My eyes!!! My phone!!!
June 4, 2023 3:19 PM   Subscribe

Do you have a smartphone, eyes over 45, and no hatred of texting? What is your secret? The right phone, screen protector, usage patterns, special exercises, keyboard attachment, a commune with no cell phones but miraculously good health care...any, any creative thoughts welcomed. This is a safe space for your synesthesia-SMS, I-only-text-the-dead, totally off the wall approaches.

The biggest Android phone I could find still misspells almost every. word I tow. Dip toy have this Halloween tip you? And my eyes and my shoulders just don't WANT to write text messages, and definitely not read them... yet I find myself needing to communicate with other humans, humans who need me to text them.

Larger text helps, but then I can't see as much at one time which is also cumbersome. Cumbersome = less joy in communication, so not only do I do it less, people don't feel as liked by me (when my attitude isn't about them, it's about the dang PHONE).

Text-to-speech is an option, but seems slow.

I know about blue light. Even if that makes a substantial difference, what's the best approach?

Would an iPhone (instead of an Android phone) help with this specific issue?

Would a newer Android phone help (mine is a Galaxy Note8, vintage 2017)?

I have a keyboard somewhere that should work with a smartphone if I get it set up correctly, but that seems cumbersome for a device whose main strength is portability.

--

Did you feel like I do? Did you despair of tolerating frequent, meaningful communication with anyone in the current era? Did that change somehow? How?
posted by amtho to Grab Bag (45 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is perhaps not what you are looking for, but I have a Mac and an iPhone and quite a lot of the time when I am texting people, I am actually typing things on my laptop in the Messages app. These are sent as texts; the recipients receive them on their phones (and whatever else they have set up) in the ordinary way; I receive texts both on my phone (and indeed also on my watch) and on my laptop.
posted by redfoxtail at 3:22 PM on June 4, 2023 [17 favorites]


Response by poster: That is within the very large realm of ideas I am looking for, definitely!

I have used e-mail-to-text gateways in the past - e-mail to a special address using their cell provider's gateway domain name. I'm not sure this is working well currently - a friend just had trouble contacting me this way (mynumber@tmomail.com, for T-Mobile), and it looks like that might be regarded as "legacy" technology. Not totally sure about that yet.

Anybody know if the Messages app redfoxtail mentions will work on Windows?
posted by amtho at 3:27 PM on June 4, 2023


I dislike typing anything on my work phone because it is too small. I don’t have big fingers or anything but my slightly larger personal phone is much nicer for that purpose because the ‘keys’ are just a fraction bigger. But I just checked and my personal phone is pretty much the same screen size as yours.

Having said that, if I have a choice I much prefer to use my tablet. I am an Apple girl and I get my messages on my iPad as well as my phones. So figure out if your preferred messaging apps work with your tablet.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:31 PM on June 4, 2023


Speech-to-text works very well for me on my iPhone. It's easy to revise before sending. I doubt it's slower on Android.

My eyes are over 45.

How about typing one letter at a time with one finger and with your eyes open? Wearing your glasses? And keep the messages short. I'm having a problem seeing what the problem is. Why are you sending out texts with typos (if they bother you; not judging typos per se, I mean who cares)?

Do you have the same problem with email and internet searches and other apps on your phone?
posted by JimN2TAW at 3:31 PM on June 4, 2023 [2 favorites]


I have a very new Google Pixel phone. I dictate almost everything. I'm comfortable with the speed, and I'm also okay dictating punctuation. I'm quite nearsighted, so I have learned to experiment with the distance I hold the phone at in order to read things. YMMV, but it works for me.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 3:33 PM on June 4, 2023 [3 favorites]


Anybody know if the Messages app redfoxtail mentions will work on Windows?

It will not.

