Finding gifts is hard, it is even harder when buying for blind and low vision friends and family. The Blind and Low Vision Gift Guide is here to help with some inspiration.
Cards
Most cards have fancy fonts and poor contrast, making them hard for blind and low vision recipients to enjoy, that’s where specialist cards come in.
Hayley is visually impaired with a rare genetic condition that runs through her family. Hayley set up Dotty About Braille to provide custom handmade cards for low vision and blind recipients at a price comparable to sighted recipients. Check out the amazing range of cards at Dotty About Braille – Personalised Braille Greetings Cards, Labels & more
Blind and Low Vision Gift Guide
Gifts over £500
Apple iPhone
For many, the Apple iPhone is the ultimate accessibility tool, it provides access to the internet and a range of apps that remove daily barriers. The iPhone range provides a suitable phone for most budgets. Apple Intelligence is the latest feature Apple is rolling out and it promises to help remove more barriers for disabled people, including integration with AI models and Visual Intelligence. If this is important, you need to ensure the phone you buy is capable of supporting it.
Apple iPhone SE 2022 – ~£430
The Apple iPhone SE 2022 is the most affordable phone in the iPhone lineup and has been a favourite for many blind and low vision users. The screen is the smallest in the range with a 4.7 inch screen. It still has finger print recognition loved by many. The SE is due to be replaced next year and doesn’t support Apple Intelligence in the current version. While the base model comes with 64gb of storage, I would recommend a minimum of 128gb of storage. The iPhone SE doesn’t include the U1 chip which means it can’t do precise finding with AirTags. The AirTags work, but you can’t get any more precise than the room you are in.
Buy the iPhone SE 2022 128GB on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Apple iPhone 16 / 16 Plus – ~£799 / ~£899
The iPhone 16 is a 6.1 inch screen and the 16 Plus as a 6.7 inch screen. Both phones support Apple Intelligence and come with the new Camera Control button to make it easier to take photos. The difference between the 16 and 16 plus relates to the screen size, and with a bigger screen comes more space for a battery and therefore a longer battery life. Both phones support the full functionality of AirTags.
Buy the iPhone 16 128GB on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Buy the iPhone 16 Plus 128GB on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro / 16 Pro Max – ~£999 / £1199
The iPhone 16 Pro is a 6.3 Inch screen and the 16 Pro Max has a 6.9 inch screen. The Pro phones have a 5x optical zoom camera and LIDAR. LIDAR can be used to accurately determine distances and objects. Both phones support the full functionality of AirTags.
Buy the iPhone 16 Pro 128GB on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Buy the iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Gifts between £250 and £500
Meta Ray Ban Smart Glasses – ~£300
Meta Ray Ban Smart Glasses are taking the blind and low vision world by storm, the ability to make hands free video calls, take photos and ask Meta AI what you are looking at make them a useful addition to our toolbox. See my Blind Meta Ray Ban Review post for a more detailled review of them.
Buy the Meta Ray Ban Smart Glasses from Meta
Apple HomePod – £299
The Apple HomePod is a high quality smart speaker with fantastic sound. It is integrated with the Apple ecosystem allowing easy control of Homekit devices and access to Apple Music. The HomePod is best as a pair linked to an Apple TV 4k Box, providing Dolby Atmos sound for shows and movies. I have two of these paired with my Apple TV 4K and love the quality of the sound and accessibility of the Apple TV 4K. The Apple TV 4K also works well with the HomePod Mini’s for rooms where you don’t need the full cinema experience.
Buy the Apple HomePod from Apple
Gifts between £100 and £250
Hable One – ~£169
The Hable One is a Bluetooth controller for phones. It has a simple eight key layout that allows users to easily navigate their phone and type in braille. This allows the phone to be left in a bag or pocket, while operating the phone. It also provides a convenient way to enter text that can be difficult with dictation or using the onscreen keyboard. The Hable One can be purchased from the Hable One Website.
