Mobile Phones as Assistive Technologies: Gaps and Opportunities

In the last decade, mobile phones have become an invaluable ally in the everyday lives of people with disabilities. Mobile phones are highly popular, and the penetration rate of mobile technology is almost three times higher than for desktop computers and broadband lines. Despite their diffusion and importance, large datasets on how people with disabilities in lower-resourced settings use mobile phones, the services they access, and the barriers they encounter are limited or lacking. The findings highlight the presence of a mobile gap with many people with disabilities struggling to acquire and operate mobile phones independently. Most respondents had only access to basic or feature phones that lacked appropriate accessibility features and offered limited functionality. Many organizations are creating mobile apps and provide more ways for users to engage with their products and services. It is important for designers and developers to understand how people with various disability types are accessing and interacting with accessible mobile apps. The range of assistive technology features varies depending on the device’s operating system. However, participants still described mobile phones as invaluable tools that could increase access to basic services and offer support in many important activities in their daily lives.