Phones have rapidly become an essential part of daily life, whether for personal use or business. From messaging friends to organising hangouts to attending business meetings and checking work emails, phones are used for everything, which is why it’s important for them to have accessibility features.
For those living with an injury, disability, or impairment, accessibility features on a phone can significantly improve their quality of life. Vision Australia estimates that over 453,000 people in Australia are blind or have low vision, and the number is estimated to grow to over 550,000 by 2030.
Fortunately, there are a lot of ways phones can not only be accessible for people living with conditions like these, but also be a useful tool through apps like text readers and virtual assistants.
With new phones released every year, it can be hard to keep up with rising costs. Buying refurbished is a great cost-effective alternative, helping you save some money—even on the latest models. Refurbished devices are also better for the environment.
What Does Accessibility Mean In A Phone?
Accessibility can be described as the ‘ability to access’ a system or entity and benefit from it. In this case, the system would be the mobile phone, its features, and any additional software and accessories.
An accessible mobile device would include built-in features to help those with visual, audio, or physical impairment use it. Ideally, the device would include settings to control the accessibility feature and tailor it to suit their needs.
Mobile accessibility should expand to make the touchscreen more accessible, deal with smaller screen sizes, allow for different input modalities, and various other settings, like screen brightness.
What Features To Look For In Accessible Phones
In the past, people would use additional software or external tools to make their mobile phones more accessible. Now, awareness of the importance of accessibility for everyone has grown, so manufacturers and developers are including accessibility support in their devices and software.
The exact features to look out for in accessible phones will depend on the situation and user. However, below, we’ve listed the general features you should look for when considering a phone for accessibility.
Hearing
When searching for accessible phones designed for individuals with a hearing impairment, key features to consider are:
- Sound adaptation settings are a helpful accessibility feature if your hearing is worse in one of your ears. Sound adaptation allows you to adjust the volume in headphones or earphones so the sound matches for both ears.
- Look for a phone with built-in hearing aid support or connect Bluetooth hearing aids to hear better when using them.
- You can use the ‘Amplify Sound’ option in settings if you live with a hearing impairment. This can help amplify sound, making listening to quiet conversations or distant sounds easier, for example, when streaming a video.
- Some phone models come with the option for a live caption. Live captions listen to sound playing on your device through the internet, like videos, and convert it to text in real-time.
- It can also be helpful to get a phone that supports live transcription. This feature works similarly to live captioning but listens to any sounds or speech around you and transcribes them in real time.
Touch and dexterity
For people with a physical impairment or injury that affects touch and dexterity, it’s possible to get phones with accessibility features to make it easier. These include:
- Some mobile phone manufacturers include ‘Assistant Menu’ features, which allow users to add a small set of buttons on the touch screen for those who can’t easily press physical buttons or make it easier to access, such as the phone’s settings.
- Look for phones that support voice controls, such as “Make a call to my son” or “Can you open settings?” This eliminates the need for touch input.
- Most phones running newer Android or iOS operating system versions allow for adjusting swipe/tap inputs to make touchscreen functions easier to use.
Visibility
If you’re living with a visual impairment, a phone with visibility accessibility features can increase your quality of life. These include:
- Keep an eye out for colour and contrast options. If you have reduced vision or colour blindness, some phones have the feature to change fonts, keyboards, and themes to high-contrast colours. This can help make it easier to read text and navigate.
- Look for a phone with good screen magnifier options. Typically, screen magnifiers will add a large square to your screen that you can move around and magnify text or images.
- Find a phone that supports screen describer software like Bixby Vision (Android) and Voiceover (iOS). These tools can improve the quality of life of people with blindness or impaired vision by describing and identifying objects around them through the device’s camera.
- A phone that supports screen reading can help if you have a visual impairment. Screen reader apps tell you what an element on your screen is, like a button, link, or read-out text.
Which Phones Have The Best Accessibility?
Most recent smartphone models have accessibility features, with flagship phones like the Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15 having accessibility features powered by artificial intelligence.
If you’re looking for the phone with the best accessibility, Apple’s iPhone 15 series is typically the gold standard, catering to most impairments. However, if you prefer Android, the Samsung Galaxy S24 range or Google’s upcoming Pixel 9 line is worth keeping an eye on.
Buy Refurbished Phones For Everyone at OzMobiles
For the best deals on phones for everyone, built with accessibility in mind, buying refurbished phones is the cost-effective way to go. Here at OzMobiles, we stock a range of refurbished devices, including the latest iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices with the latest accessibility features.
If you find a better deal elsewhere, we’ll beat it by $10 (terms and conditions apply). All the mobile phones we sell come with a free 12-month warranty and a 30-day risk-free return policy. So, if you have a change of heart or have any concerns, just reach out to our team for assistance.
OzMobiles also puts every phone we sell through an extensive, 72-point refurbishment process. During this time, the phone is checked over and evaluated by a qualified technician to ensure every component is fully functional and running optimally. If there are any problems, only genuine parts are used for replacement.
If you have any questions about the phones we offer or the accessibility features, contact us with your queries. Our team will happily answer any questions and connect you with the right phone.
