In November 2016, I published my very first post about how to make any Android smartphone accessible for $8, which highlighted several third-party paid applications for low vision accessibility that could be used to make Android easier to see. I received my first Android smartphone when I was in middle school, and over the years I have experimented a lot with customizing icons, home screens, messaging apps, and keyboards to make them easier to see with large print and other display customizations.
Several of the apps I mentioned in my original post like Buzz Launcher and Thumb Dialer are no longer available, and I have found other apps that I like better for making Android phones more accessible for users with low vision like me. To reflect these changes, I have updated this post to include the third-party low vision Android accessibility apps that I currently use and increased the “budget” to $20 to accommodate the increased cost of lifetime/one-time purchases for these large print apps— users won’t need to re-purchase these apps if they get a new phone or pay for annual subscriptions.
Without further ado, here is a list of Android apps for low vision that can be downloaded from the Play Store to make any Android smartphone easier to see for users with low vision.
Is Android better than iOS for accessibility?
The best operating system for low vision is the one that works well for the individual user. Visual impairment is a spectrum, not a binary, and low vision access includes a broad array of accessibility features such as screen readers, large print, display customizations, braille/tactile access, and so much more. Another consideration is the design of the phones themselves— Android phones come in many more shapes, colors, and sizes compared to iPhones, since Android is used by more phone manufacturers.
Android phones are known for offering a wide variety of customization options via built-in accessibility features as well as through third-party applications like custom launchers, keyboards, and text resizing apps that can make the display even larger. Examples of built-in accessibility features include the TalkBack screen reader, Select-to-speak for text-to-speech, high contrast text, custom color schemes such as dark mode and invert colors, and Google Lens functionality within the camera app. These features can make Android easier to see for people that use large print, magnification, color coding, or other high contrast features.
While both Android and iOS offer comparable accessibility features, I prefer Android phones because I personally find them easier to hold, there are more options for customizing colors and built-in applications, and I also can’t read the largest font size on the iPhone very well.
Related links
- Smartphone Accessibility Settings For Photosensitivity
- Low Vision Accessibility Settings For Android Phones
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: Smartphones
- How To Use Select-to-speak on Android
- How I Use Google Lens With Low Vision
- How To Use Invert Colors With Low Vision
- Choosing Between Light Mode and Dark Mode For Low Vision
Big Font by AZSoft Technology: Use Android with large print
Out of all of the apps on this list, I am not exaggerating when I say that I would not be able to use my Android phone with large print if I didn’t have Big Font. When the largest font on the system font isn’t big enough to read, Big Font can increase the font size by up to 250% for free, and up to 1000% for $4 USD. I set my system font to the largest, high contrast version of the system font and then use this app to increase the text size even further. I strongly recommend experimenting with different font sizes to figure out which one will work best for an individual user.
Big Font increases the size of all of the text on my phone, including icon labels, texts, system menus, call logs, emails, settings menus, and so much more. It also increases the size of the clock in the status bar at the top of my phone screen, but not large enough so that I can see it— I use the phone lock screen to check the time instead. If the font size is too large to access certain applications, users can also temporarily switch to the default Android font size using the Big Font app/widget, and use a tool like Select-to-speak to read instead.
Related links
Microsoft Launcher: Make Home Screen easier to see
I have trouble seeing small icons, and used to frequently open the wrong applications or confuse icons with similar colors when using my phone. After experimenting with custom large icons, I switched to an icon-free home screen design that uses gestures to open applications. Instead of searching for the Phone icon, I can swipe one finger down from anywhere on the screen to open the dialer, or double tap with one finger to open the Messages app.
For the last several years, I have used the Microsoft Launcher app as a custom home screen, which supports the option to set up gestures to open applications on the home screen. Some of my other favorite features of the Microsoft Launcher app for low vision include:
- Option to hide unused apps in the app drawer, decreasing visual clutter
- The Sticky Notes feature in the Glance menu synchronizes notes with Outlook account.
- Search feature to open applications instead of looking for icons
- Option to set an image of the day for the device wallpaper— since I have no icons on my home screen, I can see the entire wallpaper!
Microsoft Launcher also offers options for placing icons and widgets on the home screen, as well as the use of custom icon packs to change the appearance of icons. I have an entire post about using Microsoft Launcher linked below, and several posts about organizing and creating icons that can be used for Android as well.
