STRIVE Ability - Sunday, May 31, 2026, The BrailleNote Family That Continues To Evolve
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Colin Howard
May 31, 2026, 4:53:52 PM (2 days ago) May 31
to post AVIP list
Greetings,
I don't use these devices but still find such articles of considerable
interest and may well invest when the development has progressed.
Introduction
In 2025, HumanWare announced it was working on a brand new concept to
supersede the BrailleNote family of products incorporating a modern twist.
In March of this year, I was invited to join an experienced group of Braille
users to beta test the BrailleNote Evolve. This is a Windows 11 computer
combining the renowned KeySoft suite of applications HumanWare note-taker
users know so well, with the popular NVDA screen reader. So as we edge ever
closer to Evolve's release, let's take a look at what we know so far.
BrailleNote Evolve Overview
The Evolve measurements and weight are:
243mm (9.57 in) wide;
175mm (6.89 in) deep;
20mm (0.79 in) thick;
990g (2.18 lbs) weight.
The box contains the following items:
BrailleNote Evolve
Carrying case
Nylon strap with shoulder pad
Two-part power supply
Modifier stickers
Earbuds
Command summary in print and Braille
Quick start guide in print and Braille
Six months free JAWS trial (optional)
Warranty: one year in North America, two years in Europe and Australia
For those who are familiar with specifications and like to know what is
under the hood of their machine, BrailleNote Evolve is extremely comparable
to regular Windows laptops.
Processor : Intel Core Ultra 5 (10-cores processor)
32GB RAM (LPDDR5x)
512GB Internal storage
Stereo Speakers
Stereo Microphones
X2 Bluetooth V5
Programmable Near field Communication (NFC)
Vibration Motor
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Place the Evolve on a flat surface with the Braille display closest to you.
On the top face of the unit are the following controls:
On the top left corner is an escape key. On the top right corner is the
forward delete key.
The eight-dot Braille input keyboard occupies the middle section of the
device with dot seven as the backspace and dot eight as the enter key.
Between dots one and four, there is a tactile cross which form the up, down,
left and right arrow keys for navigating through menus and icons.
Moving towards the front of the top face is the regular space bar. On
either side of this are some additional keys which make moving around Evolve
more straightforward. To the left of the space bar are three keys: the
longer key is the shift key. Below this are two smaller keys, the leftmost
being the control key and the one next to it being the Alt key.
To the right of the space bar are three further keys with exactly the same
layout as those on the left. The longer one is the insert key which acts as
the JAWS or NVDA modifier key, depending what screen reader you are using.
The two keys below are the function key on the left, often referred to as FN
and the Windows key.
Moving further forward on the top face is a 32-cell Braille display with
equivalent number of cursor routing buttons above it.
The front edge of the Evolve comprises the familiar HumanWare thumb keys for
panning and round Home button in the middle.
On the left side of the Evolve, going from front to back, is a slightly
recessed smooth power button. Press and hold until you feel a haptic
vibration to indicate the machine is starting. Tap it lightly to put Evolve
in and out of standby mode.
Continuing from front to back on the left side of Evolve are two USB C
thunderbolt ports which power your unit and can be used for external drives
and other peripherals. You would use one of these ports to charge your
device but it doesn't matter which of them you use for this purpose.
Moving further away from the front of the Evolve on the left side is an HDMI
socket for adding a monitor.
Finally, there is a Kensington lock at the rear of the left side.
On the right side of Evolve, going from front to back, is an Actions button
for giving the unit voice commands. This key has a dot on it and I am
assuming there will be more to come from this feature over time.
Moving further back on the right side are two volume buttons, volume down
and volume up.
Next is a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combination socket.
Finally, there is a USB A port for connecting an external keyboard or other
peripherals.
The Evolve comes in a sturdy carrying case with a lid which closes over and
snaps shut with a magnetic closure. The case has four feet so the Evolve
doesn't slide about when being used. Closing the lid when the unit is
powered puts it into sleep mode.
Getting Started
When you first power on the Evolve, you must wait until you hear the TTS
engine start speaking to tell you that you will need to set up the machine.
