weren’t disappointed! Then we share three book titles that are specifically aimed at new iPhone users, or those who wish to do their homework to gather information to help them make that decision, because after all, information is knowledge, and knowledge is power!

We’ll continue to provide all the information you’ll need to either make the decision, or to master the iPhone if you decide to buy one! Our next episode coming soon will have prices, plans and more information to help you make an informed choice.

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iPhone101: Introduction To Voiceover Gestures – The Basics

Description

Blind Abilities presents another installment in its series: iPhone 101. In this segment Pete Lane introduces us to the most basic of the Voiceover gestures. While there are many gestures, these are the most basic gestures that will be needed to get acquainted with your iPhone as a new user. Pete not only explains the gestures, but he demonstrates them using his iPhone 6 to fully illustrate how they are used in real-life situations.

The gestures covered in this installment are:

  1. The “Touch and Slide” gesture: touch the screen lightly with one finger. Whatever is touched will be read by Voiceover. Slide a single around the screen to explore the screen’s contents.
  2. A flick to the right: a light flick with a single finger, usually your index finger, as if you’re flicking a bug.
  3. A flick to the left: this is the same as number 2, except it is done in the opposite direction: from right to left.
  4. A single-finger double-tap: using a single finger, usually your index finger, lightly tap an item quickly to activate a button or open an app.

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iPhone101: Setting Up Your New iPhone and Apple IOS Device

Description

Blind Abilities presents the next installment in their series iPhone 101 with an in depth demonstration of setting up a new iPhone. Pete Lane walks us through a description of the packaging, the box and its contents, an introduction to the orientation of the phone, turning on VoiceOver, arranging various language and location preferences, connecting to a WiFi network and many more phases involved in turning on and setting up a new iPhone.

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iPhone101: The Apple Support App – It’s Here To Help

Description

Blind Abilities presents another installment in their series iPhone 101. This post fits into the Resources section and takes us through an in depth walk through of the new apple Support app. this app provides a wealth of information, including built-in resources and articles on any kind of Apple device you might own. It is “device-specific” meaning it contains all devices that are registered under the user’s Apple ID. If the on-board information isn’t enough, the app provides quick one-touch buttons which connect you directly with Apple Support. If contact is made with Apple, a trouble ticket is created and displayed right inside this app.

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iPhone 101: Introduction To Voiceover Settings – Part 1

Description

Pete Lane continues the new Blind Abilities series: iPhone 101 with an introduction to Voiceover gestures. In this episode, Pete walks through the very basic settings needed for new users to operate their iPhones using Voiceover, the built-in screen reader that comes on board all Apple products. Pete describes how to turn Voiceover on and off, using three different methods: first, by walking us through the Settings app, flicking down to General, then Accessibility and going to the very bottom of the Accessibility screen to turn on the Accessibility Shortcut. Second, Pete demonstrates how to use the shortcut by pressing the Home button three times quickly. Finally, Pete takes us into the Voiceover settings screen and shows us the Voiceover toggle button. This is where we would show a sighted person how to turn Voiceover on and off. Caution: be careful with this button as it is often difficult to turn VO back on if you toggle it off. In addition, as a sneak peek into an upcoming episode in which we’ll learn about more Voiceover gestures, Pete introduces us to the Voiceover Practice area where we can work on our gestures without triggering any of the normal VO actions. So sit back and relax, as Blind Abilities takes us through the basic Voiceover settings in this ten-minute demo, presented as only Blind Abilities can!

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iPhone101: Voiceover Gestures – The 2-Finger Folly!

Description

Blind Abilities presents another episode in their series: iPhone 101. This is their second installment focusing on Voiceover gestures. In this segment, Pete Lane reviews the 2-finger gestures. Pete describes each gesture and then demonstrates how each is used in a realtime iPhone application. Pete also walks us through the Voiceover Help,/Practice area, by using the 4-finger double-tap gesture.

