Many blind people are able to use their smartphones thanks to software called screenreaders. The software makes it possible for a blind person to touch an app on their Home Screen, for example, and the app name would be read back to them. Where a sighted user would simply see the app and tap on it to launch it, the blind user taps to hear an audio response that is the name of the app, and then double-taps the screen to activate it.

On iPhones, the screenreader is called Voiceover. On Amazon Fire Tablets it’s called Voiceview and on Android devices it’s called Talkback. All of them are similar to an extent using a series of swipes and gestures made on the screen to enable the blind user to navigate their device.

However, while these examples of screenreaders have been around for some time, there hasn’t been much competition in this space, until now.

Commentary is a new screenreader from China for Android phones that supports the English language. It contains lots of features that enhance the experience of smartphones for blind users and can be used on older Android devices too.

Kerie Doyle from Ireland has been trying out the new screenreader and she says it was so good that she made the switch from Apple to Android. She talks to Shaun and Steven on the podcast to tell us more.

What do you think? Would you try out the screenreader? What do you use now? Let us know your thoughts by emailing hello@blindguytalkstech.com or call 0204 571 3354.