I’ve been waiting for the option to slow down the speed of double-tapping when using VoiceOver for quite some time and now with iOS 9.1 it is here!
Several of my clients struggle with the speed at which they previously had to single finger double-tap the screen to activate buttons, open apps, open links etc, not to mention two finger double-tapping to answer or end calls coming in on their iPhones. I’m really pleased that Apple has made this option available as I think it will make the devices that we know and love that little bit more accessible to those who experience difficulty with their dexterity or who simply can’t double-tap quite as quickly as other people.
You must have iOS 9.1 or later installed on each of the devices you wish to slow the double-tap speed on for this to work. The steps below are exactly the same for both the iPhone and iPad. The slowed down speed also works when two-finger double-tapping to answer or end calls on the iPhone.
To access this setting, go to settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Double-tap timeout; you can quickly jump to this button from within VoiceOver Settings by performing a one-finger single-tap near the bottom of the screen. A text field with the default time of 0.25 seconds will be displayed, which you can change either with the increment and decrement buttons, which will adjust the time in 0.05 second intervals, or Delete the numbers out of the text field and type in your own speed, the maximum is 0.50 seconds.
Note that while a maximum of 0.50 seconds doesn’t sound like very much, it is surprising how much extra time it gives you to execute that all important double-tap. It is effectively doubling the amount of time previously required to do so.
Give it a try and see what you think.