Speaker: Theo Holroyd

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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CSUN Round-Up 2024 (Episode 54)

The 39th CSUN Assistive Technology Conference took place from 18 to 22 March in Anaheim, California, hosted by the Centre on Disabilities, Division of Student Affairs at California State University, Northridge. There were many exciting braille product announcements at the conference, and the latest prototypes of previously announced braille products were also exhibited.

In this episode, we are joined by a panel of braille experts who attended the conference. They will help us unpack the announcements and share their thoughts on the products they saw.

If you are planning to attend any of the Sight Village exhibitions in the UK, this episode will help you decide which products you might like to see for yourself.

Products discussed in this episode:

On the panel:

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Braille Technology Throughout the Ages (Episode 47)

This episode focusses on braille technology: its past, present and future. We are joined by historians, people working in the braille technology industry today and developers of the next generation of braille hardware and software.

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Introducing Linux (Extra 48)

Linux: it powers everything from laptops to toasters, braille displays to coasters. You may have heard of the world’s most popular operating system if you follow technology related news, but what is it and how do you get started exactly?

In the second of our computer science themed Masterclasses, we explored how to get started using Linux with technologies that you’ll already be familiar with. We started by getting access to a test system to experiment with, then introduced everyone to a few basic commands that allowed us to perform some basic tasks.

For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Festive Fun: More Christmas Pictures with a Perkins Brailler (Extra 47)

In our last Masterclass before the Christmas break, we’re delighted that Kim Charlson, Executive Director of the Perkins Library (part of Perkins School for the Blind), was able to join us again. Kim is author of the book “Drawing with your Perkins Brailler”, which includes step-by-step directions for creating 36 different drawings including shapes, animals and subjects with holiday and transportation themes.

In this session, she used Christmas-themed drawings to explain the concepts behind using braille cells to create pictures. Bring a Perkins and some paper and follow along and, by the end of the session, you will have your very own festive pictures made entirely of braille dots!

And don’t worry: if you heard Kim’s excellent session last year, this year’s pictures are brand new!

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JAWS and Braille: A Closer Look (Extra 29)

In Using Braille on Windows, we introduced you to the basics of making a braille display work with various screen readers. In this session, we took this to the next level in the first of an occasional series of Masterclasses looking at the braille settings of a particular screen reader.

This time it was JAWS. There are lots of settings and we weren’t able to cover all of them in an hour, so instead we reviewed some of the most common questions we’re asked, found the settings that relate to them, and explained what they do.

We covered:

  • Adding and selecting your braille display
  • Choosing your braille code and grade
  • Status cells and their use in structured mode
  • Reversing panning buttons and panning by paragraph
  • Using JAWS Braille In ™

This session was recorded on Tuesday 6 July 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.



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How to Choose your Braille Display (Extra 21)

We were delighted to be joined by renowned braille display expert Jackie Brown. Jackie is a freelance writer, regular reviewer of braille technology, and author of “Braille On Display” (published by Mosen Consulting), a comprehensive comparison of braille displays and guide to choosing the right one.

On Tuesday 20 April 2021, Jackie talked us through the process of choosing a braille display. She outlined which factors to consider and why, and the key features of the braille displays which are currently on the market. If you’ve ever wondered “Which braille display is the best one?” you are sure to have the answer at the end of this session.

For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Notetaking: Making Notes for Yourself (Extra 16)

Led by Holly Scott-Gardner, this session looked at how to take effective notes in braille for your own personal use. We covered increasing your speed when note taking, ways to organise your notes and the tools that you may wish to use.

This session was recorded on Tuesday 2 March 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Notetaking: Making Notes for Others (Extra 15)

If you are required to take notes as part of a team, whether that’s in a meeting or for group projects, this session is for you! Led by Matthew Horspool, it guides you through using braille to take notes that are also visually accessible. We talked specifically about taking notes using a braille display, and writing Markdown in braille to format your notes.

This session was recorded on Tuesday 23 February 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Braille for Public Speaking (Extra 14)

Led by Holly Scott-Gardner, this session guided participants through using braille to present more effectively, especially useful if you need to deliver speeches for work, school, or as part of one of your interests. We covered writing a presentation script, using cue cards and the best way to set up your braille display or hard copy braille when speaking.

This session was recorded on Tuesday 16 February 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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