by Rab Bruce’s Spider

Twitter @RabBrucesSpider

Accessability icon blindness

I will readily admit to being an Apple fan boy. My addiction began a few years ago when I discovered my iPod Touch could be used even though I was rapidly losing my eyesight. I learned about Voiceover, the built-in screen reader, and I was so chuffed, I bought my first iPhone shortly afterwards. I’ve had three iPhones since then, and I’ve loved them all. I am never without my phone, and I use it for so many things, the list is too long to mention here. But, while I love Apple products, one gadget I hadn’t tried was the Apple Watch. I’ve always been tempted by it, but it’s an expensive piece of kit, and I felt I couldn’t justify the cost. Yet the thought kept nagging at me, and I eventually decided to go for it after hearing some other blind people rave about their experience with the Watch. When I found a good deal on Amazon, it was just too tempting.

As with all Apple devices, the Watch is accessible, and has its own built-in version of Voiceover. Having said that, I’m very glad that I had sighted assistance to set the watch up. I’m sure I could have managed it eventually, but the device does so many things, and can be customised in so many ways, it would have taken me forever. Fortunately, my son helped out, and I got the watch up and running fairly quickly. However, it must be said that we encountered some very strange problems which needed a lot of experimentation to resolve.

The first issue was attaching the strap which comes in a separate box. It must be easy to do, since my son fastened it in seconds, but I still have no idea how the strap attaches to the Watch.