This is a Windows 11 device so it is not what BrailleNote customers are
traditionally used to. The process of setting up the device involves
choosing your language and region, adding your Wi-Fi network credentials and
entering a Microsoft account. There will also be a wait while Microsoft
collates this information and verifies the registration process. You will
be asked several questions such as adding a PIN, whether you want to back up
your settings and agreeing to certain terms and conditions, all exactly as
you would encounter on setting up a regular Windows PC or laptop. I must
admit, at this initial setup stage, I opted to use a wireless USB qwerty
keyboard rather than inputting Braille. I did this for convenience and to
ensure the credentials I entered were accurate without any Braille
translation errors.
When you finally complete these steps, you can now begin customising your
desktop, taskbar and other Windows features to your own requirements. You
will also encounter the new KeySoft Main Menu which comprises the following
items with which BrailleNote users will be familiar:
Braille Editor (Key BRF)
Excel
File Manager (Key Files)
Math Editor (Key Math)
Microsoft Edge
Outlook Classic
PowerPoint
Victor Reader
Word
All Apps
If, however, you just want to use your Evolve as a regular Windows laptop
with Braille input, you can stop the KeySoft menu from starting. But for
those who are transitioning from a previous BrailleNote product, you are
advised to use the KeySoft menu to find everything you need until you become
accustomed to the machine.
For new users to the NVDA screen reader, you will be able to customise this
by pressing insert+N and navigate to the NVDA settings where you can choose
your TTS voice, adjust speed and pitch and make the screen reader more
comfortable to your liking.
When you began setting up your Evolve, you were asked to enter the
credentials of your Microsoft account. This allows you to use Microsoft 365
which comprises Outlook for email, Word for creating and editing your
documents, Excel for using spreadsheets and PowerPoint for creating
presentations. All these applications on the Evolve come with HumanWare
add-ins to make navigating the ribbons and features of these programs more
straightforward for new users.
Some Points To Note
At the time of writing, (the end of May,) Evolve is not yet the finished
product in terms of its software. There are still some bugs, but this is
the nature of any new product so should not cause alarm or doubt. While
NVDA is the default screen reader you interact with on Evolve, you can
install a copy of JAWS and use one of your authorisations as I have done,
primarily because I am a long-standing JAWS user and want the Evolve to be
as close to a standard Windows 11 experience as it can be. In fact, I have
also installed the JAWS add-on, Leasey, produced by
Hartgen Consultancy
However, HumanWare has teamed up with
Vispero
to offer a six-month trial of JAWS to new users who might wish to use it
instead of NVDA.
At the time of writing, there is no definitive price for a JAWS licence once
the six-month trial ends. Therefore, my advice is to contact HumanWare for
pricing if you want to use JAWS on your Evolve. While JAWS is distributed
in the UK by
Sight And Sound Technology
my understanding is HumanWare is looking after JAWS specifically for the
BrailleNote Evolve and if you choose to purchase a JAWS licence after the
six-month trial, the licence you buy will only work on the Evolve so is
priced slightly lower than a regular JAWS offering.
Remember though as this is a conventional Windows machine in every other
respect, you can install any application you would work with on a regular
Microsoft device, whether OCR software, Braille translation program or any
other tools and utilities you frequently use.
Conclusion
We are only at the beginning of the Evolve journey which is why, in my view,
this product has been given a very appropriate name. Those of us who love
our Windows machines have waited a long time for a device like this to
arrive. Yes there are competitors like the B.Note family of products from
EuroBraille
and the InsideOne from
InsideVision
but this is HumanWare's first foray into Windows and I am very excited by
what is evolving thus far. Some may remember ElBraille, a collaboration
between the Elita Group and Vispero a few years ago which, for several
reasons, didn't live up to expectation. So Evolve is imminent for release
and once the current bugs are rectified, I think it will be widely adopted,
particularly in education.
HumanWare is also working on a qwerty model which will include a 40-cell
Braille display. Naturally this will incur a price difference and be
slightly larger and heavier than the current Evolve Braille input keyboard.
I must say this prospect is very mouth-watering though as I do like a qwerty
keyboard.
I would like to see the battery life on Evolve beefed up from the current
four or five hours we are getting and I believe the out-of-the-box
experience for new users to Windows needs to be a little more polished.
For further information, current pricing or demonstration, contact HumanWare
on
01933 415800,
or visit HumanWare
https://striveability.uk/2026/05/31/the-braillenote-family-that-continues-to-evolve/
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.
I don't use these devices but still find such articles of considerable
interest and may well invest when the development has progressed.
