Begin forwarded message: From: Scott Davert <[email protected]> Date: September 19, 2012, 1:54:43 PM CDT To: The Accessible Phones Discussion List <[email protected]> Subject: Re: What's new in Accessibility in iOS 6 Reply-To: The Accessible Phones Discussion List <[email protected]> Woops. Forgot to include this list when I passed this info out. Thank you for forwarding it on! Scott On 9/19/12, Wahid Raza <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi all > pasting below intrusting info, about > accessibility features in new IOS6, which get from another list. > Regards > Wahid Raza > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > taken from: > http://applevis.com/applevis-blog/apple/whats-new-accessibility-ios-6 > Submitted by Scott Davert on 19 September 2012 > > As with the previous release of a major iOS upgrade (from version 4 to > 5), there are many enhancements to iOS 6 not directly related to > accessibility. In this release, they include FaceTime over cellular > networks, a redesigned App Store, a revamped settings menu, direct > Facebook integration, a do not disturb feature—among many others. > Please see the link at the end of this article for a list from Apple > about changes not directly related to accessibility. To list and > discuss all new features which do not pertain to accessibility is > beyond the scope of this article. Rather, this is to specifically > focus on changes with respect to the different options available from > an accessibility standpoint. > > Accessibility now Integrated: > A feature that many users who are transitioning between modes of > operation with iDevices will appreciate that all accessibility > features now work with one another. This includes VoiceOver and Zoom, > the physical motor settings, and the new Guided access. (More on > Guided Access later). The Triple Click Home feature also has been > updated to reflect this change. In iOS 6, you now have the following > options to be automatically activated when pressing the home button 3 > times. You can now start Guided Access, VoiceOver, invert colors, > Zoom, and Assistive Touch. Any of these options can be selected and > will run at the same time. If only one option is selected, Triple > click will turn that one feature on/off just as you were able to do in > iOS 5. So, for example, if you decide to run Color Contrast and > VoiceOver at the same time, if both are selected, both will launch > when pressing the home button 3 times in rapid succession. > > Vision: > As mentioned above, Zoom can now run with VoiceOver which can give a > user any combination of access methods that is most comfortable for > them. For example, someone who is transitioning from magnified text to > speech may find it helpful to have both available until their comfort > level is such that they no longer need or can function with > magnification. One can also use braille, speech, and magnification if > they find this to be the most functional way of operating the iDevice. > One thing to note about using VoiceOver and Zoom together is that a > few VoiceOver gestures have changed. For example, when Zoom and > VoiceOver are working together, double tapping the screen with 3 > fingers will zoom in on an item. With VoiceOver only enabled, this > gesture will mute the speech. So instead of double tapping with 3 > fingers to mute speech, one must now triple tap with 3 fingers to mute > speech. This can come in handy to know if you wish to use > magnification with braille. You can still toggle the Screen Curtain on > and off, but you must tap with 3 fingers four times to do this. > Another Zoom gesture is to move around the screen by dragging 3 > fingers. This author does not have vision to evaluate what happens on > the screen, but when dragging 3 fingers across it, VoiceOver gives no > verbal or indication in braille that the cursor has moved. IN fact, if > you do a single finger double tap, you will still activate the item > which has the focus of the VoiceOver cursor. > One bit of commentary about the Zoom, VoiceOver, and braille access on > at the same time is that it would be nice if there were built-in > braille and bluetooth keyboard commands for the Zoom functions. That > being said, it's great that all of the accessibility features can be > used interchangeably. > With respect to braille, the commands used in VoiceOver all apply the > same whether Zoom is enabled or not. To my knowledge, this seems to > also be the case with the bluetooth keyboard. > > VoiceOver specific changes: > There have been a few additions to the Rotor option in iOS 6. If > you’re not familiar with the rotor and it’s already existing functions > and purpose, please see www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html > and look for the appropriate section on the explanation of the rotor. > One of the settings in the rotor is an enhancement to VoiceOver. This > is the ability to adjust the amount of punctuation you will hear > spoken from VoiceOver. > Another change is the added rotor option within the Mail application > called “actions”. With this option, you can choose the default action > to open up a mail message or 1 finger flick up to Delete a message > when one is open. > Another addition to the Rotor is an option to adjust the amount of > punctuation spoken by VoiceOver. The options are none, some, and all. > While the first and third option are self explanatory, the