RealSam UK

RealSam UK 💫 Passionate about supporting the blind & partially sighted community Find out more at www.realsam.co.uk

RealSAM Pocket is the fully voice-controlled mobile phone, media player and assistant for people with sight loss. RealSAM Pocket launched in the UK in 2018, in partnership with the RNIB and O2, as an easy to use mobile phone with features to help Blind and Visually Impaired people. These features include unlimited access to audio books, newspapers, magazines, podcasts and radio stations plus an inbuilt magnifier, navigation support and video access to Be My Eyes. In 2022, RealSAM Pocket launched in the US wth new features including optical character recognition to read printed or handwritten text and object recognition. With a range of contract and pricing options available, there is a RealSAM Pocket product that's right for you.

Our April RealSAM BookClub pick is here... This, My Second Life by Patrick Charnley Jago Trevarno is ...
01/04/2026

Our April RealSAM BookClub pick is here...

This, My Second Life by Patrick Charnley

Jago Trevarno is twenty years old when a cardiac arrest changes everything. He goes to stay with his uncle on a small farm near St Ives in Cornwall, and slowly—through the rhythm of the days, the care of animals, the particular steadiness of someone who loves you without making a fuss of it—something like a life begins to form again. Then a local man starts paying unusual attention to a field on the farm near the cliffs. And Jago, wanting to repay his uncle, decides to find out why. It's a recovery story and a thriller at once.

Spare, beautiful writing. A Cornish landscape that feels almost alive. And at its centre, a young man working out what a second life can look like.

Our April BookClub discussion opens on 25 April. Everyone is welcome, whether you've read every page or just the first chapter.

Celebrating 100 🎉Our BookClub community has just reached 100 members, and we wanted to take a moment to say thank you—ge...
28/03/2026

Celebrating 100 🎉

Our BookClub community has just reached 100 members, and we wanted to take a moment to say thank you—genuinely.

What we’ve been building here isn’t just about books. It’s about creating a space where reading can be shared, whether that’s through an audiobook, braille, a screen reader, a tactile book, or something else entirely.

Even if you haven’t posted or commented, your presence here still matters. This group works because people choose to be part of it.

As we keep growing, we’d love to continue shaping this space in a way that feels comfortable and worthwhile for everyone—no pressure, just something to build together over time.

Thanks again for being here. We're excited for what's next!

19/03/2026

Being able to read something yourself shouldn’t be a luxury.

🔚 Expiry dates.
📩 Mail.
💊 Medication labels.
🍽️ Cooking instructions.
🍰 Menus.

With the right technology, everyday information becomes easier to access independently.

Using the RealSAM Sight Assistant tool, users can simply take a photo and ask questions about what’s in front of them — from printed text to everyday objects.

This clip is from a longer video exploring how our partnership with Samsung, the RNIB, and Virgin Media O2 helps support the blind and low vision community.

Watch the full video via this link: https://realsam.co.uk/realsam-samsung-virgin-media-o2-and-the-rnib-accessible-technology-at-scale/

17/03/2026

Independence often comes down to the small things.

📩 Reading your own mail.
🍰 Checking an expiry date.
💊 Knowing you’ve picked up the right medication.
🍽️ Understanding what’s on a menu.

Technology can help make these everyday moments more accessible.

With the RealSAM handset, users can take a photo and ask questions about what they see — helping turn visual information into something accessible.

This clip comes from a longer video exploring how our partnership in technology with Samsung is supporting the blind and low vision community.

Find the full video via this link: https://realsam.co.uk/realsam-samsung-virgin-media-o2-and-the-rnib-accessible-technology-at-scale

Spring means gardens waking up again.But gardening isn’t just visual — it’s tactile, fragrant, and full of sensory detai...
16/03/2026

Spring means gardens waking up again.

But gardening isn’t just visual — it’s tactile, fragrant, and full of sensory detail.

Many blind and low vision gardeners experience spring through:

🌱 the texture of soil
🌿 the scent of herbs
🐝 the sound of bees returning

We’ve shared some accessible gardening tips for blind and visually impaired people on the blog.

Because nature can be enjoyed in many ways.

Read the full blog post here: https://realsam.co.uk/spring-gardening-tips-for-blind-and-visually-impaired-people/

Every March, the United States celebrates Women's History Month. Although this is an American celebration, with Internat...
13/03/2026

Every March, the United States celebrates Women's History Month. Although this is an American celebration, with International Women’s Day having also just passed last weekend, we wanted to commemorate these women regardless—to shine a spotlight on the lives of five blind and visually impaired women whose achievements have changed the course of history, often in ways that are still not widely known.