  • Gestures covered in this episode are:
  • 2-finger single tap: stop VO from speaking,
  • 2-finger double tap, AKA the Magic tap: play and pause audio such as music, podcasts, and much more,
  • 2-finger flick up and down: “Read All” gestures,
  • 2-finger scrub: moves to the previous page or screen, and
  • 2-finger triple tap: brings up the List Chooser.

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iPhone101: Voiceover Gestures Part 3, The 3-Finger Gestures

Description

Nick D’Ambrosio presents this episode on the 3-finger Voiceover gestures, continuing the Blind Abilities’ series: iPhone 101. Join Nick, along with Pete and Jeff for this informative walk through the 3-finger group of VO gestures, including:

  • 3-finger single tap – find your location on your phone,
  • 3-finger double tap: turn speech off/on. Note: not quite the same as turning VO off and on by triple-clicking your Home button,
  • 3-finger triple tap – turning on and off your Screen Curtain,
  • 3-finger quadruple tap – copying last phrase spoken by VO to the clipboard,
  • 3-finger swipe up and down – moving up or down a list or page on a web site. Note: remember to swipe ‘down to go up’ and swipe ‘up to go down”.
  • 3-finger swipe left and right – move to the next or previous page in a book, or Home screen on your phone.

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iPhone101: VO Gestures Part 4 – Exploring The World of the Single-Finger Double-Tap and Hold

Description

Pete Lane and Nick D’Ambrosio present another installment in the iPhone 101 series involving Voiceover gestures. This episode explores the many ways we can use the Single-finger double-tap and Hold gesture. Ranging from several uses in Safari, the iPhone web browser, and sending audio messages in the Messages app, to Fast-forwarding and Rewinding music, Youtube videos or audio books in the player screens of your various audio apps, this gesture is one to learn. Join Pete and Nick with this comprehensive, yet concise presentation of the Single-finger double-tap and Hold gesture!

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iPhone101: The 4-Finger Single Tap: A Real Time Saver!

Description

Blind Abilities presents another installment in its iPhone 101 series involving Voiceover gestures. As we draw near the end of our gestures presentations, Pete reviews the 4-finger single tap. This gesture can be somewhat difficult to perform since its kind of tight having to fit four fingers onto your iPhone screen, especially when in portrait mode (upright with your Home button at the bottom). Pete shares a tip where he turns his phone sideways, with the Home button on the left. In this position, he can easily fit his four fingers across the screen. Listen in as Pete discusses how he adjusts the direction of his gestures to fit this position. The 4-finger tap is a serious time saver as it gets you to the top or bottom of a screen, a web site, or a list such as emails, podcasts or tweets in your Twitter feed with a single tap. Coming up, we’ll review some of those VO gestures that we haven’t yet covered in our 1, 2, 3 or 4 finger gesture presentations. And after that, stay tuned cause there’s plenty more coming! Be sure to share any questions, comments or suggestions with our Team. And let us know if we’ve missed any hidden gestures or uses for our single-finger double tap gesture. We’ve already heard from some listeners about one or two applications that we failed to mention. We’ll be covering those, and thanking those folks who dropped us a line in our next podcast!

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iPhone101: Finishing Up With VoiceOver Gestures

Description

Blind Abilities presents another episode in the iPhone101 series, with this wind-up of Voiceover gestures. Pete walks us through some miscellaneous VO gestures not covered in the previous episodes, including the 4-finger double-tap (to open VO help); the split-tap (another variation of the single-finger double-tap); the 2-finger double-tap (to label buttons or photos), and the single-finger flick up or down (to select values in pickers such as in Do Not Disturb, the alarm or the Rotor). This concludes the review of Voiceover gestures, but certainly not the iPhone101 series.

