Hi Sarah,
Be careful with Huawei, based on the fact that Google are ceasing support
for them in 2020. Existing phones are OK, but any new hardware wont have
Play Services or any Google apps.
I would go with something like the Google Pixel 3A, which is only £399.00.
You get the complete Google experience for not a whole heap of dosh.
All the best
Steve
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Sarah
Stephenson-Hunter
Sent: 28 October 2019 15:47
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Switching to android
Hi Steve,
Thats a very honest and helpful response.
Im glad its more of a lifestyle than accessibility choice as this is a
good place to be.
Im not a braille user so thats not an issue for me.
I think my main driver for contemplating is the cost of iPhones. I know
there are ways and means of getting them a bit cheaper but looking at new
Android phones there is a lot more flexibility of choice and cost options.
I dont want this to get into an argument over which is better value for
money, better phone etc. but it is a consideration for me. I also like the
way my partner can easily use mp3s as ringtones, text tones etc. without
having the faff that you have on IOS but that in itself isnt a reason
enough to switch.
I will perhaps look again at possible phones and weigh it up a bit more.
Both my partner and 16 year old son have had Huawei phones for a while now
and have been impressed with them so thats where Im starting.
Thanks as ever for your advice.
Sarah
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Steve
Nutt
Sent: 28 October 2019 15:07
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Switching to android
Hi Sarah,
I use both, so I am not a switcher, but I will answer your questions as
honestly as I can below:-
What apps wont I be able to get on android (I do use Soundscape and
Seeingai)?
You will get neither of those on Android unfortunately, they are iOS only.
Envision AI, or Eye-D Pro are good alternatives on Android, but there is
nothing quite like SoundScape on Android.
How different really are the gestures?
The main differences are flicks up and down instead of the rota, and Android
doesnt have multi-fingered gestures, so there is no doing anything with
more than one finger to operate Talkback. This also means that one down
side of Android for you may be that you dont get the magic tap, that is
double tap with two fingers for global play/pause or answering the phone
etc. The up side for me though is you can do everything with one hand.
What will I gain from switching?
It depends on what youre looking to gain. You may not gain anything by
switching, depending on how comfortable you are with iOS. Both are so
accessible now, that Id say its a lifestyle, rather than an accessibility
choice, unless you are a Braille user, in which case, iOS is undoubtedly
better. What you might gain with Android though, is more choice of speech
synthesisers.
How long does it take to learn the new eivnornment?
How long is a piece of string?? It really depends on how patient you are,
and how much inclination you have to learn it.
You could start here:-
https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/6151827?hl=en-GB
This will give you the scoop on Talkback.
http://www.inclusiveandroid.com
Will give you independent tutorials, not produced by Google.
I hope this helps.
All the best
Steve