From abolitionist Harriet Tubman to Paralympian Marla Runyan and disability rights lawyer Haben Girma, these leaders challenged expectations and expanded opportunities for blind and visually impaired people.

Their stories remind us how much blind women have contributed—and continue to contribute—to history, culture, and civil rights.

Read the full blog post via this link: https://realsam.co.uk/5-blind-women-who-changed-history-iwd2026/

Our March RealSAM BookClub pick is here.This month we’re reading Ten-Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler: a mysteriou...
11/03/2026

Our March RealSAM BookClub pick is here.

This month we’re reading Ten-Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler: a mysterious London detective story full of strange cases and hidden histories.

Our announcement is coming slightly later than usual because our February live discussion took place later in the month.

For March, the BookClub discussion will open on 31 March instead of the usual 25th—giving everyone a little extra time to read.

We’re looking forward to hearing what you think. Happy reading!

Check out our BookClub group via this link: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1FeGZ5X8Xz/

A quick RealSAM Pocket update: we’re preparing to move onto Samsung’s Galaxy A17.For accessibility, this isn’t about “ne...
11/03/2026

A quick RealSAM Pocket update: we’re preparing to move onto Samsung’s Galaxy A17.

For accessibility, this isn’t about “new for the sake of new”. It’s about day-to-day reliability, long-term support, and a handset designed to keep pace with updates over time.

RealSAM’s voice-first experience stays the same. We’ll share more details as we get closer.

World Book Day is a chance to celebrate how we read, not just what we read.For blind and low vision readers, reading has...
05/03/2026

World Book Day is a chance to celebrate how we read, not just what we read.

For blind and low vision readers, reading has always taken many forms—braille, audio, tactile books, and evolving technologies shaped by generations of ingenuity.

As we prepare to launch the RealSAM BookClub app, we’re proud to be part of this long history, not as the sole solution, but as one small piece of a much bigger movement towards access and connection.

Accessible reading exists because of organisations building access across many formats. We want to shout out a few doing genuinely brilliant work in the UK:

RNIB — braille, tactile and talking books, evolving accessible reading for generations

Living Paintings — tactile, audio-guided books bringing stories to life for blind children

Clearvision Project — free, postal, multisensory books for visually impaired children

Listening Books — audiobooks for anyone who can’t read print due to disability or illness

Reading Sight — practical tools helping libraries support print- and vision-impaired readers

DAISY Consortium — global standards improving access to digital and music braille

Here’s to every format, every reader, and every way stories find us.

Happy World Book Day from us to you!



This World Book Day, we want to shine a spotlight on stories that centre blindness and other forms of disability—not as ...
05/03/2026

This World Book Day, we want to shine a spotlight on stories that centre blindness and other forms of disability—not as side notes, but as natural ways of seeing (and sensing) the world.

To do so, we’ve made a list of 5 books that flip the script on disability, pushing readers to expand their usual conceptions of the world around them.

They are…

• All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr (our February BookClub pick!)

• The Country of the Blind, by H. G. Wells

• Blindness, by José Saramago

• Seeing Voices, by Oliver Sacks

• Life Unseen: A Story of Blindness, by Selina Mills

Read our outline of the books in our full blog post via the link in our bio.

Which books would you add? Comment below!

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Office 1. 20 Trinity Court, Trinity Street
Peterborough
PE11DA

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+443337722708

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The voice controlled smart phone & media player for people with sight loss

RealSAM In Your Pocket is the UK’s first fully voice-activated smart phone, media player and personal assistant for its two million people living with sight loss*.

The result of a two-year collaboration between the RNIB, O2 and Australian Artificial Intelligence developers, RealThing AI, In Your Pocket features a simple accessible voice interface, where users can ask ‘SAM’ for help in everyday life. This includes turning on its inbuilt video magnifier when reading labels while shopping, or its custom-built navigation software that allows users to bookmark landmarks when travelling alone and be guided back with direction and distance. SAM also connects directly to Be My Eyes, an online community of over two million volunteers who help people with sight loss through a live video call.

Recently launched on the Galaxy xCover 4s and now IP68 rated, In Your Pocket is waterproof, with an extended battery life and faster processor. Prices start at £25.99 a month as part of a two-year contract, offering unlimited access to RealSAM In Your Pocket’s entertainment library, UK calls and texts and a choice of data plan with O2.

All customers are offered 121 telephone support with setting up their handset and have access to a UK based helpline staffed by both a sighted and visually impaired team. – Call 0333 772 7708 to reserve yours now or visit www.inyourpocket.net