What Apps do you Think Take Accessibility to a Whole New Level?

By Allen, 22 March, 2016

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hello!

I'm an Mac and iPhone app developer and have been researching into accessibility in iPhone apps. I'm sighted and have previously added accessibility support to existing apps, so I'm familiar with what's necessary to make them accessible, but I have not actually tried using apps regularly with just VoiceOver.

So, I tried using a few apps recently with VO and realized that just making them accessible isn't enough. Apps are still clumsy to use in so many ways with VoiceOver enabled. I've been trying to research apps that "get it right" when it comes to ease of use for blind and low-vision users, but still haven't found anything that blows me away in terms of user experience. One app that seems to do a good job is VO Calendar (http://www.vo-calendar.com/en/), although I haven't tried it hands-on yet.

Can anyone out there comment on any iPhone apps they've used with VoiceOver enabled that they feel are more pleasant to use than others? I'm trying to figure out how we can make apps better instead of just meeting the minimum bar of "accessibility support".

Thanks,
Allen

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Comments

By Joseph on Saturday, April 9, 2016 - 16:33

One app I like to use that takes accessibility to a whole new level is called simple mic. I can't remember the developer, but I love what they've done with VO and making the app usable.

By Jen on Saturday, April 9, 2016 - 16:33

An app that immediately comes to mind is VoiceDream Reader.
It is used for reading - books, PDF files, EMail, documents, you name it.
It seems that the developer has truly thought of everything when it comes to great features, efficiency, and ease of use.
The layout is great, the features you need are intuitive, it's just an all around fantastic app.

By kevinchao89 on Saturday, April 9, 2016 - 16:33

Workflow - Powerful Automation Made Simple

  • In theory - is highly-spatial and should be complicated.
  • However, the hints, custom actions, and interaction with VoiceOver is truly a delight.
  • The drag-and-drop accessibility with VoiceOver is quite impressive.
  • It is very clear that the developers took accessibility seriously and want to ensure that it was a delightful accessibility user experience for VoiceOver users.

By Piotr Machacz on Saturday, April 9, 2016 - 16:33

The apps that I really like are the ones that make good use of the "actions" option on the rotor. Usually I see this in communication apps (Mail, Tweetings, WhatsApp and Skype come to mind). So, if I quickly want to make a Skype call to someone, I just go to the contact I'm interested in, but then instead of double tapping their name and flicking around the info screen looking for the "call" option, I can just start flicking up and down to see options like call, chat, add to favourites, delete and so on and whichever one I double-tap gets activated