If you’ve never heard the term ‘accessibility apps’ before, you may be slightly confused about what it means. After all, doesn’t accessibility refer to making buildings or living spaces easier to access or enter? Yes, it does. But it also refers to making technology easier to access, and that’s where accessibility apps come in. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at why these apps are important, who uses them, and what apps stood out in 2022.
Why Are Accessibility Apps Important?
Anyone living with hearing loss, impaired vision, or another disability can attest to the fact that everyday life is often more challenging. With a focus on accessibility, however, these individuals are better able to interact with their environment and enjoy a more ‘normal’ quality of life.
Over the last few decades, significant strides have been made to increase physical accessibility with ramps, universal design, wider doorways, etc. But, as our world becomes increasingly digital, further improvements are needed to increase digital accessibility across the board. That’s exactly where accessibility apps come to the forefront.
Top Accessibility Apps of 2022
Without further ado, we bring you the best accessibility apps of the past year, as rated by Accessibility Spark:
1. Accessibility Spark
Yes, this company rated their own app among the top 12, but for good reason. See below for some of the benefits that make this app especially useful.
Key Benefits:
- Rated as: Best overall
- Offers suggestions to your device for improved accessibility
- Provides a variety of visual impairment solutions including color contrasts, color inversion, text size, etc.
- Excellent options for motor-impaired individuals with keyboard navigation, voice command, etc.
2. Google Assistant
Available on a variety of Android devices, Google Assistant is known as one of the most common accessibility apps.
Key Benefits:
- Rated as: Best for device control
- Offers virtual assistant and personalized user capabilities
- Provides a variety of voice-activated options – search, device control, etc.
- Also has a number of options for assisting users with audio content
3. Accessibility Scanner
This app features characteristics from which everyone can benefit.
- Rated as: Best for reading
- Makes it easier to read and navigate screen content
- Users can use the app to submit accessibility improvement suggestions for other apps or content
4: Envision AI
Just as its name suggests, this is one of the best accessibility apps for people with visual difficulties.
- Rated as: Best for blindness and visual aid
- Perfect for reading a variety of texts, including text in approximately 60 different languages
- Helps people who are blind or visually impaired to be able to process everyday visual information around them
5: Assistive Touch
This is one of the most popular accessibility apps for people that have mobility challenges.
Benefits:
- Rated as: Best for muscular disabilities
- Allows for easier device control by people with mobility difficulties
- Uses virtual buttons, gestures, or keyboard shortcuts to aid with device control
6: Live Transcribe
We might be a little biased, but this is one of our favorites. That’s because this app is especially useful for individuals with hearing impairments such as hearing loss or deafness.
Benefits:
- Rated as: Best for speech and hearing impairments
- Uses speech recognition technology from Google to provide users with real-time transcription of audio
- There are over 70 languages available within the app
In addition to the accessibility apps mentioned above, a variety of others are available that assist individuals with dyslexia, dysgraphia, cognitive functioning difficulties, aphasia, and other disorders.
Advanced Hearing Group: Audiology and Hearing Health Services in Mesa and Scottsdale, AZ
While accessibility apps such as the ones we listed today can help their users enjoy a better quality of life, it’s important to realize that other help is available, too. At Advanced Hearing Group, our audiologists specialize in helping people hear well so they can live well.
For some, that means finding the best hearing aids for their specific type and severity of hearing loss. For others, it means preventing further hearing loss with the use of personalized hearing protection options. And for still others, it means providing professional earwax removal services to safely and effectively remove troublesome earwax buildup that’s affecting their hearing.
As accessibility apps and options continue to evolve in the future, we want to help you hear better today. Contact us now to schedule an appointment at our Mesa or Scottsdale offices.
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