Introduction
In 2025, HumanWare announced it was working on a brand new concept to
supersede the BrailleNote family of products incorporating a modern twist.
In March of this year, I was invited to join an experienced group of Braille
users to beta test the BrailleNote Evolve. This is a Windows 11 computer
combining the renowned KeySoft suite of applications HumanWare note-taker
users know so well, with the popular NVDA screen reader. So as we edge ever
closer to Evolve's release, let's take a look at what we know so far.
BrailleNote Evolve Overview
The Evolve measurements and weight are:
243mm (9.57 in) wide;
175mm (6.89 in) deep;
20mm (0.79 in) thick;
990g (2.18 lbs) weight.
The box contains the following items:
BrailleNote Evolve
Carrying case
Nylon strap with shoulder pad
Two-part power supply
Modifier stickers
Earbuds
Command summary in print and Braille
Quick start guide in print and Braille
Six months free JAWS trial (optional)
Warranty: one year in North America, two years in Europe and Australia
For those who are familiar with specifications and like to know what is
under the hood of their machine, BrailleNote Evolve is extremely comparable
to regular Windows laptops.
Processor : Intel Core Ultra 5 (10-cores processor)
32GB RAM (LPDDR5x)
512GB Internal storage
Stereo Speakers
Stereo Microphones
X2 Bluetooth V5
Programmable Near field Communication (NFC)
Vibration Motor
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Place the Evolve on a flat surface with the Braille display closest to you.
On the top face of the unit are the following controls:
On the top left corner is an escape key. On the top right corner is the
forward delete key.
The eight-dot Braille input keyboard occupies the middle section of the
device with dot seven as the backspace and dot eight as the enter key.
Between dots one and four, there is a tactile cross which form the up, down,
left and right arrow keys for navigating through menus and icons.
Moving towards the front of the top face is the regular space bar. On
either side of this are some additional keys which make moving around Evolve
more straightforward. To the left of the space bar are three keys: the
longer key is the shift key. Below this are two smaller keys, the leftmost
being the control key and the one next to it being the Alt key.
To the right of the space bar are three further keys with exactly the same
layout as those on the left. The longer one is the insert key which acts as
the JAWS or NVDA modifier key, depending what screen reader you are using.
The two keys below are the function key on the left, often referred to as FN
and the Windows key.
Moving further forward on the top face is a 32-cell Braille display with
equivalent number of cursor routing buttons above it.
The front edge of the Evolve comprises the familiar HumanWare thumb keys for
panning and round Home button in the middle.
On the left side of the Evolve, going from front to back, is a slightly
recessed smooth power button. Press and hold until you feel a haptic
vibration to indicate the machine is starting. Tap it lightly to put Evolve
in and out of standby mode.
Continuing from front to back on the left side of Evolve are two USB C
thunderbolt ports which power your unit and can be used for external drives
and other peripherals. You would use one of these ports to charge your
device but it doesn't matter which of them you use for this purpose.
Moving further away from the front of the Evolve on the left side is an HDMI
socket for adding a monitor.
Finally, there is a Kensington lock at the rear of the left side.
On the right side of Evolve, going from front to back, is an Actions button
for giving the unit voice commands. This key has a dot on it and I am
assuming there will be more to come from this feature over time.
Moving further back on the right side are two volume buttons, volume down
and volume up.
Next is a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combination socket.
Finally, there is a USB A port for connecting an external keyboard or other
peripherals.
The Evolve comes in a sturdy carrying case with a lid which closes over and
snaps shut with a magnetic closure. The case has four feet so the Evolve
doesn't slide about when being used. Closing the lid when the unit is
powered puts it into sleep mode.
Getting Started
When you first power on the Evolve, you must wait until you hear the TTS
engine start speaking to tell you that you will need to set up the machine.
This is a Windows 11 device so it is not what BrailleNote customers are
traditionally used to. The process of setting up the device involves
choosing your language and region, adding your Wi-Fi network credentials and
entering a Microsoft account. There will also be a wait while Microsoft
collates this information and verifies the registration process. You will
be asked several questions such as adding a PIN, whether you want to back up
your settings and agreeing to certain terms and conditions, all exactly as
you would encounter on setting up a regular Windows PC or laptop. I must
admit, at this initial setup stage, I opted to use a wireless USB qwerty
keyboard rather than inputting Braille. I did this for convenience and to
ensure the credentials I entered were accurate without any Braille
translation errors.
