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Extra Cost for Blindness Apps: Reasonable or Not?

By Michael Hansen, 13 July, 2012

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Within the last couple of years, many apps have entered the market specifically for iPhone users who are blind.   They range from color identifiers, to VoiceOver-specific Facebook clients, to touch-typing apps…and everything in-between.  Some people think a higher price tag for blindness-specific apps is reasonable, others do not.  The answer, I think, lies somewhere in the middle.

As many AppleVis users have pointed out in various discussion threads, many assistive products are very expensive — sometimes prohibitively so.  While the manufacturers of such products may insist they are keeping their prices as low as possible, many blind people beg to differ.  I myself recently heard the estimated price of a new note taker to be released in the near future and thought, “Seriously?”

Most of the blindness-specific apps I have come across are priced reasonably.  Are there some apps out there that I think are overpriced?  You bet.  Just as I think there are other assistive technology products that are much more expensive than they need be.  But, to an extent, an app that doesn’t meet your needs will naturally seem overpriced when compared to an app that you use every day.

Does that mean that it should be okay for developers to overcharge for apps just because they know people will buy them?  Of course not.  However, the unfortunate reality about many (if not all) of these apps developed specifically for people who are blind is that they won’t be bestsellers on iTunes—or even come close—because there is such a low demand in the grand scheme of things.

In the end, it comes back to what is important to you.  And what is important to one person will not be to another.  And that is as it should be.

Tags

iOS and iPadOS Apps
Assistive Technology

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Comments

I'm good with it.

By DPinWI

10 years 8 months ago

Additional cost for Apps for the Visually Impaired

By Big Davy

10 years 8 months ago

In reply to I'm good with it. by DPinWI

An app that doesn't work, is

By DPinWI

10 years 8 months ago

In reply to Additional cost for Apps for the Visually Impaired by Big Davy

Reasonable pricing

By Larry Thacker Jr.

10 years 8 months ago

The fact of the matter is

By RWolf

10 years 8 months ago

Price points of specialized apps

By Toonhead

10 years 8 months ago

In reply to The fact of the matter is by RWolf

Same app, same price, same time

By Thomas Stivers

10 years 8 months ago

accessble APPS

By Holger Fiallo

10 years 8 months ago

Re: Same App, Same Price, Same Time

By Michael Hansen

10 years 8 months ago

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

In reply to Same app, same price, same time by Thomas Stivers

Fleksy and pricing.

By Richard McKinley

10 years 8 months ago

Seal of Approval

By CertDoctor

10 years 8 months ago

software trials

By Graham Page

10 years 8 months ago

Apple doesn't offer that model

By ilkkapirttimaa

10 years 8 months ago

In reply to software trials by Graham Page

Re: Seal of Approval

By Michael Hansen

10 years 8 months ago

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

In reply to Seal of Approval by CertDoctor

The Apple Tax

By Blind I Am

10 years 8 months ago

Re: Seal of Approval

By Ekaj

8 years 8 months ago

I like the idea of a seal of approval. That way, people would know prior to even downloading the app whether or not it is accessible. I suppose a developer could lie about this, but I think that would need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Regarding pricing of these things, I definitely agree that some of these costs, or a lot of them, need to be reduced. Some of the Windows-based screen readers certainly come to mind here. But there are some apps which I believe are reasonably priced. Granted I've not yet used most of them, since I am still rather new to the Mac. But one example of this is Battery Monitor, which I purchased and installed earlier this year. It does exactly what the developer claims it will do, and works great.

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