Related links
- Microsoft Launcher – Apps on Google Play
- How To Create A Custom Android Home Screen With Microsoft Launcher
- How To Customize Icons For Windows
- How To Create Custom iOS Icons and Custom Home Screen Designs
- Choosing Device Wallpapers and Backgrounds With Low Vision
- How To Organize Apps On iPad With Low Vision
BIG Phone by Big Launcher: Make phone dialer easier to see
The default Android phone dialer can be hard to see, especially the call log. One option for making Android phones easier to see with low vision is the BIG Phone app, which offers a large print dialer, large print call log, high contrast color ID, and options for adding starred contacts for ease of access. There are several options for choosing high contrast color schemes and icons, which can make the dialer even easier to see.
With the free/demo version, only the five most recent calls are displayed in the call log and the phone keypad is not usable during a call. To unlock the full app, BIG Phone requires a one-time in-app purchase of $9.49 USD, though they also offer occasional discounts on their Play Store page.
Related links
- Big Phone on Play Store
- High Contrast and Low Vision
- Accessibility Support Phone Numbers and Low Vision
Several options: Make keyboard easier to see
When I first wrote this post in 2016, I listed the a.i Type keyboard by a.i Type as a keyboard app with robust customization options, including but not limited to:
- Custom fonts and large font sizes for keyboard characters
- Increase font size of keyboard without increasing system font
- Rearrange keyboard layout for top and bottom keys
- Customize keyboard colors and color themes— I especially like the Around the Clock theme that changes throughout the day
- Turn flashing effects, haptic feedback, touch tones, and other visual settings on/off
- Adjust keyboard height and size
A.i Type is still available in the Google Play store for a one-time purchase of $3, but the app itself has not been updated since 2020. Since users often type things like passwords or sensitive data with their keyboards, I am cautious to continue recommending an application that has not been updated in so long, even though the developers state on the app listing that they do not collect user data. While I haven’t found another application that offers as many customization features, some other applications that support typing with low vision include:
- Microsoft SwiftKey (free). While large print is not supported, there is a high contrast mode and options for custom color themes, as well as dictation, options for turning off feedback (e.g. vibrating keys), and adjusting the keyboard layout.
- GBoard (free). This is the built-in keyboard for Android, and large print can be enabled in GBoard > Settings > Preferences > Appearance > Font size, with the largest font size option listed at 200%.
- There are also options for alternative keyboard layouts that may be easier to see, including a Morse Code keyboard and ClearFlow keyboard (which can be turned on in Gboard > Settings > Languages > English and swiping to view the keyboard layouts).
I do not recommend any other accessible keyboard applications because many of them have unclear or ambiguous policies on data collection and how they store user information, which can leave users vulnerable to privacy issues or having passwords exposed. Also, a lot of apps that promote large print keyboards have visually cluttered or low contrast interfaces that are hard to see (e.g. purple text on a purple background).
Related links
- A.I Type keyboard on Play Store
- SwiftKey keyboard on Play Store
- GBoard keyboard on Play Store
- How To Use Dictation As Assistive Technology With Mainstream Devices
- Learning To Type With Low Vision
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: Keyboards
Several options: Make texts easier to see
Another app I shared in November 2016 for making texts easier to see is Mood SMS by Glad Appvestor, which offers options for large print displays, bold fonts, increasing the font size of texts by pressing the volume keys, and custom color schemes. Mood SMS is free, though paid plans are also available— the cost varies depending on the user’s home country.
I switched back to the default Messages app several years ago when Google introduced options for dark mode and custom color themes for Messages, as well as the option to increase the size of texts using pinch-to-zoom. With these features and the Big Font app enabled, I can text with large print or use other tools like dictation or Select-to-speak to access texts without having to read with my eyes.
Since I have a Windows computer and Android phone, another option for texting with low vision is using the Link to Windows app to pair an Android smartphone with a Windows computer, enabling users to send and receive texts on their computer using the Phone Link desktop application. This can make it easier to use magnification, text-to-speech, or type with a full keyboard.
Related links
- Mood SMS on Play Store
- Link to Windows on Play Store
- Texting and Low Vision
- Emoji Accessibility and Low Vision
More Android apps for low vision users
- How I Use Google Lens With Low Vision
- Google Lookout App For Low Vision
- Using Google Live Transcribe With Low Vision
- How I Use Google Assistant While Traveling
- Smartphone Apps For Orientation and Mobility
- Google Reader Mode and Low Vision
- How To Store Emergency Medical Information For Android and iOS
Published November 14, 2016. Updated October 2025