We really need a new rating for iOS apps, and here's why.
There are many apps that are totally invisible to VO. All you get is' what seems to be a totally' blank screen: If there is no way to interact with these apps, they are, and should be deemed, totally inaccessible.
Other apps, however, are rated as inaccessible even' though' all elements are seen by VO: I'm talking about unlabeled buttons.
Some apps have only one or' two such buttons, while others have a plethora of them: These apss with their unlabeled buttons are usually deemed inaccessible:
Part of the problem we have here is that we cannot share our labels with other VO users. This would make things much easier, as a sighted person could help us label elements if we cannot figure out what they do' by ourselves:
Even though we cannot share these labels, we can describe them here on the forums as we often do, and that's why these apps with all their' unlabeled buttons should have their own rating, something to say that the app could be used if you're willing to spend the time it'll take to label them.
By Ken Downey, 5 June, 2015
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Comments
Situation covered
I think the situation is essentially covered already. I think it may just be a case of users having different ideas of what's inaccessible. For the VO beginner, apps filled with unlabelled elements might be considered inaccessible, while more experienced users who know about custom labels in VO may not consider the same app inaccessible.
The situation where VO can get to all UI elements, all buttons are unlabeled, and the app requires no special gestures to operate that can not be done using double-tap and hold could be tagged with:
* VoiceOver reads all page elements.
* No buttons are clearly labeled.
* There are some minor accessibility issues with this app, but they are easy to deal with.
Of course, this would need to be paired with a detailed description of the labeling to be done with custom labels.
I think the bottom line is that app directory entries are made with varying levels of user experience and effort, so if you think an entry is mistagged, consider politely bringing it up with the user who created the entry.