When you finally complete these steps, you can now begin customising your
desktop, taskbar and other Windows features to your own requirements. You
will also encounter the new KeySoft Main Menu which comprises the following
items with which BrailleNote users will be familiar:
Braille Editor (Key BRF)
Excel
File Manager (Key Files)
Math Editor (Key Math)
Microsoft Edge
Outlook Classic
PowerPoint
Victor Reader
Word
All Apps
If, however, you just want to use your Evolve as a regular Windows laptop
with Braille input, you can stop the KeySoft menu from starting. But for
those who are transitioning from a previous BrailleNote product, you are
advised to use the KeySoft menu to find everything you need until you become
accustomed to the machine.
For new users to the NVDA screen reader, you will be able to customise this
by pressing insert+N and navigate to the NVDA settings where you can choose
your TTS voice, adjust speed and pitch and make the screen reader more
comfortable to your liking.
When you began setting up your Evolve, you were asked to enter the
credentials of your Microsoft account. This allows you to use Microsoft 365
which comprises Outlook for email, Word for creating and editing your
documents, Excel for using spreadsheets and PowerPoint for creating
presentations. All these applications on the Evolve come with HumanWare
add-ins to make navigating the ribbons and features of these programs more
straightforward for new users.
Some Points To Note
At the time of writing, (the end of May,) Evolve is not yet the finished
product in terms of its software. There are still some bugs, but this is
the nature of any new product so should not cause alarm or doubt. While
NVDA is the default screen reader you interact with on Evolve, you can
install a copy of JAWS and use one of your authorisations as I have done,
primarily because I am a long-standing JAWS user and want the Evolve to be
as close to a standard Windows 11 experience as it can be. In fact, I have
also installed the JAWS add-on, Leasey, produced by
Hartgen Consultancy
However, HumanWare has teamed up with
Vispero
to offer a six-month trial of JAWS to new users who might wish to use it
instead of NVDA.
At the time of writing, there is no definitive price for a JAWS licence once
the six-month trial ends. Therefore, my advice is to contact HumanWare for
pricing if you want to use JAWS on your Evolve. While JAWS is distributed
in the UK by
Sight And Sound Technology
my understanding is HumanWare is looking after JAWS specifically for the
BrailleNote Evolve and if you choose to purchase a JAWS licence after the
six-month trial, the licence you buy will only work on the Evolve so is
priced slightly lower than a regular JAWS offering.
Remember though as this is a conventional Windows machine in every other
respect, you can install any application you would work with on a regular
Microsoft device, whether OCR software, Braille translation program or any
other tools and utilities you frequently use.
Conclusion
We are only at the beginning of the Evolve journey which is why, in my view,
this product has been given a very appropriate name. Those of us who love
our Windows machines have waited a long time for a device like this to
arrive. Yes there are competitors like the B.Note family of products from
EuroBraille
and the InsideOne from
InsideVision
but this is HumanWare's first foray into Windows and I am very excited by
what is evolving thus far. Some may remember ElBraille, a collaboration
between the Elita Group and Vispero a few years ago which, for several
reasons, didn't live up to expectation. So Evolve is imminent for release
and once the current bugs are rectified, I think it will be widely adopted,
particularly in education.
HumanWare is also working on a qwerty model which will include a 40-cell
Braille display. Naturally this will incur a price difference and be
slightly larger and heavier than the current Evolve Braille input keyboard.
I must say this prospect is very mouth-watering though as I do like a qwerty
keyboard.
I would like to see the battery life on Evolve beefed up from the current
four or five hours we are getting and I believe the out-of-the-box
experience for new users to Windows needs to be a little more polished.
For further information, current pricing or demonstration, contact HumanWare
on
01933 415800,
or visit HumanWare
https://striveability.uk/2026/05/31/the-braillenote-family-that-continues-to-evolve/
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.
Peter Wilkins
Jun 1, 2026, 7:03:48 PM (2 days ago) Jun 1
to avip...@googlegroups.com
Hello Colin.
A few weeks ago I received a phone call from a friend who is beta
testing the Braillenote Evolve. He told me that the price is
likely to be over six thousand pounds.
Best wishes,
Peter
A few weeks ago I received a phone call from a friend who is beta
testing the Braillenote Evolve. He told me that the price is
likely to be over six thousand pounds.
Best wishes,
Peter
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