This is a good enough article that the full text deserves to be posted.
An Overview of iOS 8′s New Accessibility Features
By Steven Aquino
Since this year’s
WWDC keynote
ended, the focus of any analysis on iOS 8 has been its
features
— things like Continuity, Extensions, and iCloud Drive. This is, of course,
expected: iOS is the operating system that drives Apple’s most important
(and
most profitable) products, so it’s natural that the limelight be shone on
the new features for the mass market.
As I’ve written, however, the Accessibility features that Apple includes in
iOS
are nonetheless just as important and innovative
as the A-list features that Craig Federighi demoed on stage at Moscone.
Indeed, Apple is to be lauded for their year-over-year commitment to
improving
iOS’s Accessibility feature set, and they continue that trend with iOS 8.
Here, I run down what’s new in Accessibility in iOS 8, and explain briefly
how each feature works.
Alex. Apple is bringing Alex, its natural-sounding voice on the Mac, to iOS.
Alex will work with all of iOS’s spoken audio technologies (Siri excepted),
including VoiceOver, Speak Selection, and another new Accessibility feature
to iOS 8, Speak Screen (see below). In essence, Alex is a replacement for
the
robotic-sounding voice that controls VoiceOver, et al, in iOS today.
Speak Screen. With Speak Screen, a simple gesture will prompt the
aforementioned Alex to read anything on screen, including queries asked of
Siri. This
feature will be a godsend to visually impaired users who may have issues
reading what is on their iPhone and/or iPad. It should be noted that Speak
Screen
is fundamentally different from Speak Selection, which only reads aloud
selected text. By contrast, Speak Screen will read aloud everything on the
screen
— text, button labels, etc.
Zoom. Apple has made some welcome tweaks to its Zoom functionality in iOS 8.
The hallmark feature is users now have the ability to specify which part of
the screen is zoomed in, as well as adjust the level of the zoom. In
particular, it’s now possible to have the virtual keyboard on screen at
normal size
underneath a zoomed-in window. What this does is makes it easy to both type
and see what you’re typing without having to battle the entirety of the user
interface being zoomed in.
Grayscale. iOS in and of itself doesn’t have “themes” like so many
third-party apps support — and even like OS X Yosemite’s new
“dark mode”.
iOS does, however, support a pseudo-theme by way of Invert Colors
(white-on-black). In iOS 8, Apple is adding a second pseudo-theme to the
system with
Grayscale. With this option turned on, the entirety of iOS’s UI is turned,
as the name would imply, gray. The addition of a Grayscale is notable
because
it gives those users who have issues with colorized display — or who simply
view darker displays better — another way to alter the contrast of their
device(s).
Guided Access. The big addition to Guided Access is that Apple is leveraging
its own new-to-iOS-8 Touch ID developer API to enable users to be able to
exit Guided Access using their scanned fingerprint. This is a noteworthy
feature because it effectively guarantees that students (or test-takers or
museum
visitors) can’t leave Guided Access to access the Home screen or other parts
of iOS.
As well, Apple has added a time limit feature to Guided Access, thereby
allowing teachers, parents, and the like to specify the length of time
Guided Access
is to be used. Especially in special education classrooms, features such as
Touch ID to exit and the timer can be extremely powerful in ensuring an
uninterrupted
learning experience, keeping students on task yet still set the expectation
that a transition (i.e., “You can play games now”, for instance) will take
place in X minutes. In terms of behavior modification, Guided Access’s new
features are potentially game-changing, indispensable tools for educators.
Enhanced Braille Keyboard. iOS 8 adds support for 6-dot
Braille
input system-wide. This feature involves a dedicated Braille keyboard that
will translate 6-dot chords into text.
“Made for iPhone” Hearing Aids. Apple in iOS 8 has improved its
Made for iPhone Hearing Aids
software so that now users who use hearing aids and have multiple devices
now can easily switch between them. Moreover, if a hearing aid is paired
with
more than one device, users will now be able to pick which device they’d
like to use.
Third Party Keyboard API. This topic (as well as QuickType) is worthy of its
own standalone article, but the accessibility ramifications of iOS 8’s third
party keyboard API are potentially huge for those with special needs.
A third-party keyboard on iOS 8. (Source: Apple.com)
A third-party keyboard on iOS 8. (Source: Apple.com)
Anecdotally speaking, I hear from several low vision iOS-using friends who
lament the default system keyboard, which is essentially the same keyboard
that
shipped with the original iPhone in 2007. The problem, my friends say, is
that the key caps are too small and the glyphs too hard to read. With the
new
API, though, third party developers such as the team at
Fleksy
can create entirely customized keyboards that users can use instead of the
stock one. This means developers can control key spacing and size, color,
and
so forth in an effort to create keyboards that accommodate for a wide array
of visual — and motor — needs.
In fact, at WWDC I had a chance to speak with Fleksy co-founder and COO,
Ioannis Verdelis, about the keyboard API and his company’s product. While I
won’t
divulge anything that was said at our meeting, suffice it to say that
Ioannis and his team were stoked at the news of the new API, and are really
excited
for what they have in the works for iOS 8. They really believe the new
Fleksy will benefit a lot of people with special needs.
Miscellany. iOS 8 brings with it a few housekeeping changes to Settings.app,
where the Accessibility options are located. For example, the Subtitles &
Captioning option — which previously was found under Hearing — has been
moved to a new Media section, right next to a new Video Descriptions toggle.
Furthermore,
the Physical & Motor pane — home to such features as Switch Control and
AssistiveTouch — has been rechristened Interaction.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As stated above, Apple’s steadfast commitment to improving Accessibility
year after year deserves the utmost praise, and 2014 is no different. As
someone
who relies on some of iOS’s Accessibility technologies in order to use my
devices, the breadth and depth of these features never cease to amaze me.
Without any tinge of hyperbole, I often marvel at how truly Accessibility
reflects Apple’s ethos of designing products for
everyone,
regardless of cognitive or physical impairment. (A sentiment I have
expressed numerous times elsewhere.) Again, these are signs of real
innovation, although
they (unfortunately) go largely unheralded. It’s my strong opinion that
Apple is leading the industry in this regard, and iOS 8 takes another step
forward
in
extending their lead.
_______________________________________________
ATI (Adaptive Technology Inc.)
A special interest affiliate of the Missouri Council of the Blind
http://moblind.org/membership/affiliates/adaptive_technology
