Definition: A braille display – in full, a refreshable braille display – is an output device that shows text as tactile braille. Small pins rise and fall to form dot patterns read with the fingertips. It is usually driven by a screen reader, which decides what text appears [1].
German: Braillezeile · Also: refreshable braille display · Last reviewed: 27 September 2026
How a braille display works
Each braille character is made of up to six dots – on computers usually eight, so capitals and symbols fit in one cell. A display has a row of these cells: portable devices fewer, desktop models more. It only ever shows a slice – one line, one link, one form field – and keys on the device move along or jump to where focus is.
The screen reader decides what appears on the line. It uses the same information as for speech – an element's text, role and state – often abbreviated to a short code for "link" or "button".
Who uses one
- Blind people who prefer reading to listening – for technical text, code, numbers or spelling, for example.
- Deafblind people, for whom braille is often the only way into digital text.
- People who need to work silently, such as in meetings.
Many combine braille and speech: the voice for a quick overview, the display for careful reading.
What your website needs
A braille display needs nothing a screen reader does not. But because it shows every character exactly, some mistakes stand out:
- Text in images does not appear at all – only the alt text does.
- Decorative characters, such as ">>>" arrows or rows of emoji, fill the short line.
- Vague link text like "here" says even less in a few cells.
- Missing language markup can lead to wrong output when the screen reader cannot tell the language.
How Reviseberg handles it
Reviseberg uses axe-core to check the basics screen readers, and therefore braille displays, rely on: alt text, link and button names, labels, page language. How text actually comes out on a braille display is not something Reviseberg tests. A screen reader agent is not part of Reviseberg today.
Related terms
Screen reader · Assistive technology · Alt text · Language attribute · Accessibility tree