I am 54, text all the time, and do it mostly in the way redfoxtail mentions, typing into my computer. This app seems like it will do the sameish thing in a Windows/Android environment. I have not used it so maybe someone else will chime in with what works for them but yes the answer for me was a combination of decent speech-to-text and doing nearly all texting from my Mac.
posted by jessamyn at 3:37 PM on June 4, 2023


I have an iphone. Like redfoxtail, if I am at home and texting, it is almost certainly via Messages on my computer. If I am on the phone, I almost always use voice to text for sending texts. It has some goofy errors sometimes but mostly works fine, and punctuation works smoothly. If I'm not using voice to text, I use the swiping keyboard, which works ok but with more errors than voice to text, at least with my large thumb.

For reading texts in dim light, I use the built-in magnifier accessibility feature, which also works smoothly.

I would guess Android would have equivalents of all of this, but it is nicely integrated on the Apple products which are what I am most familiar with.
posted by Dip Flash at 3:40 PM on June 4, 2023


Swipe/swype-style keyboards help me more than they hinder me, though they are not perfect. Also, there are qwerty keyboards for device (this is one I have).
posted by Dashy at 3:41 PM on June 4, 2023 [2 favorites]


I think reading glasses might be in order. You can go to a drugstore, try on readers of varying strengths, and get the strength that works.
posted by theora55 at 3:48 PM on June 4, 2023 [16 favorites]


53 years old, iPhone, freakishly large thumbs apparently.

I am frequently under significant time pressure when typing on my cell phone but I use speech-to-text every time. Yes it’s nowhere near my full-size keyboard typing speed, but it gets the job done in a minimally frustrating way.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 4:07 PM on June 4, 2023


52, mild astigmatism. I don't really have a problem using midrange Android phones. I mostly text over whatsapp using gboard's swipe feature. If I have to write something long or complicated, I usually use whatsapp's web interface.
posted by signal at 4:14 PM on June 4, 2023


My current phone is a Samsung A73, if that makes a difference.
posted by signal at 4:17 PM on June 4, 2023


> I think reading glasses might be in order.

But the luck of the draw, my nearsighted eyes work perfectly for cell phone distance (with no glasses). It is amazing how much difference actually being able to see (clearly) on the thing helps.

My point is, getting reading glasses that are optimized for cell phone distance - not computer distance, not reading distance - would probably help a lot. A surprising lot.

Second, I got a phone with a stylus for this exact reason. I like it a lot. You can see (because the stylus doesn't block your view like your thumb does) and touch or choose things precisely, like you can on a computer with a mouse.

I have the cheap Motorola stylus phone, but the more expensive stylus phones ($500-$1000-ish pricing last I looked) work a lot better. I'm always amazed that the stylus is not much more of a mobile phone solution than it is.

Finally, as many people here I use and like the voice to text option (be SURE to proofread & correct, though). For some reason, I just HATE talking to my phone, however - and that goes double if anyone else is around at all.

So another alternative I like and use most often is GBoard's handwriting keyboard option. GBoard is the default keyboard for (most?) Android devices and handwriting mode is an option within GBoard that you can enable.

The great advantage of handwriting mode is that is seems to guess correctly almost all the time - especially if you slow your handwriting a bit, write clearly, separate each letter, etc. Whereas my swipe or thumb typing needs corrections for pretty much every single word (not kidding, and it drives me absolutely BONKERS), with handwriting mode there are usually only a correction or two in the average paragraph - not too much different than touch typing.

Turning on handwriting mode in GBoard is a bit difficult to find. Here are instructions.. Note that the handwriting mode becomes one of several keyboards you can choose in GBoard by touching the little "globe" icon. Handwriting works GREAT with a stylus but you can also handwrite just find using your fingertip.

Note that I have tried some other handwriting keyboards - but GBoard handwriting is the only one that ever really worked well. Google used to have a separate handwriting keyboard (don't see it on the app store now, so maybe it's been discontinued) and even that didn't work nearly as well.
posted by flug at 4:26 PM on June 4, 2023 [5 favorites]


On an Android phone, you can use the Google Messages for Web portal on a real computer instead of some "app". It has all the messages on your phone and sends them the exact same way.
posted by meowzilla at 4:29 PM on June 4, 2023 [15 favorites]


Another technique I often use is to turn the phone sidewise (long-wise) when typing, especially something short like a text.