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iPhone101: A Review of Locking Screen Rotation, Auto Lock and Raise To Wake Features

Description

Blind Abilities presents another episode in our iPhone101 series. As we move past our in depth review of all of the various Voiceover gestures, Pete shares three simple iPhone settings which he ensures are in place whenever he sets up a new iPhone. They are:

  • Screen Rotation – located in the iPhone Control Center, this allows us to lock the screen rotation to eliminate the constant, annoying Voiceover message telling us that our phone has switched from Portrait to Landscape, and vice versa.
  • Auto Lock – this setting, which is found in Settings, Display and Brightness, controls the time after which your iPhone screen automatically locks after no activity. The time settings start with 30 seconds and go up to five minutes. There is also a “Never” setting which Pete prefers, but be mindful of the potential vulnerability this brings with the security of your phone and its contents.
  • Raise to Wake – this setting also resides in Settings, Display and Brightness, allows your iPhone to wake up when you pick it up in your hand. This can be a time-saver, but try it to see if you like it. Some folks feel that it’s an annoyance. Tune in to this short but informative demonstration and review of these three features, which Pete refers to as “settings of convenience”.

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iPhone101: Even More Tips and Tricks with the Single Finger Double Tap and Hold Gesture

Description

Nick D’amBrosio is back with three more tips and tricks for the use of the single finger double tap and hold gesture. Join Pete and Nick as they present the following new gesture using VoiceOver accessibility::

  • In the drafts folder in your email app. Double tap and hold on the compose button, and watch your drafts folder open up magically! This is a quick and easy way to resume working on an old draft email, or start a new one.
  • Double tap and hold on the reader button in your Safari app. This reveals several options regarding setting your reader feature on websites, either a specific one, or all websites. It’s a quick and easy way to employ the Safari reader view to remove various web characteristics from your reading material and make reading quick and smooth .

Screen shot of the Blind Abilities App Showing iPhone101 Series Blind Abilities App on IOS

  • Double tap and hold on the Reload button on the website and watch as the desk top version of that website magically appears! Often the desktop version of these sites contains more information that you may find necessary.

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iPhone101: Air Pods and the Live Listen Feature Allows You to Listen Up!

Description

iPhone 101 demonstrations and reviews brings you another demo involving Air Pods from Apple. Air Pods are ear phones that have no wire to worry about. They connect via Bluetooth thus allowing you to enjoy listening in stereo or by using just one Air Pod in either ear, you can keep one ear open for the environment you are in. Thus, doubling the life of the battery charge and allowing you to listen and hear around you as well.

Air Pods are kept in a charging case to ensure your day always has enough Air Pod usability even if stereo is the way you go.

Once you sink up your iPhone or iPad to the Air Pods, there is a Live Listen feature that will turn your Air Pods into a type of hearing aid. Turn up the volume in a meeting and point your iPhone’s microphone in the direction of someone that you can’t hear, and the Air Pods can bring that voice up loud and clear. The Live Listen feature utilizes the i-Device’s microphone to pick-up the sound and the volume control on your device let’s you bring that sound up to a hearable level.

In this demonstration, Jeff Thompson will show how to set up the Live Listen feature that is already in your i-device. Be sure that you are using the latest IOS update to ensure that you have the most recent fixes and up-to-date features.

You can find Air Pods on the Apple Store web site as well as at the Apple Stores. They retail around $149 and have been on sale as low as $129.

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iPhone101: Air Drop – Sharing Across Your Apple Orchard and Keeping the Unwanted Out

Description

iPhone 101 demonstrations and reviews brings you another demo and this one is all about Air Drop. What is Air Drop? It is a feature in the Apple devices and Macs that allows you and others to share across a Bluetooth connection simply and easily by just a couple of taps. You can set yours up to limit just who can Air Drop to your device or Mac.

Let’s imagine you are hanging out and around a table and you want a friend to visit a really cool site on the web. You can share the site by Air Drop and, boom, your friend is on the web site within seconds! Consider this, you are writing a paper and you need some info from the web or an app, you can turn from your Mac and pick up the iPhone, iPad or iPod and easily find your info and share it by Air Drop to the Mac and, boom, you are ready to address your paper again with some really cool resources.

In this demo, learn how to turn on Air Drop on your iPhone and/or Mac and how to restrict just anybody from dropping something into your device.

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iPhone101: Text Replacement – The Keyboard Shortcut That Lets Two Letters Launch a Thousand Words

Description

iPhone 101 demonstrations and reviews brings you another demo and this one is all about the Keyboard shortcut, Text Replacement. With just a couple of letters for a shortcut, you can populate the dialog box or page with commonly used phrases, names, hashtags, email addresses and anything you desire.

