Accessibility built in iOS .
Accessibility features like Guided Access, Voice Over, and Assistive Touch help people with disabilities experience more of what an iOS device has to offer. For example, the built-in Voice Over screen-reading technology allows those who are blind or have low vision to hear a description of the item they’re touching on the screen. iOS also offers out-of-the-box support for over 30 wireless braille displays and many other award-winning accessibility features, such as dynamic screen magnification, playback of closed-captioned video, mono audio, white on black text, and more. iOS comes standard with a wide range of accessibility features that help people with disabilities experience everything iPhone, iPad and iPod touch have to offer. Award‑winning features include VoiceOver, the revolutionary screen reader for blind and low vision users, as well as dynamic screen magnification, playback of closed-captioned video, mono audio, reverse video and more.
Making Your App Accessible
The iOS Human Interface Guidelines provide detailed instructions on how to create an intuitive interface that enables users with disabilities to accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently, while maintaining the consistency and ease of learning that characterizes successful iOS apps. Developers that use standard controls and their subclasses will find that support for accessibility is built-in. Apple’s Accessibility APIs define how iOS apps can make their user interface available to an external assistive app or service.
Apple strongly encourages developers to support these APIs in all of their apps so they are compatible with features built into iOS such as VoiceOver. Xcode makes it easy to add accessibility labels and information to standard controls. Interface Builder, for example, has an inspector that allows you to enter descriptions supported by VoiceOver for controls in the user interface.
How it Works
VoiceOver interacts with objects in your app to allow people with disabilities to drive the user interface in an alternative manner. For example, a VoiceOver user relies solely on an alternative set of gestures for control, and on speech synthesis or braille for feedback. Users with low vision will view your app differently as well, using the built-in zoom and white-on-black display mode options to adapt the onscreen experience to their specific needs. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing may rely on vibration and visual alerts instead of audio.
When designing your app, you should consider how all users may interact with your app. If your app does not implement the accessibility API or uses custom controls that have not been made accessible, a VoiceOver user may not be able to use the app. Similarly, if your app uses a non-standard gesture set without providing alternate means for performing actions, it may be inaccessible to users with motor disabilities. By following a few simple guidelines, you can ensure that your app will work as intended for those who rely on these assistive features in iOS.
With built-in accessibility features, Accessibility APIs and a host of developer tools and utilities, iOS provides an extraordinary opportunity to deliver a superior mobile experience to every customer, including those with special needs. Learn more