It makes the keyboard a lot bigger. This works especially well with the handwriting keyboard as it makes the space to write a lot bigger.

Yet another technique is to reply (quickly) to texts but work on making replies absolutely as brief as possible. As a "boomer" my default is complete sentences and (as you can see) replies that consider every option or alternative. But text message replies are typically brief FOR A REASON. Just use emoji, thumbs up, kk, TY, BRB, ROFL, and all the rest, early and often.

Usually with texting, a nice short reply right away is a lot better than a lengthy reply later or never. What is the absolute least you need to type to send a reply to this message?

Here are a couple of guides to text message abbreviations for us clueless people: 1 2
posted by flug at 4:43 PM on June 4, 2023 [4 favorites]


As above, I have an iPhone and MacBook and if I sense a long text conversation coming on, I switch to my laptop. But this is mostly because of my arthritic thumbs, not my eyes. If my laptop is not an option then I just dictate. Most people by now have learned the art of interpreting Siri-ese and if not, well, texting with me is an opportunity to learn! But you should be able to see texts just as well as any other typed material. Do you have a problem with other type of the same size?
posted by HotToddy at 4:52 PM on June 4, 2023


Response by poster: Oh hey - ALL of my typos come from autocorrect. Going back and fixing them is AWFUL - I have to read the tiny letters, move the cursor with my finger to the right spot -- and my finger COVERS the words, so it's super annoying and often takes multiple tries -- and then backspace, and then insert the correct letters, and then move the cursor with my tragically opaque finger to the end of the message (or the next typo, if I correct all of them after entering the entire message). PLUS, if it's a long message - and by that, I mean > 1 sentence - I'm finger-scrolling (with an interface not designed for that) up and down, a tiny number of lines at a time.

Plus, somehow my phone remembers that once I substituted in a nuanced "maaaaybe" for "maybe", and now EVERY TIME it wants to use the word "maaaaybe". That's one example among many, most of which make even less sense.

Glasses for phone distance is a good idea; unfortunately reading glasses -- any glasses -- drive me nuts in a bad way. I've tried the little pads, super lightweight glasses, etc. Plus - putting glasses on and off every time I text... ugh.
posted by amtho at 4:58 PM on June 4, 2023 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Oh you guys. All these attempts to make texting on a phone not torture. What a world.
posted by amtho at 4:59 PM on June 4, 2023 [1 favorite]


You should turn off autocorrect, and generally embrace minor spelling and formatting errors to eliminate all of the fiddling with editing text on a phone. Editing text on a phone is a universally horrible experience.
posted by grog at 5:28 PM on June 4, 2023 [7 favorites]


> somehow my phone remembers that once I substituted in...

you can clear the dictionary of remembered words but it depends on your setup exactly how: https://www.june29.com/how-to-clear-your-dictionary-on-android/
i use Gboard on a Pixel phone. you probably want the instructions halfway down the page about Samsung, but i agree with grog about just turning off autocorrect altogether.

one of the reasons i ditched a samsung and went back to pixel is cuz i hated having the extra layer of Samsung's window manager between me and the phone. personal preference, but gimme the more pure form of android.
posted by glonous keming at 5:35 PM on June 4, 2023 [2 favorites]


Yeah, don't bother correcting. People can figure it out.
posted by HotToddy at 5:36 PM on June 4, 2023


I use Google's keyboard (GBoard) and found that adjusting the width of the keyboard to match the reach of my thumb has increased the accuracy of my typing significantly. Also, if you use gesture typing, it is VERY IMPORTANT to make sure you START your gesture on the letter the word starts with. GBoard is somewhat forgiving on swipes that go awry mid-word but you will get 100% incorrect words and three bad predictions if you don't at least start it off right.

