Getting started with Braille Watch for Apple Watch

Here are a few tips that should help you feel the dots more reliably.

Make sure that Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Haptic Alerts = On

On the home screen BrailleWatch is not present. You need to launch the app. For more frequent use you can add a complication to the watch face for opening it instantly. 

In our tests it was not necessary to activate direct touch with the rotor. Apple just defaults to indicate that activation message with VO on.

Start by placing your finger in the center of the screen. In the very center you will feel nothing, which is normal. This gives you a neutral starting point and avoids triggering system gestures.

From the center, slide your finger diagonally toward one of the four Braille cells: upper left for hour tens, upper right for hour ones, lower left for minute tens, or lower right for minute ones. When you reach the general area of a cell, try making a small circular or rotating motion with your finger. This often makes the individual Braille dots easier to detect.

The dots do not vibrate continuously when touched. Instead, they produce a subtle haptic tick only when you slide across a raised dot. If you feel only one click in each cell, that actually means the app is working — it just means you haven’t located the other raised dots yet. When a cell has more than one active braille point, you need to slide your finger slowly across the cell, because only one dot vibrates at a time. It takes a bit of practice to discover all dots reliably. 

If you have difficulty finding more than one braille point in a cell, you might think this is caused by technical limits of the screen. That is not the case. Extensive tests show that the real issue is the coordination between touch and perception. In other words, your fingers do not always do what you think they are doing. This improves gradually over time, and the process also is a general training for your finger’s fine motor skills.

It is important not to begin your sliding movement at the very top or bottom edge of the screen. Starting there may cause system menus to slide in and cover the app. Once your sliding motion has begun, this will not happen, which is why starting in the center is recommended.

Apple Watch complication support: You can add BrailleWatch to your watch face and open it instantly by tapping the complication. It works on most watch faces, including newer watchOS styles. Note: some Apple Watch models need to be powered off and restarted once before a newly installed complication appears in the list.

Get it in the AppStore!