Buy the Hable One from Hable One
Apple TV 4K – ~£169
The Apple TV 4K is arguably the most accessible TV streaming box. I switched from Amazon Fire TV after trying the Apple TV 4K, the experience is significantly better. Accessing the interface and all apps are accessible, with tight integration to your Apple iPhone allowing you to control the Apple TV from the physical remote, Siri or your phone. Make the most of your Apple TV 4K by connecting it to a pair of HomePod or HomePod Mini smart speakers.
Buy the Apple TV 4k 128GB from Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Gifts between £50 and £100
Apple HomePod Mini – ~£99
The HomePod Mini is a great sounding smart speaker with integration to the Apple ecosystem. The speaker allows you to control your home, send messages and make calls via your iPhone. When you combine two of these with the Apple TV 4K, you get a fantastic TV experience.
Buy the Apple HomePod Mini from Apple
Lego Braille Bricks Set – ~£80
Lego have released a set of their Braille Bricks that will make the ideal gift for Lego lovers. I reviewed the set in my Lego Braille Bricks Review post. The set provides all you need to start playing and learning braille. The set is great for playing with the family and sharing your braille knowledge.
Buy Lego Braille Bricks from Lego.com
Gifts between £25 and £50
Bluetooth Sunglasses – ~£35
I use Bluetooth sunglasses whenever I leave the house. Apart from shielding the sunlight from my eyes, they also allow me to listen to my phone while still being able to hear my surroundings. I now use Meta Ray Ban’s predominantly, but prior to purchasing them I used the Oho Sunshine Smart Glasse,s available for around £35. The Oho Sunchine smart glasses are well made and great for audio books and text to speech, but don’t expect great sounding music from them.
Buy the Oho Sunshine Glasses on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Apple AirTag – ~£29
If your loved one is always losing things, Apple Air Tags are ideal for helping them find things themselves. The tags are slightly bigger than a bottle top and you can get a range of accessories for attaching them to items from keys to boxes.
This small device works on iPhone 7 and above, but to get the magic you need an iPhone 11 or above. The AirTags can be pinpointed precisely with the new iPhone’s Ultra-Wide Band chip, therefore making them ideal for the visually impaired. Please note that the iPhone SE 2022 does not support Ultra-Wide Band and Air Tag Precise locating features.
Buy an Apple AirTag on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Gifts less than £25
Pot Watcher – ~£20
Cooking often involves knowing when a pot is boiling and stopping it boil over, the pot watcher is a ceramic coin that is placed in the pot with the water or food, it will rattle when the liquid begins to boil helping to keep you safe.
Buy the Pot Watcher on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
TableCoaster – ~£15
Knocking drinks over is common for most people, but when you are blind or low vision, it is easier to do and more troublesome to clean up, that is where the TableCoaster comes in. The TableCoaster is a tall sided coaster that you can insert your cup on can into, it has a tacky bases that sticks the coaster to the table top. I have two of these and love them, no more searching for where I put my drink, and reassurance that I will not knock the drink over.
Buy the TableCoaster on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Phone Lanyard – ~£10
Using a phone while trying to use a white cane can be challenging, that’s where a lanyard can help. I purchased the Orange Cobee Lanyard from Amazon and use it with my iPhone 14 Pro Max and Hable One. The lanyard is long, so I put a knot in the lanyard to shorten it.
Buy the Orange Phone Cobee Lanyard on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Abutech Grippit Cane Holder- ~£5
White canes can often have a mind of there own, especially when stored at home, from unfolding to falling across the hall. The Abutech Grippit cane holder helps tames a cane, securing it to a wall of cupboard ensuring it is ready for next use.
Buy the Abutech Grippit Cane Holder from RNIB
Loc Dots – ~£4
Loc-Dots are the ideal stocking filler at under £5 per pack of 6 in clear or orange. They are small, raised stickers that can be applied to computer keyboards, TV remotes, heating controls or even on keys to help identify the key you need. I personally use them to mark the capslock key on my keyboard, identify the front door key and to identify the power button on my CPAP machine by touch
Concluding the Blind and Low Vision Gift Guide
That completes my blind and low vision gift guide, I would love to hear your ideas and add them to the list for others.
Tell me what you think in the comments below or on X @timdixon82