Also, yes, reading glasses. I'm 54 and have had lens replacement surgery, and while I can actually read text on my phone without them, a +1 correction is much better.
posted by kindall at 5:39 PM on June 4, 2023 [1 favorite]


Glasses make SO much difference - I’d never needed them until last year, but am now in my late 40s and only one year after my first reading glasses prescription, I just cannot imagine trying to text without them (and my prescription’s only 1.5, not especially strong).

In terms of putting them off and on - you can get glasses made with your reading prescription in the bottom, and plain glass in the top (so, like varifocals but with no prescription in the top half). That means you can use them for reading, but they don’t warp your view of the rest of the world, so they’re easier to leave on and go about your business.

I realise that doesn’t help if you hate wearing them at all! But they very thought of trying to text without glasses when you really need glasses, is making my eyes hurt. I really feel like this would make a night-and-day difference if you can solve it.
posted by penguin pie at 5:42 PM on June 4, 2023 [3 favorites]


I have a Google pixel phone and Google Fi as my carrier. I swipe type or voice dictate everything - pecking on a phone keyboard is awful. I also respond to texts from the computer using Google messages for web (messages.google.com). Maybe it's just tough to switch platforms in general but personally I find it harder on iphone.
posted by beyond_pink at 5:51 PM on June 4, 2023 [2 favorites]


You don't need an app to use Google Messages on a Windows machine. All you need is to go to messages.google.com on a browser, which you pair to your phone with a one-time scan of a QR code, and then you can text from a computer with zero problem (it even displays your complete text history). It's been a lifesaver for me, I use it on both Windows and Chromebook. You can pair to as many machines as you want, but you can only use it on one machine at a time (it'll prompt you if you're active with it on another device).

It is sneakily the best thing about Google and Android. It's seamless, it's easy, and it's simple to get started with.
posted by pdb at 6:44 PM on June 4, 2023 [6 favorites]


I got a bunch of tiny styluses and always have one attached to my phone, makes typing so much easier. They don't last forever, but you can get 20 for less than a buck each, so you'll have spares, and can give them to friends that see you using it and say "omg I neeed one of those"
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:45 PM on June 4, 2023 [2 favorites]


I also use the Gboard keyboard and find that I don't really need to see the letters on the keys since for most of us they key positions have been long since memorized. So I can compose a message without wearing my glasses if I have to. When I need to proofread I use the magnification option (on my Motorola the shortcut is a triple-tap) to actually see the message before I send it. Having your screen brightness turned up a little higher than you might otherwise have it set is also helpful. But for longer messages when I'm not in front of my computer I need to dig out the reading glasses.
posted by mezzanayne at 6:59 PM on June 4, 2023


+1 to messages.google.com. You have to use Google Messages on your phone for it to work. It's really helpful. If you have Google Fi phone plan the same web app shows your voicemail and lets you make calls.

Disclaimer, I work for Google, but not on anything remotely related to Android or messages. I'd still use it because texting on a phone is a bummer when I already sit at a laptop all day.
posted by rouftop at 7:39 PM on June 4, 2023


Get yourself honest to god prescription bifocals that perfectly correct your distance vision and your phone vision. Don't get bullshit progressives, get bifocals. You will see your phone perfectly. Have them fit properly at the optician's and then put them on your face and leave them there every waking hour until you get used to them. You will always be able to see. You will never worry about it again.
posted by fritley at 7:46 PM on June 4, 2023 [7 favorites]


Since you mention blue light and are open to off-the-wall suggestions, I will point you to this weird product, an e-ink screen that mirrors your phone.
posted by Comet Bug at 7:53 PM on June 4, 2023 [2 favorites]


I'm 67 with an iPhone, a 13 Pro, so a middling large screen. My eyes are fairly good (using glasses with progressive lenses or bifocals). I do use Messages on my MacBook Air when I have it handy, which isn't often. I'm not a great thumb typist, but it's ok, doesn't bother me. I've learned to proof my texts before they go out (editing is really easy on an iPhone...haven't used an Android for years, so I'm not sure how it works there). That's become very important to not embarrassing myself.

