Accessibility Options Available on the iPhone

What are the Accessibility settings on the iPhone?

There are many types of user who use Apple’s flagship device, the iPhone, in their day-to-day lives. Therefore, the Cupertino company strives for each of these people to have the best possible user experience using their devices and there the Accessibility settings become very important. These settings have the objective of being able to offer different ways of using the iPhone for those people who have vision problems, motor problems and / or hearing problems , so that in their day to day they have the same possibilities to get the most out of it. a device with as much potential as the iPhone.

On many occasions, technology is a means that facilitates many day-to-day tasks for people who have some physical limitation, hence the Accessibility settings available on Apple’s smartphone are so important and valuable, being this is a way to make the lives of these people a little more comfortable and not the other way around.

Settings from the moment the iPhone is opened

Accessibility settings have surely been seen many times in the Settings application of your iPhone. In fact, that is where we will focus later in this post to give you detailed information on each of the points, however, they would be useless if, initially, these people with vision, hearing or mobility problems do not have certain facilities also when it comes to configuring the iPhone right out of the box . For this, we are going to tell you below what you have to do if you want to use these Accessibility functions to configure the iPhone when you turn it on for the first time.

The first step that you have to take into account, since as soon as you turn on the device what they ask you is to configure the language and your country or region, is to activate VoiceOver or Zoom on the screen . To activate VoiceOver during setup, all you have to do is press the side button on the iPhone, for the iPhone X and higher models, or the home button on previous models. Then you just have to wait for the announcement indicating that VoiceOver is activated. On the other hand, to activate the Zoom on the screen you just have to touch the screen twice with three fingers.

After these first steps and after having chosen, on the one hand, the language in which you want your iPhone to be, and on the other, your country or region where you want to locate it, you can configure more accessibility functions that will make it easier for you to configure the device. To follow the next steps.

1. Tap the accessibility button on the Quick Launch screen.
2. Touch an accessibility option so you can read the description of the feature and turn it on. To go back you just have to tap on “Back”.
3. Click on ” OK ” to return to the configuration process.

So you can adapt the iPhone to your vision problems

As we mentioned, during the configuration of the device you have at your disposal different settings that will allow you to carry out this process much more easily. First of all we want to tell you what are the options you have available in case you have vision problems.

• You can always use VoiceOver to have everything on the screen read aloud to you.
• Use Zoom to enlarge the screen.
• The Screen and Text Size Adjustment allows you to control transparency, contrast, text size and other parameters that by customizing them you will be able to perfectly suit your needs.
• Motion gives you the opportunity to reduce UI motion and disable automatic message effects and video previews.
• With Read Content it shows the Read button when you select any text, and you can even have the device read the content on the screen aloud.

Modify these parameters if you have motor problems

The Accessibility settings that you have access to to configure the device are not only focused on users with vision problems, they are also very focused on those who have motor problems. Below we explain what these settings are and what are the advantages of using them.

• Touch gives you access to AssistiveTouch and other touch adaptations of the device.
• Control by button what it does is highlight elements on the screen that you can activate through an adaptive accessory.
• Keyboard gives you the opportunity to fully customize the typing experience when using an external keyboard.

Finish configuring it with these functionalities

Once you have started your new iPhone and have been able to configure it thanks to the functions that Apple grants the user to make their devices more accessible, it is time to finish this Accessibility configuration through the large number of settings that the Cupertino company provides through its Settings app . Next we will talk about each and every one of the sections that you can touch to fully adapt the way you use the device to your needs. To do this, open the Settings app and click on Accessibility , within these Settings we can find up to four different categories that we are going to talk about next.

Settings that you have to configure if you have vision problems

For all those users who have vision problems we find a large number of settings that you can configure to completely adapt the way in which the iPhone displays all the information on its screen.

Voiceover

The first of these is again VoiceOver, which as we have already mentioned previously consists of the function that the iPhone uses to be able to read you which are the options that appear on the screen , that is, for those users who have vision problems, perform a detailed description of what appears on the screen. Below we show you the list with the different parameters that you can configure.

