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Apps

There's a whole variety of apps available for your phone that can help you to overcome the issues that sight loss brings; such as recognising products, faces, or colours. And what's more, the vast majority of them are free! We introduce you to some of our favourites and show you how they work.

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Using the NHS Test and Trace COVID-19 app if you are blind or visually impaired (blog)

The new NHS COVID-19 app for Apple and Android devices has now launched. Our Digital Team checked it out to see how blind and visually impaired people will be able to use it.

Getting out and about: Using a smartphone to navigate independently (blog)

Hear from Lynne, a regular viewer of our Knowledge Village content. She uses her smartphone to travel independently, thanks to the many navigation apps out there. Read her blog to find out her favourites and how she uses them.

Track and Trace: An example of how it works (blog)

From 14 September, venues such as pubs and restaurants will be legally required to request contact details of customers as part of the Track and Trace initiative.

Our Digital Enablement Service helps visually impaired people get connected with tech (blog)

Our Digital Enablement Service is helping people living with sight loss to get connected through tech, and offers training with a wide variety of products and skills. During the pandemic lockdown, it has never been more important for us to help blind and visually impaired people get connected with the use of technology.

NHS COVID-19 app. What is it? How does it work? Is it accessible for visually impaired users? (video)

In this edition, Mark introduces the new NHS COVID-19 app - currently only available in the Isle of Wight.The app has been designed to potentially allow cases to be identified earlier and reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Learn everything you need to know about the app and how it works in this video.

Eye-D: An app that can act as your eyes (blog)

We review Eye-D, an app for iOS and Android that enables people with a visual impairment to be more independent.

Sharing Henshaws Knowledge at a European sight loss conference (blog)

We were invited to share Henshaws Knowledge at a conference hosted by The University of Manchester. Find out the 7 Apps Mark demonstrated to the delegates.

Henshaws joins the Talking Newspaper app (blog)

Read about the new Talking Newspaper app developed by British Wireless for the Blind and the Talking News Federation, and how you can access Henshaws news through it.

Using Zoom virtual meetings if you are visually impaired (blog)

Zoom is an app allowing people to have virtual meetings and stay connected. We tested it to see how well it can be used if you have a visual impairment.

Apps eBook (Free Sample)

Download a free sample of our apps eBook, featuring the first chapter: productivity.

Apps eBook

Download our eBook featuring 40 apps for someone with sight loss.

24 of the best apps for people with a visual impairment eBook

We’ve pulled together a list of 24 of our favourite apps (most are free, some paid for) and organised them into seven categories to help you navigate what you’re looking for in our free eBook.

Introducing Be My Eyes (video)

Watch a live demo showing how to use the 'Be My Eyes' app, a handy tool for anyone with sight loss to get assistance with things they are encountering in day to day living.

Introducing Aipoly (video)

Aipoly enables your smartphone to understand objects, and colours, through artificial intelligence.

Introducing TapTapSee (video)

TapTapSee enables your smartphone to understand objects through artificial intelligence. Watch as the app identifies various objects and relays back what they objects are through a voice message.

App Chat with Danny (video)

Watch Danny sit down with Mark and talk about the Henshaws App Videos and the benefits they have been having for him!

Be safe online - phishing emails (video)

Mark gives us some tips for spotting 'Phishing' emails, to keep you safe on the internet and prevent your money from falling into the wrong hands.

Light Detector App (video)

In this video Mark talks us through the simple Light Detector app and Bryony reveals how it might have been useful for her!

Seeing AI - new free app for blind users (video)

Mark and Carrie discuss 'Seeing AI', a really useful app that will read out text that you hover your smartphone camera over.

Seeing AI - Short Text Mode (video)

Mark discusses another mode in the Seeing AI app in more detail, and in this video it is the Short Text Mode.

Seeing AI - Handwriting Mode (video)

Mark discusses another mode in the Seeing AI app in more detail, and in this video he talks about the Handwriting Mode.

Seeing AI - Currency Mode (video)

The Currency Mode is the next Mode to be examined by Mark in his look through the various features of the Seeing AI app.

Seeing AI - Document Mode (video)

Mark continues to look at all the modes contained within the Seeing AI App, and in this video he is looking at the Document Mode.

Seeing AI - 'Recognise with' Mode (video)

Another section of the Seeing AI app is looked at by Mark, and this time it is the 'Recognise With' Mode.

Seeing AI - Product Mode (video)

Mark guides us through another area of the Seeing AI app, and this time it is the 'Product Mode'

Seeing AI - Colour mode (video)

Another feature of the Seeing AI app is examined here, the 'colour' mode, which uses the phone camera to distinguish different colours.

Seeing AI - Person Mode (video)

Mark runs us through how Person Mode works and how to use it, which recognises friends and describes people around you, including their emotions.

Seeing AI - Light mode (video)

Mark tests out the Seeing AI Light mode, which uses noise to identify sources of light, and why it might come in handy!

Putting Microsoft's Soundscape app to the test! (video)

Microsoft's new app 'Soundscape' is designed for blind and partially sighted people, and creates a 3D audio map of your surroundings to help you navigate outside.

Be My Eyes and BeSpecular: the apps bringing volunteering into the digital world (blog)

We explore the two apps ‘Be My Eyes’ and ‘BeSpecular’ which connect a visually impaired user with a sighted volunteer and demonstrate how they work in our videos.

Check this before you download these Apps (blog)

We have some useful tips to check you are downloading the right apps from whichever app store you use, which are definitely worth reading!

5 of the best apps for people with sight loss (blog)

This handy blog tells you about 5 of the best apps to use if you are living with sight loss.
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