Russell Solowoniuk – Braillecast

Braille Screen Input: What’s New in iOS and iPad OS 18? (Extra 77)

Braille Screen Input has been overhauled!

iOS and iPad OS 18, released on Monday 16 September, include the biggest refresh of Braille Screen Input since the feature was first introduced in iOS 8. Although you can, for the most part, still use Braille Screen Input as you always have done, the new functionality in Apple’s latest flagship operating systems is a source of much excitement throughout the blind community and will almost certainly take your Braille Screen Input experience to the next level.

Join us in this episode as Matthew Horspool talks us through what’s new.

Summary of New Features

New gestures for entering and exiting: double tap the far edges of the screen with two fingers to enter. To exit, pinch outwards or inwards, or perform a two finger scrub. BSI is also still available in the rotor and if this is enabled, the rotor gesture still works to exit, but it does not work if BSI is removed from the rotor.
You can now braille a for sign.
There are keyboard clicks and haptics during text entry, the same as those for the QWERTY on-screen keyboard.
When searching for apps on the home screen, you can now use grade 2.
You now have access to a Braille Item Chooser from within Braille Screen Input. It works in a similar way to searching for apps on the home screen, but functions within apps.
You can now enter Braille Screen Input automatically when encountering a text field.
Braille Screen Input now uses the Braille Table options in Settings, Accessibility, VoiceOver, Braille to determine whether input is contracted, uncontracted etc. Swipe up with two fingers to change braille table.
There is a new Command Mode, accessible via a three finger swipe left or right from within Braille Screen Input, or a tripple tap with two fingers at the far edges of the screen from elsewhere. Gestures in Command Mode are akin to braille display commands with the space bar held down, e.g. type the letter h in Command Mode to go to the home screen. You can also move the cursor and perform text selection with one finger and two finger swipe gestures.
When using the Braille Item Chooser or searching for apps on the home screen using Braille Screen Input, you can opt to remain in Command Mode when swiping right with two fingers rather than exiting Braille Screen Input altogether.
When in Command Mode, if the setting to enter Braille Screen Input when encountering a text box is enabled, VoiceOver will automatically switch from Command Mode to Braille Entry Mode when a text box is encountered.
There are new sounds for entering and exiting Braille Screen Input, calibrating the dots and changing between Command Mode and Braille Entry Mode.
There is now a setting to determine whether translated text appears on the screen whilst Braille Screen Input is active.
All Braille Screen Input gesture assignments, plus the assignments for entering Braille Screen Input, can be customised.
Braille Screen Input now supports Japanese braille.

N.B. if the master toggle for VoiceOver sounds is switched off in Settings, Accessibility, VoiceOver, Sounds and Haptics, the new Braille Screen Input sounds will not play.

Supported Devices

iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, 2024
iPad Pro (M4), 2024
iPad Air (M2), 2024
iPad Pro 11-inch 5th generation, 2024
iPad Air 6th generation, 2024
iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, 2023
iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, 2022
iPad Pro 12.9-inch 6th generation, 2022
iPad Pro 11-inch 4th generation, 2022
iPad Air 5th generation, 2022
iPad 10th generation, 2022
iPhone SE 3rd generation, 2022
iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, 2021
iPad Pro 12.9-inch 5th generation, 2021
iPad Pro 11-inch 3rd generation, 2021
iPad 9th generation, 2021
iPad mini 6th generation, 2021
iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, 2020
iPad Pro 12.9-inch 4th generation, 2020
iPad Pro 11-inch 2nd generation, 2020
iPad Air 4th generation, 2020
iPad 8th generation, 2020
iPhone SE 2nd generation, 2020
iPad 7th generation, 2019
iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, 2019
iPad Air 3rd generation, 2019
iPad mini 5th generation, 2019
iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation, 2018
iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation, 2018
iPhone XS, XS Max and XR, 2018

Apple Support Articles

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Revitalise your Braille Reading Technique (Extra 59)

Whether you’re new to braille or an experienced braillist, reading is an important and fundamental process. To fully appreciate the brilliance of braille for use in daily life, reading is something you should enjoy and feel comfortable with. But what can you do to improve your reading skills once you have learned all the letters and perhaps some contractions as well? How can you enhance your reading speed and accuracy even if you’ve been doing braille for a while?

On Tuesday 20 June 2023, Chantelle Griffiths, Co-Founder and CEO of New Zealand’s Tactile and Technology Literacy Centre, shared some practical tips and tricks to get you on the right track with your reading, no matter how much braille you’ve done or where you are on your braille journey. There is something here for everyone.

We learnt:

What actually happens when we read and how reading by touch is different — or not — from reading visually.
How to press the “reset button” for your fingers and brain when you’re just not feeling it. Literally.
The fundamental braille technique you didn’t know you knew and how it enhances your reading.
The three C’s of braille reading; what they are and how they work together to help you connect the dots between your brain and fingers.
How playing the viola relates to reading in a straight line and how you can experience something similar yourself, even if you’re not a musician.
How to start from exactly where you are and enjoy the process.
Lots more practical tips, ideas and experiments you can try on your own.

This was a very practical session. If you’d like to follow along with the recording, please have some hardcopy or electronic braille handy and a couple of random objects that feel nothing like braille.

For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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UEB Indicators: How to show capitals, bold, italics, underline and more (Extra 57)

“This new braille has so many extra dots!” This is something we hear a lot, and it’s often followed by the question, “What do they all mean?”

This Masterclass will help to solve the mystery. James Bowden, Braille Technical Officer at RNIB, Chairman of the Braille Coding Group of the UK Association for Accessible Formats, and the UK Representative to the Code Maintenance Committee of the International Council on English Braille, described the common indicators in UEB and gave some real world examples of their use.

In particular, we covered:

Capital letters and block capitals
Making sure a word or symbol is not misread as a contraction
Italicised, bolded and underlined text

This session was recorded on Tuesday 16 May 2023. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Braille: Connecting the Dots in 2021 (Episode 31)

Perhaps you’re thinking about learning braille, but don’t know whether it’s worth it. Maybe you learnt braille as a child, but haven’t used it since. You might know braille and want to use it in your daily life, but can’t work out where it will fit. Or you could be bamboozled by braille technology, gadgets and gizmos.

A panel of passionate braillists met in front of a live audience on Tuesday 12 October 2021 to celebrate National Braille Week. They explored how to overcome common obstacles faced by people who could benefit from reading by touch, sharing a diverse range of perspectives from braille learners to braille experts, technology enthusiasts to people who just need to get on at home or in the workplace. The audience also had the opportunity to ask questions and contribute their own tips and suggestions.

Credits

Host: Dave Williams
Panellist: Claire Amoroso
Panellist: Darren Paskell
Panellist: Laurent Cadet de Fontenay
Moderator: Ben Mustill-Rose
Producer: Matthew Horspool

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

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