I think I've actually improved my phone typing by turning off predictive text. It will still give me suggestions, but just a single suggestion inline I can pretty easily ignore, not a group of suggestions, one of which is going to be put in place no matter what.
posted by lhauser at 8:38 PM on June 4, 2023


Adding votes for messages.google.com. (WhatsApp also has a computer interface, if that's anything you're doing.) I type 90% of my text messages from my laptop. (And yes, turn off autocorrect!)
posted by lapis at 9:21 PM on June 4, 2023


Also worth noting: If you're using messages.google.com, you can get notifications on your laptop with incoming messages, too. I generally hate desktop notifications but messaging functions are the one thing where it makes total sense to me. It's basically an instant-messaging system on your computer.
posted by lapis at 9:25 PM on June 4, 2023 [1 favorite]


I have to read the tiny letters, move the cursor with my finger to the right spot -- and my finger COVERS the words, so it's super annoying and often takes multiple tries

Gboard has a handy thing where you can swipe along the space bar and it'll move the cursor in the direction you swipe in, which makes it a lot easier to be accurate. (Maybe this is just in swipe mode, not sure.) You can also just tap in the general vicinity you need and then drag the little teardrop handle thing under the cursor. Because it's below the word, your finger shouldn't hide it, and it also opens up a little magnified inset so you can see more clearly. But the space bar swiping is easier in my opinion.

Have you gone through the accessibility settings on both your phone and keyboard and made sure you've enlarged things as much as possible? If you have and are still having eye problems, it sounds like you need either reading glasses for the right distance as mentioned above, or a prescription where you show your optometrist the distance it'll need to handle for your typical usage.

If you haven't used swipe modes (I like Gboard's), give it a try. It'll make mistakes, but the more careful you are the more accurate it'll be, and Gboard also has a suggestion bar (which you might have to enable in the settings) that offers alternatives as you go for whatever word you're on. It's also good for post-facto corrections: you just tap anywhere on a word and it'll offer a few possible corrections, which are apt maybe 80% of the time. That said, I think typos are pretty inevitable on a phone unless you're paying close attention.

In my experience you can use both usb and Bluetooth keyboard with Android tablets, so it might be possible with phones too (you'd probably need an adapter to try it out).
posted by trig at 3:03 AM on June 5, 2023 [1 favorite]


Windows own software for this is called Link and works pretty well. Also swipe, and dictation, it’s not that slow. My cellphone has a 2.5” display and that works well for me.
posted by Iteki at 3:18 AM on June 5, 2023


The Messages on a Mac thing only works for iMessages - so, ppl with other iPhones. I can't text my family that way because they are all on Androids. Not sure if it's the same in reverse for the Google messages trick. My family uses WhatsApp to solve cross-platform challenges especially with group texting.

I use text to speech a LOT. It doesn't seem slow, in fact I find it way faster than typing. As for correcting typos, at least on iPhones if you hold your finger on the spacebar you can then drag the cursor where you need to *and you can see it move while you drag it* which is way easier than trying to tap the exact right spot. You can also turn off autocorrect if you think it introduces more errors than it solves, although when I did that I realized I was missing how often it made accurate corrections and only noticing the wrong ones. (Again on iPhone at least) you can also set up text replacements for words you use or misspell often - like "ln" will fill in "leaving now" or you could set someone's initials to fill in their full name or whatever.

47 years old, tiny phone screen because I have small hands but long nails still make typing challenging, wear progressive lenses because I can't see far OR near anymore, have not yet turned up the display size on my phone.
posted by misskaz at 5:06 AM on June 5, 2023


Almost everyone I know has switched to voice texting, which is just recording a short message and sending it. There's generally a button next to the text window you push and hold to record.

We have come full circle back to voicemail. Next thing you know we're gonna be calling each other on the phone or something equally crazy.
posted by ananci at 5:17 AM on June 5, 2023 [2 favorites]


The Messages on a Mac thing only works for iMessages - so, ppl with other iPhones. I can't text my family that way because they are all on Androids.

