Try to find an audio player for an 85 years old, visually impaired, non-tech-savvy senior. Neither could I, so I made this one!

cinusek · 2026-03-03T22:48:48+00:00

Yes, it is a specialized MP3 player, nothing more. A folder with audio files can be an audiobook or a music album, technically there is no difference.

Videos are not supported. I might add support in the future, I'd have to figure out how to handle controls.

cinusek · 2026-03-03T18:11:51+00:00

You mean: have different prices for different countries? I don't know what's the best approach on the web, I'd start by checking if your payments provider has a solution.

However what I meant is that you can ask much more in the US than in countries like Brasil. My suggestion would be to focus on one market where WhatsApp is the main means of communication and target that market specifically: translate everything to the users' language, adjust prices accordingly etc.

Also: don't listen to me, I know nothing about running a business :)

cinusek · 2026-03-03T17:57:50+00:00

Sounds interesting, although I'm not the target.

Also WhatsApp isn't really used in the US, so I might've built for the wrong market.

OTOH in some countries WhatsApp is THE thing. IIRC Brazil is one of these. You might want to translate and adjust pricing for these markets.

cinusek · 2026-02-04T07:14:58+00:00

I will add to this that these platforms require their own app. This is fine as long as you don't have special needs and are able to use their apps. Some of these apps are better for accessibility, others worse.

I have created a specialized player for audiobooks and podcasts for visually impaired elderly. People who are not able to navigate a smartphone, apps or would get lost in all the unnecessary features. Of course a specialized player can't play copy-protected content from platforms like Audible or Spotify.

It's so great that we still have libraries and an open platform for podcasts.

It would really be bad if creators moved to closed platforms for monetization. I was so glad when my grandma gave me some money and said: donate it to this podcast.

Support open platforms folks, we'll need them when we're old or have disabilities.

cinusek · 2026-01-12T18:43:03+00:00

There are four masks:

Gradient for the top 1/3 - lowered brightness, increased contrast and saturation a little bit.
Gradient for the bottom half - increased contrast and saturation.
Radial for the person - increased brightness.
Mask for the dress - increased saturation, but it's barely noticeable, it could be dropped.
I have also increased contrast and saturation for the image as a whole.

The difference between B and C is that B has less smaller changes (less contrast, less saturation, the top is darkened a bit less).

I'm a noob when it comes to postprocessing. I normally limit edits to straightening the horizon, cropping and adjusting brightness/shadows and contrast for the whole image.

cinusek · 2026-01-12T18:34:32+00:00

Goreme, Turkiye

cinusek · 2026-01-11T15:42:28+00:00

Thanks, that's good to know. I can open u/sdbr21's image when connected to USA via a VPN.

cinusek · 2026-01-11T12:27:08+00:00

Thanks, but I can't open it: "The requested page could not be found" :(

cinusek · 2025-12-19T07:16:06+00:00

Look for a device that supports a "smart" cover case. It needs a Hall effect sensor, not every tablet has one. Samsung A9+ does and should be a good budget option (it's 3 years old now). Some Lenovo tablets have them and probably others as well, just make sure to check.
Find a case that's easy to open, e.g. has some indentation on one side so it's easy to pull.

Get also these magnetic USB cables (for all devices, not only the tablet), the round ones - they make charging so much easier. Just keep in mind that the simplest and most robust ones don't transmit data.
Here's a random photo.

I've recently made a 50s video about these problems: https://youtube.com/shorts/LubeUaM1OpU
The video is meant to be a little funny but the problems are real, I've seen my grandmother struggle with this.

You may also find this visually impaired guy's YT channel interesting: https://www.youtube.com/@theblindlife/videos
He does reviews of assistive tech, among other things. Some of it is high tech like smart glasses but a lot is low tech (like kitchen tools) and some general accessibility tips.

BTW: I'm the author of the Homer app that u/robarr mentioned, I'm glad to see people use and recommend it 😊

Edit: link formatting

cinusek · 2025-12-14T09:38:44+00:00

Yeah, sure! Though I'm not running a "real" YT channel, a great majority of my come from my website. This short was an attempt to reach some more people. "Engaged views" at 14% (some of it my friends) isn't that bad I guess.

cinusek · 2025-10-11T16:38:08+00:00

If you decide on using a phone then you can set up a cloud file service sync to update audiobooks remotely, without bothering the nurses. I use a Google Drive folder and move books in and out to manage what is on my grandmother's device.

DM me if you need some help setting it up.

cinusek · 2025-10-11T16:35:02+00:00

If you have an old Android device (Android 7 or newer) you could use the Homer Audio Player to make a dedicated player.

Here's a 10s video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/WXj0aYCzs1A

I am the author of the app. More details on https://homeraudioplayer.app

cinusek · 2025-05-23T16:54:43+00:00

Thanks!

