Time To Talk WatchesS, TRIVE Ability - Friday, February 6, 2026, received 2026 02 08

[Colin Howard]

Greetings,

Interesting, as yet I have not ventured down this path, currently, don't
even have a working watch of any kind, this is a matter of my choice.

The Author writes:
I was given my first Braille or tactile watch by my parents when I was about
six or seven years of age. Over the years, I suppose I have had about half
a dozen of them, all offering Braille or tactile dots under the glass lid
which I opened at the six or nine o'clock positions in order to feel the
time. These timepieces were sold by RNIB and usually came with a leather
buckle strap which my dad took to the jeweller and had replaced with an
expandable strap with several links removed so it could fit my wrist
properly. I wore my watch every day at school, at college and at work,
discreetly checking the time when I wanted to and finding a way to quietly
close the lid to avoid the clicking sound it made as the hands were covered.
As the years have passed, mechanical watches have been replaced by battery
ones and perhaps they have been designed to look smarter with imitation
diamonds on them instead of generic Braille dots to indicate the minutes and
hours on the watch face.

But with the convenience of Smart speakers, phones and devices offering the
time, wearing a traditional Braille or tactile watch has become less of a
necessity. Yet I still have three or four stylish tactile watches I wear on
my right wrist, I can discreetly feel the hands when I want to know how many
minutes I have left in a presentation, or find out the time during the night
without disturbing my husband.

Then, around 10 to 12 years ago, Apple introduced its first Apple Watch with
built-in accessibility which became a real game-changer in the world of
wearable technology. I saw the first iteration of the Apple Watch when a
friend lent me one to try. Back then, the watch was bulky and didn't offer
nearly as many features as it does today. Consequently, I didn't like it
and never thought any more about buying an Apple Watch despite the
introduction of several new features with every incremental update, until
this year .

What To Buy

During the recent Christmas period, I talked to a good friend of mine about
his experience with the latest Apple Watch, the SE3. He told me how useful
it could be and put forward a convincing argument which made me start to
think exactly what today's watches can offer. My primary phone is an iPhone
so it made sense I would want to research the various iterations of the
brand. Apple seems to have three lines of watch on sale, the Ultra range,
the standard range and the SE range, the latter being the cheaper end of the
scale. The Ultra is on its third model, the standard on its eleventh and
the SE also on its third model.

I guess my first question was: what would I want the watch to do which a
normal, tried and tested Braille or tactile one doesn't? When I thought
about using it to make and receive calls, read all my notifications and text
messages, set it up to remind me to move about more than I do already, oh
and get the time, I figured there was actually enough in it to make a
purchase worthwhile. Phones have got ever so slightly bigger with every few
upgrades and removing it from my pocket or bag in a public place isn't
always the safest option. Yet having a watch on my wrist to hear
notifications or calls coming in was actually quite appealing.

Once I had decided on the Apple Watch model to buy, I then looked at size,
colour and strap options. I didn't want a large watch so it was always
going to be the 40mm version. I thought, going for a neutral colour was
probably safer, so I opted for an aluminium midnight cellular version with a
straightforward Velcro strap, easy to adjust.

Using The Watch

When the watch arrived, my first hurdle was getting VoiceOver to talk and I
struggled to achieve this until those more knowledgeable about these watches
than me advised me to press the crown on the watch three times very quickly,
then the penny dropped and VoiceOver started to co-operate. From then on,
linking it to my Apple account, adjusting the voice and speed thereon were
all straightforward steps.
Putting the strap on the watch was slightly fiddly and required a couple of
Gemini AI descriptions to help me along.

I have had my watch about a month now and I can't imagine being without it.
The fact I can receive my news and other notifications on the watch, instead
of grabbing my phone, is worth the expense on its own.
It is discreet, convenient and sits comfortably on my left wrist without
being intrusive or clumsy. I still can't quite get used to leaving it on to
wash the dishes so I do take it off when I am going to have my hands in a
sink of water, even though I know these watches are built to handle water
now.

You will note I said I wore my Braille or tactile watches on my right wrist,
yet wear the Apple Watch on my left wrist. This is because my primary
Braille reading finger is my left index finger so have always worn a watch
on my right wrist to facilitate this. But my primary finger for swiping and
typing on my iPhone is my right index finger, so I wear the Apple Watch on
my left wrist and swipe or double-tap on it with my right index finger.

When my husband - who is a Google Pixel user - saw the benefits of what my
Apple Watch could do, he decided to purchase the Pixel Watch 4. He set his
up similarly to mine and finds it particularly useful for setting timers
when he is making bread, or calling a taxi when he has completed the grocery
shop on a Saturday.

Conclusion

Comparing the two watches side-by-side, we have both concluded, the Apple
Watch has a better sound through its speaker than the Pixel 4; there are
more voices on the Apple Watch than on the Pixel 4; but that the Pixel 4 has
Gemini on your wrist which is our favourite AI bot right now. They both
come with a USB C to magnetic charging base and a choice of straps you opt
for before checkout. In terms of size, my Apple Watch is square whereas
Martin's Pixel 4 is round, but they both have roughly the same diameter.

In terms of pricing, the Pixel 4 and Apple Watch SE3 are about the same
cost, given the straps we chose for our respective timepieces. For our use,
perhaps our purchases were extravagant even though we went for the lower end
price range because they don't really offer us anything additional to using
our phones. But the convenience, discretion and safety aspects are
definitely worth having. As someone who hated the typical talking watch
which sounded so cheap and loud, I have changed my stance on Smart watches
even though I am rather late to this particular wearable party. And my
Braille or tactile watches still have their place in my home. I am, after
all, known as queen of the dots!

https://striveability.uk/2026/02/06/time-to-talk-watches/

David Goldfield,

Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist

http://www.DavidGoldfield.com

Director of Marketing,

Blazie Technologies

http://www.BlazieTech.com

JAWS Certified, 2022

NVDA Certified Expert

Subscribe to the Tech-VI announcement list to receive blindness technology
news, events and information.

Email: tech-vi+...@groups.io

http://www.DavidGoldfield.com

Colin Howard, living in Southern England.

[Leannda Ward]

That's really interesting, I don't have a watch now either again my choice like you Colin. I prefer tactile watches as apposed to talking ones but yet love the talking keyrings which I tend to purchaise each year at Sight Village but didn't go last year and mine's given up the ghost so roll on July. I could get one before of course but like to give the venders some business on the day. Love my Iphone so have sometimes thought about getting an Apple watch as if they are square though
Sent from my iPhone

> On 8 Feb 2026, at 20:30, Colin Howard <colinho...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Greetings,

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