The TechAbilities Logo-Dark Sunglasses with TA and BA bold letters in each lens. Head on into the shortcut keyboard settings and check out Text Replacement. In this demo Jeff Thompson will “add” a phrase and a shortcut that he can use at any time, saving him a lot of typing. You can use this for quotes at the end of messages, common sayings in Facebook, and signature sayings that you want to add at the end of emails.

And with just two letters and the space bar, here is one of mine:

xc (space) “The Only Full Bigger Than the Fool Who Says He Knows It All, Is the Fool Who Argues with Him”

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iPhone101: 2 Ways To Skin This Cat! Managing Your Subscriptions with iTunes and Apps on Your iPhone

Description

In this iPhone101 demonstration, Jeff takes us through the process to manage your subscriptions so you can change or cancel subscriptions and not be surprised by another monthly charge.

There are 2 ways to Manage your subscriptions and thanks to Peggy’s and Scott’s feedback, an easier way is demonstrated first. Thanks Peggy and Scott!

  1. Open up the App Store by tapping on the App Store icon.
  2. Go to My Account.
  3. Go down to Manage Subscriptions That’s all there is to it. Manage away!

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iPhone101: Dictation Tips and Tricks – Put Your Mouth Where Your Keyboard Is!

Description

Blind Abilities keeps the iPhone101 series moving with an update to this demonstration of Dictation tips and tricks. Pete has once again brought his insight to the process of dictating text, numbers and even basic emojis in iOS, where inputting text is especially time consuming.

Pete shares tips on how to ensure your iDevice is set up for dictation, as well as reviewing the complete process for using dictation for both short and long documents. Pete stresses the importance of using punctuation and proper document formatting in order to reflect. a more professional work product and portray a better image of ourselves to our blind and sighted readers alike. Join Pete Lane for this brief but informative demo of using dictation in iOS, like only Blind Abilities can offer.

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iPhone101: Snatch It, Grab It and Paste It! A Review of the Text Selection Features in iOS

Description

Blind Abilities offers another episode in our iPhone 101 series, covering the much-requested process of selecting, copying, cutting, deleting and pasting text on your i-Device. Pete walks us through not only the multi-step process of using your iOS Rotor for such actions, but also reviews the streamlined process for using the 3-finger Quadruple-tap to capture the last spoken phrase by Voiceover.

Learn how to use the Rotor for each individual step of the process, and when to use a work-around to cover an apparent bug in the Text Selection Rotor. Also, see when using the streamlined 3-finger Quad gesture will allow for a quick grab of text to the Clipboard for easy copying into a Note, an email or a text message, or pasting it into a search field in Safari or other ready destination.

Sit back and enjoy this short demonstration of a process which we can use regularly, but which can sometimes be elusive in grasping exactly how it works!

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iPhone101: Slide To Type – QuickPath is Your iPhone’s Version of Gesture Typing, and is On By Default. Let’s Give it a Try.

Description

The new feature QuickPath, better known as, Slide to Type, is a way of typing that uses probability to come up with the word you want to write by monitoring your keyboard interaction and giving you audible feedback of possible words. That is, if you have VoiceOver on.

First we will make sure this feature is turned on in settings. Here are the settings for Slide to Type:

Go to the Settings icon and do a single-finger double tap to open the settings page. Swipe down with a single-finger from left to right on the screen and single-finger double tap when you arrive on General. Swipe down again until you arrive on Keyboard and single-finger double tap. Swipe down from left to right until you land on Swipe to Type. Upon hearing on or off, you can single-finger double tap to toggle between having this feature turned on or off. You can also change the way the cursor triggers Slide to Type while interacting with the keyboard. You can change the time in settings in the Accessibility section of settings:

Go to Settings Go to Accessibility Go to VoiceOver Swipe down to Typing Swipe down to Keyboard Interacting Time and Single-finger double tap. Increase or decrease the amount of time you want for interacting.

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