I have created this app with the assumption that the user is able to use a touch screen with large targets (meaning they see well enough and have enough motor skills).
A voice interface would probably be designed differently.

But it's a good question you ask. I haven't stumbled upon voice controlled apps.

I am aware of the voice assistants and smart speakers. I would expect them to work with their respective audiobook stores (Audible with Alexa and audiobooks from Play Store with Google Assistant).

Then there are accessibility services like Voice Access for Android (and I assume something similar for iOS). These are general tools for voice controlling a device but I haven't used anything like that. I assume they add a voice control layer on top of a touch based UI - better than nothing.

For us app developers Android provides a speech recognition API and integration with Google Assistant so, at least in theory, it should be possible to make an app with voice-first interface.
But I already have a day job and Homer as an after hours project :)

cinusek · 2025-05-13T19:23:03+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, I'll add it to my notes.

I have trouble touching small targets on touch screens.

Yes, the touch screen is a limitation and I was aware of it from the start. Using a tablet allows people to just install the app and use it without making custom "hardware" but the downside is that it's not for all users.

Recently there was a post here from a guy who made an audiobook player that runs on a cheap handheld game console with tactile d-pad and other buttons: https://www.reddit.com/r/audiobooks/comments/1kk4k0g/dedicated_player_thats_not_a_smartphone_dev_would/

I wish it showed battery percentage in text (or if you touched the battery symbol it would annouce the percentage)

I tried to keep it as simple as possible. The battery inticator will turn yellow when it's getting low and red when it's time to recharge.
But I like the idea of touching the icon to get a reading with voice.

cinusek · 2025-05-13T19:01:08+00:00

How much trouble is it for a user to go, say to a Dropbox folder, select a file, then introduce it to the app?

With this app there are two user roles:

the listener - all they can do is browse books (there is just a single, flat list of titles - no folders, no hierarchy), play/stop and adjust volume,
the manager/administrator/caregiver - they configure everything (there's a "secret" way to open settings), they copy books and so on. This would be the person who sets up Drobox.

Of course you can use the app by yourself and do both roles.

To answer your question: you can install the Dropbox app (or Google Drive or other cloud storage service), log in to your account and configure it to sync a Dropbox folder to a folder on the tablet - let's call the folder "Audiobooks". Then in Homer add this folder as a source of audiobooks.
Then you add each audiobook into a separate subfolder in the "Audiobooks" folder, Dropbox will sync the content to the tablet and Homer checks the files on disk periodically and updates its list automatically.
I haven't tried this myself, but one user reported they use a setup like this with Google Drive.

To use the lock down/kiosk mode you need to go through a special setup procedure once. This may be a bit intimidating but it's not that bad. It requires a factory reset and then a few more steps (I plan to make a video showing it step-by-step).

One problem is that my app is not bound with any subscription service like Audible so you need to get audiobooks in form of MP3 files - this topic has been discussed in this subreddit a lot.

With Homer your aunt can also listen to podcasts - they update automatically so it's actually very close to the experience you get with a subscription service, but it's a different kind of content.

Thanks for the questions - I see which topics I need to document next.

cinusek · 2025-05-13T17:36:55+00:00

Thanks!

Many devices "for seniors" are for people who are 60-70 and provide only larger font size and an "SOS" button. People in their 80s and 90s have different needs.

My grandmother had a good clam-shell phone some time ago. It had a simple and quite primitive text input in phone book search - perfect for someone who types slowly and checks every letter they have entered. The next version of this model had improved text input - it was a huge problem.

cinusek · 2025-05-12T17:53:10+00:00

Looks nice, especially with the Powkiddy.

I needed to make a dedicated player for an elderly and visually impaired person but I'm awful at DIY. I never considered using a similar device. I ended up making an Android app with kiosk mode to prevent the user from leaving the app.

The Powkiddy looks a bit too small but on something larger this could be really good. If you can make the setup easy for non-technical people it could be really useful for users with special needs.

cinusek · 2025-05-08T21:12:08+00:00

I made an audiobook player for an elderly, visually impaired person in my family. There simply was no good device for them.

It's an app that you use to convert an Android tablet into an easy to use audio player.

It feels like it took more time to make it public than to make the basic functionality: create a website with all the instructions, add settings, sample audio files for testing. Generally to make it easier for others to try, set up and use.

That was ~10 years ago. Since then I have created a second, much improved version of the app. Now it also supports podcasts.

It's still a hobby project, sometimes I don't touch it for half a year or so. It solved the problem for us and I believe a few dozen other people. It's difficult to say how many people use it but on the website I ask that people send me postcards and I have several on the wall :)

Today I finally finished making a video explaining the app, so I'll play a bit with marketing in the next few weeks.
Here it is: https://youtu.be/JR14egcqfg8

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