Best Facebook app for iPhone 4S and Voiceover

By Shane, 14 March, 2012

Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Hello all, I'm looking for the best app you might recommend to use Facebook on my iPhone 4S, with Voiceover. What I'm wanting to be able to do is: Check into places, and read where other friends are at also. Read/send/reply to Facebook messages. Like/comment on others status updates, as well as do all the other features that you can do on Facebook. I've read where the Facebook App isn't really that accessible, and where Facely For Facebook, Ace for Facebook, and one other really aren't that accessible. So which should I use? Or should I just stick with the mobile site of Fb? Thanks for any and all help, Shane.

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Comments

By Michael Hansen on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 12:38

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
I haven't seen an all-around great accessible Facebook client yet. The closest I've found is Focus for Facebook.
As strange as this may sound I really don't have many issues with the original Facebook app itself. I agree it need to be easier to manuever and the labeling isn't all that great but I'm just about able to do anything on it. I have no problems Checking in to places. I have no problems in uploading Photos. I can submit a new Status easily. I can read and respond to Private Messages. The Notifications are easy to access. I can access my Groups easily. I can search for Friends. There are many things I don't have an issue with. The only thing I have trouble is that in the Newsfeeds area. It isn't very easy to read through. It takes a lot of swiping to the left to read each statuses. There are still some unlabel button but you can clearly figure it out by learning what they are by tapping on them. There used to be a major problems in not being able to Like and Comment on a status. With the newer Facebook updates. I don't have these issues anymore. Facebook still has some issues to fix but for me it is the only app I use these days. Focus is great for reading the statuses but lacks in a lot of areas still. I really do want to hear from others on this subject. I am curious on what exactly that Facebook can't let you do compare to say other apps that are out there. That is just my two cents.

By Michael Hansen on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 12:38

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

In reply to by AnonyMouse

I too only use the native Facebook app. Accessibility of the app isn't great, but it's better than it used to be. I am able to write statuses, see whose on Chat, and read and reply to messages. The news feed isn't as easy as it could be, but that is true of a lot of Facebook clients I've tried. By the way, how does one like/comment on a status if nobody has done so previously?

By AnonyMouse on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 12:38

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

In reply to by Michael Hansen

Umm, well when I am in the Newsfeed section and I'm reading everyone's statuses. There is always a Like link and a Comment link for me. So honestly it is possible that everyone of my friends are liking everyone's status but that would be highly unlikely for everyone of them. So with the latest version of Facebook do you not hear these links as I do? They didn't used to be there but in recent days it is there now for me.

By Holly on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 12:38

In reply to by AnonyMouse

Hi Shane, I too haven't found a app that works great for Facebook. Currently, I use three different apps for Facebook. I use Focus, (which works very well although there some lemitations. You don't get notifications, you can't send messages, accept friend requests, search for friends, and unfortunatly it only shows the newsfeed it thinks is important. But it is very good at what it does and is fully accessible with voiceover. It is the app I use the most out of the three.) The second app I use is Messenger. It focuses only on your messages, so the only things you can do with messenger are read and send private messages to your friends or groups of friends if you create them on messenger. It has come a long way since I first got it and is very accessible. The third one I use is the app that facebook puts out. I find this app hard to use and have a hard time labeling the buttons that aren't labeled because when I press them they seem to do nothing! Facebook really needs to make this app accessible!! I only use it because I need it for certain apps that use Facebook to log in or share things to such as Jango. I also have to use it to find friends, but I very rarely use this app because of how inaccessible I find it. Another thing I do is Facebook text messaging. I get a text message when I get a friend request and can accept it through a text. If I had to recommend an app I would tell you to use Focus!!!! I have tried Facely HD and found that confusing and inaccessible. This is just my opinion, but I hope it helps!!!

By Shane on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 12:38

Hi all, Thanks to all of you that have posted comments to my question. If anyone has any other ideas/suggestions, feel free to let me know. I think I'm going to try the Facebook App, and if that doesn't work, or I don't like it, I may try some of the others that Holly recommended. Thanks again.