On "Usable Products" and "Choices"
Recently, I have been researching various home appliances.
Modern home appliances are predominantly designed with LCD touch panels for menu selection or smooth dials for choosing items on digital displays. While they look stylish and futuristic, for us visually impaired people, they present a major barrier that makes them completely unusable.
Unfortunately, the reality is that very few home appliances come with a "voice guide" that announces operations. Even when there are choices, it often feels like there is only one option, leaving almost no room to choose based on design or other features.
Appliances that can be used with some ingenuity
While the level of voice guidance required for different appliances varies from person to person, what I am currently particularly concerned about is the usability of cooking appliances.
For a microwave oven, a model with physical, raised buttons is sufficiently practical. If I can select the wattage (intensity) and input the time, that is all I need for daily life.
Even with models like rice cookers that require pressing menu buttons to switch settings, they can sometimes be used with a little ingenuity depending on the "specifications." For example, if there are six options, a model that makes a different "beep" sound only when returning to the first option, or one that resets to the first option (default) whenever the power is turned off, allows me to operate it by counting the number of presses and relying on tactile feedback, even without a voice guide, by memorizing the sequence. I might even be able to tolerate not being able to use the timer if it comes to that.
What I am currently struggling with
Regarding IH (induction heating) cookers, I know there are a few products that read settings aloud, so I am aware that there are some choices.
What is troublesome is the oven. Because the range of temperatures to set is wide, a feature that clearly reads out the current temperature is absolutely necessary. Also, if it is a multi-functional product like a modern oven range, I naturally want to be able to master all of its functions.
This leads to the choice of whether to buy an oven range or to buy a microwave and an oven separately.
If it is just a microwave, physical buttons are enough, but if I choose an oven range, it is useless unless I can switch modes myself.
If there is enough space, a convection oven is also an option. Many products come with analog switches, and even if you buy a microwave and an oven separately, the price is often not much different from an oven range, or it can sometimes be kept lower.
Expectations for smart appliances and their pitfalls
I have high hopes that if it is a "smart appliance," which is a hot topic recently, it might be operable to some extent via a smartphone app or a smart speaker (like Alexa).
However, there is a major hurdle here as well. Whether or not the operation app for that appliance correctly supports screen reading features (VoiceOver or TalkBack) on smartphones is something you cannot know until you actually download and use the app. Even if it works now, there is a risk that it could suddenly stop working after an update.
Too little information—the essence of the frustration
In the past, Mitsubishi Electric's oven ranges were equipped with excellent voice reading features and were highly valued among the visually impaired. However, production has ended. I might still find them if I search the market, but my honest feeling is that I want to compare and consider a wide range of the latest products, including smart appliances, rather than just chasing old models.
What I find troubling is that very few people in the world truly understand these "blind spots." Even if I ask staff at electronics retail stores or inquire at manufacturer consultation desks, I am almost always told, "I am not sure about that" regarding detailed specifications related to accessibility. Unfortunately, I cannot find a portal site that compiles information on home appliances that visually impaired people can judge as "usable."
Even though technology is surely advancing, I have a feeling of being left behind. Even more frustrating is the reality that it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort just to investigate what can and cannot be used.
A wish for manufacturers
Manufacturers might be hesitant to declare that a product is "usable by the visually impaired." I understand that it is difficult to say so unless the device reads out all menus by voice.
However, it does not have to be perfect. It may take time and cost to incorporate voice reading, but for a microwave, if it has physical buttons and can return to the initial state with a cancel button, we can use it. For ovens, IH cookers, rice cookers, and washing machines, by simply changing specifications such as buttons, switches, or the presence of voice, even if not all functions can be used, they would at least become products that can be used "with some ingenuity."
Defining "usable" may be difficult. But think about it. Even among sighted people, not everyone is able to master 100% of today's multi-functional home appliances. Television programs and magazines often feature segments on "convenient ways to use X."
That is precisely why I want manufacturers to fearlessly release information such as, "This part is usable, this part is not yet usable, and this is how you can use it."
Currently, we only receive information that things are "unusable," and we cannot even make a choice. Without much cost, our options can definitely be increased with just a little ingenuity.
The best scenario for us might be for all home appliances to have voice guidance. However, I believe the better scenario is for information on "how to use them with some ingenuity" to be disclosed for as many home appliances as possible.
#VisuallyImpaired #Accessibility #HomeAppliances #SmartAppliances #OvenRange #ConvectionOven #ReasonableAccommodation