second is > not so easy to understand at a glance. Essentially, you will have the > punctuation in tings such as web addresses, email addresses, etc read > out loud with the Some option selected, but VoiceOver will not read, > for example, a punctuation mark found at the end of a sentence. > While this is not a VoiceOver specific change, it is worth noting that > the Maps application is now able to pull up points of interest, and > according to Apple, works with turn by turn directions once a route is > planned. This is only compatible with the iPhone 4S and 5. > There is one other minor VoiceOver change. When using the onscreen > keyboard for text input, to activate the More button, or the Shift > key, you had to double tap even when in touch typing mode. You can now > single tap with one finger and these items will be activated > accordingly. > Finally, Assistive Touch, which was introduced in iOS 5, but which was > not usable to those using VoiceOver, is now compatible. So if a > VoiceOver wishes to set up custom gestures through Assistive Touch, > they can now do so in iOS 6. > > Braille Specific Improvements: > iOS 6 has been tested and found to be compatible with the following > Braille displays which had compatibility issues in iOS 5, or were not > supported at all. The new generation of Focus displays from Freedom > Scientific, the Perkins Mini, the Braille Edge made by HIMS, and all > Braille Sense notetakers running firmware version 7, also made by > HIMS. > There is also a bug fix specifically related to Braille. previous > versions of iOS had a bug where when you moved to the previous or next > option (space with dots 2-3 to go back and space 5-6 to go forward, if > speech was muted, it would unmute. This has been corrected. This is > great news, especially for those attempting to browse content on > displays in quiet environments. However, unlike in iOS 5 where the > various progress beeps and clicks were disabled in VoiceOver upon the > muting of speech, they still work unless you unmute your phone. > Personally, I’d like to just have all of the sounds turned off from > VoiceOver, though I have worked with a couple of consumers who wanted > this to be an option. > Finally with respect to Braille, a new keyboard command, (Space with > I), will now launch the Item Chooser. This was a touch screen command > in iOS 5, and it now has a Braille keyboard equivalent in version 6. > > Hearing: > Apple is now doing what they’re calling “certified hearing aids” which > will work specifically with the iPhone and iPad. This feature, like > the turn by turn directions in the Maps app, will only be supported on > the iPhone 4S and 5. > Customized vibrations have also expanded, now allowing one to not only > use customized vibrations for calls from contacts, but also text > messages. Users reported having issues setting this feature up with > VoiceOver in iOS 5, but it now will work correctly. > > New Accessibility section, Learning: > Under the Learning Heading, you will now find something called Guided > Access. Guided Access allows an individual to set restrictions in apps > to eliminate the activation of the Home Button to leave an app. This > feature can assist with restricting access to only a specific app that > an individual is supposed to access. For example, in an education > setting, it may be useful for keeping students on task. If an > individual wishes to leave the app where Guided Access is activated, > they must enter a preset password to do so. Once Guided Access is > turned on, find the app you wish to restrict and press the Home Button > 3 times, then select “start Guided Access”. To disable Guided Access, > press the Home Button 3 more times and then enter the 4 digit password > that was configured in the Settings/General/Accessibility/Guided > Access menu, and you will then have the option of turning off Guided > Access. > > Physical/Motor: > With iOS 6, it’s now possible to adjust the speed at which the home > Button will register a double or triple click. The additional options > are “Slower” and “slowest”. To figure out which will work best, when > an option is selected, the phone will vibrate to demonstrate how > quickly hitting the Home Button will be required. This, of course, > will not work on the compatible iPods and iPads, since these do not > vibrate. > > While the list of changes in accessibility in iOS 6 is fewer than what > were found in 5, they are still significant to those users who need > such features. The ability to use all different aspects of > accessibility interchangeably iOS 6 is compatible (with limited > amounts of features), on the iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, and 5. It’s also > compatible with the iPod 4G and 5G. And, finally, with the iPad 2 and > the latest generation of the iPad. The official iOS 6 page as > presented by Apple can be found at: > http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/ > > ---- > -- > You received this message because you subscribed to the Accessible Phones > Discussion List. > > If you don't want to receive messages from this list anymore, just send a > blank e-mail to: > [email protected] > You received this message because you subscribed to the Accessible Phones Discussion List. If you don't want to receive messages from this list anymore, just send a blank e-mail to: [email protected]
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