This is not actually the case! I mean, it absolutely may be the case that you personally (and many other people) have Messages configured that way, I am not doubting your experience at all, but if your iPhone is running iOS 8.1 or later, you can turn on SMS in Messages and text to anyone.

Instructions here, if you're interested: https://support.apple.com/guide/messages/get-sms-texts-from-iphone-on-your-mac-icht8a28bb9a/mac
posted by redfoxtail at 5:41 AM on June 5, 2023 [3 favorites]


Have 42-year-old eyes and an Android phone. What I do:
  • Swipe text for short messages or if I'm in an environment where I don't want to make noise. I am amazed at how well this works.
  • Speech-to-text for anything longer than a sentence or two. This works well for me, it's definitely not too slow, but perhaps your phone is showing its age?
  • Text from my computer. This isn't the old ${myphonenumber}@${mymobileprovider}.com thing, it works by pairing your phone with your computer. On my phone (Android 11), using the standard texting app from Google, I open the hamburger menu and choose "Device Pairing", then I go to https://messages.google.com/web on my computer and it gives me a QR code to scan with my phone. Once that's done, I can compose the messages on the computer, hit send, and it gets sent through the phone and the recipient receives it as a normal text. You can also do this with WhatsApp and, I'm sure, many other messaging apps. I find this especially convenient when I want to send somebody a link to a site that I've opened on my computer but not on my phone, so I don't have to type in a fiddly long URL.

posted by number9dream at 6:20 AM on June 5, 2023


This is not actually the case! I mean, it absolutely may be the case that you personally (and many other people) have Messages configured that way, I am not doubting your experience at all, but if your iPhone is running iOS 8.1 or later, you can turn on SMS in Messages and text to anyone.

Just echoing this -- it's easy to set up and once you do, you can seamlessly text via your computer with people on any kind of device.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:25 AM on June 5, 2023


Also, we're not talking about dictating messages? You can tap the mic icon and speak your outgoing message or have Siri/ GoogAssist read incoming messages to you.

I'm in bad shape without my reading glasses. They're light, plastic, and either on top of my head or on my face. Or I'm looking for them. There are interesting configurations of readers. Please get your eyes checked; it's good to know how they're changing.
posted by theora55 at 7:37 AM on June 5, 2023


i got some BIG VISION glasses this weekend and they are nothing short of life changing (not kidding!!!)
posted by wowenthusiast at 10:04 AM on June 5, 2023


This is not actually the case! I mean, it absolutely may be the case that you personally (and many other people) have Messages configured that way, I am not doubting your experience at all, but if your iPhone is running iOS 8.1 or later, you can turn on SMS in Messages and text to anyone.

Just echoing this -- it's easy to set up and once you do, you can seamlessly text via your computer with people on any kind of device.

Well, life changed. Thanks everyone! Now back to your regularly scheduled AskMe.
posted by misskaz at 11:16 AM on June 5, 2023 [5 favorites]


With an iPhone, you have a minor improvement on the process: you can move the text cursor around using a long press on the spacebar. It's a whole lot easier than using fingers that are bigger than most words, as your spacebar is a long way from the text. (It also scrolls the text.)

If you're up for computer typing as a solution, one other option is finding a Bluetooth keyboard and pairing it with your phone. You can then up the text size if there isn't a keyboard in the way, and/or tip it into landscape, and the editing keys should also work. Works with iPhones, and Android should support the same.

Finally, what kind of typist are you? I'm a two thumbs person, but I know people who are finger on phone in the other hand and finger on phone in the same hand (I get hand cramps thinking about that one). Changing style might help with accuracy.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 6:15 PM on June 5, 2023


I wear contacts or glasses and sometimes neither. When I'm wearing my contacts, it's kinda miserable being on my phone if I'm also not wearing reading glasses. But it's fine with reading glasses.

So, yeah, get some reading glasses.
posted by bluedaisy at 9:57 PM on June 5, 2023


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