Hello all. I'm an iOS developer who earlier this year published my app Sunchime to the App Store. I recently released a version with VoiceOver support, and I would love to have some a11y experts try it out and give me feedback on what I can improve.
You can download Sunchime from the App Store.
Sunchime is an app that reminds you to take a moment to mark the sunrise and sunset each day. I find it a great way to pause and be present at the start or end of my day.
I am a sighted person myself, and I love to watch the sunsets here in San Diego, California where I live. But one of my goals with Sunchime is to make sunrises and sunsets an experience that is accessible to all. (That's only a general goal, so if you have any feedback on what that actually could be specifically, I would love to hear it!)
At the moment, Sunchime is available in English only, but I hope to localize it into other languages soon.
If you have any feedback to share, you can leave it here, or send an email at feedback@sunchime.app.
Thank you!
Comments
Spatial Audio
It'd be great if we could just launch the app at any moment to know what direction we're facing and also audio cues indicating the direction and brightness of the Sun, as well as other planets and stars, and the Moon. I've always wanted to use such an app, and I've experimented with representing visual characteristics like color or brightness through sound as I am totally blind myself and wonder how I can best represent visual elements in a way that is objectively sensible to the blind. So I can and would love to help with sound design.
Wonderful Idea
@JoeB: Congratulations, this is really a very nice idea!
@Enes Deniz: You can use HearLight to find the direction of the sun, when you get notified by Sunchime, that the sun is rising.
Thanks for the feedback
@Enes Deniz: That's a wonderful idea. I'm intentionally keeping Sunchime focused and simple compared to apps that tell you everything under the sun (pun intended), but how to use sound design to make sun movements, and especially sunrises and sunsets, accessible is a very interesting idea to me. I'm more of a word person myself, so I'd thought of hiring a poet to write descriptions of the various stages of the sunrise/sunset, but more abstract sound design would be lovely as well. I'd love to connect with you to discuss it more directly. Please send me an email at feedback@sunchime.app.
@onetrickpony: Thank you! And thank you for introducing me to HearLight. I'm going to check it out now. :-)
I love this idea!
I love the idea of this app. I also love the idea of having poems that describe the different stages the sun is at during the day and night.
Love this app
Thank you so much. I really love this app. It is wonderful.
feedback on Sunchime
Hello. I just tried to set up your App, and for the most part, it was intuitive and quick. I do have a suggestion, however. I do not have any sun buddies, and the only features that I would use is the notification of the sun's rising and setting, and an animated sunrise/sunset, since I am totally blind. Would it be possible for you to have a "Sunchime Light" version and a "Sunshine Plus" version of your app? While I understand and appreciate that Sunchime's development is a labor of love, and financial assistance may be necessary to keep it viable, it is not possible for me to donate money towards its development at this time as I am on a fixed income. Thank you for considering my comments. Good lucuk with your app!
Reply to RCM student
@RCM student: There is the $5/year "Sunchime+" package that gives you access to extra features, but the free version of Sunchime does in fact give you notifications of the sun's rising and setting for a primary location that you set. So I think it should meet your needs! And if you reach out at the feedback address I sent above, I'll see what I can do about letting you try out the other features. :-)
(By the way, "Sun Buddies" is what I'm calling the feature where Sunchime will tell you a place experiencing the "opposite" of what you are experiencing. So when you experience sunset, your "Sun Buddy" is a place experiencing sunrise at the same time, and vice versa. I'm clarifying that because you mentioned that you "do not have any sun buddies".)
thank you
Thank you for your response. Hos do I set up a primary location? Thanks.
Re: thank you
@RCM student: When you first launch the app, it will ask you to set a location. You can share your location automatically or search for a location. Either way will set your primary location. I also should mention that one of the initial screens will advertise Sunchime+ (the $5/year enhanced version), but there is a "Next" button that appears on that screen so you can proceed and use the free version. (If that button isn't obvious in the VoiceOver interface, please let me know!)
what a great idea!
Hi, I love the idea Sunchime brings to the table! you can check out Weather Gods as an example of apps that use sound. it's cool because you will hear rain from the app when it's raining. so maybe detailed descriptions plus spacial audio sounds as the sun rises and sets would be epic!
Let me be honest and clear.
I'm actually looking for more of a stargazer/planetarium app that actually gives me an audio representation of stars, constellations, and even faraway galaxies in outer space, including their orbits and movements.
Feedback
This is a great app. Years ago, I used to have one that was somewhat similar, but it’s no longer available, and I haven’t found anything like it again until now. This is a fantastic little app, and it even offers a bit more, which is really nice.
Thank you so much for coming onto the site, introducing your app, and telling us about it. I do have some feedback for you, and I think the best way for me to share it is by creating a recording of the areas where I think the app could be improved. I’ll reach out through your feedback email address.
Again, thank you for taking the time to come here and introduce your app to us. I always love when developers come onto AppleVis, invite the community to try their app, and ask for suggestions on how to make it even better for the blind and low vision community. Keep up the great work!