• Speech speed.
• Read, where you can change different parameters such as the tone or voice used by the device.
• Braille.
• VoiceOver recognition.
• Verbosity.
• Audio.
• Commands.
• Activities.
• Rotor.
• Rotor actions.
• Writing.
• Activate or deactivate the reading of notifications.
• Browse images.
• Use large cursor.
• Subtitles panel.
• Set a time limit for double tapping.

Zoom

By activating the Zoom, what Apple provides users is the ability to enlarge the screen , after all its own name indicates it, to zoom in on the part of the screen that the user selects. This function is really useful for those people who have vision problems and need to see everything much more magnified. Here are the parameters that you can customize to zoom to your liking.

• Activate or not “Follow focus”.
• Enable or not smart typing.
• Keyboard shortcuts.
• Zoom controller.
• Zoom region.
• Zoom filter.
• Maximum zoom level.

Magnifying glass

With the Magnifier function what you can do is use your device’s camera to see everything around you enlarged . After all, it seeks to imitate the use of a traditional magnifying glass, but in this case, with your device. If you activate this option, you can drag the magnifying glass from the app library to the home screen or even add it as an accessibility shortcut option.

Screen and text size

As you can imagine from the name of this Setting, here you can configure all the parameters related to the screen of your device and the text that is displayed on it. The options are very varied so that each user can adjust the appearance of their iPhone to their liking. Below you have the list with all the settings that you can touch.

• Bold text.
• Larger text.
• Button outlines.
• I / O labels.
• Reduce transparency.
• Increase contrast.
• Differentiate without color.
• Smart investment.
• Classic investment.
• Color filters.
• Reduce white point.
• Automatic brightness.

Movement

If you want to reduce the movement of many of the animations that your device reproduces in practically any action you do with it, this is the setting or the parameters that you have to take into account to achieve it. In addition, this one, along with others, will also have a direct effect on the battery life of your iPhone. Here are the points to configure.

• Reduce movement.
• Automatic effects in messages.
• Preview videos automatically.

Read content

One of the functions that most users use is to read the content that the iPhone is displayed on the screen , well, within this setting you have the possibility of customizing certain parameters to perfectly adapt the use of this function to your needs. The parameters that you can modify are the following.

• Read selection.
• Read screen.
• Pronounce when writing.
• Voices.
• Speech speed.
• Pronunciations.

Audio description

In many moments, the elements of your device may have an audio description and this is the setting you have to configure if you want that description to be played automatically when this happens. To do this, all you have to do is enter the Audio Description settings and activate it.

Use the device differently

We put aside the adjustments that you can make if you have vision problems and we focus now on those that will make the use of the iPhone much more comfortable for those people who have problems in their physical and motor skills. Again, in this section you will find a large number of parameters that you can modify depending on your needs.

Play

This section is if not the most important, one of the most important since it is through which you can activate AssistiveTouch , a very useful function and that, as we said before, provides users with a different way of relating, of using the iPhone . But beware, this is not only what you can customize in this section, below you have everything you can use to adjust the user experience to your liking.

• AssistiveTouch.
• Easy reach.
• Haptic response.
• Tactile facilities.
• Touch to activate.
• Shake to undo.
• Vibration.
• Audio routing.
• Touch back.

Face ID and attention

Another of the very important settings that you can configure are those related to FaceID as they will also mark the security of your device as well as the ease or not to unlock it using one of the best, if not the best, face recognition on the market. The options that you can configure are the following.

• Require attention for Face ID.
• Features with attention detection.
• Vibration after successful authentication.

Button control

This is one of the functions that has more configuration options inside. It consists of allowing or not using the iPhone by sequentially highlighting the items on the screen to be able to activate them through an adaptation accessory. This option being completely customizable through the following parameters.

• Button control.
• Buttons.
• Recipes.
• Exploration style.
• Duration of exploration.
• Pause at the first item.
• Loops.
• Repetition of the movement.
• Long press.
• Pulse mode.
• Highlighted after pressing.
• Browse key after pressing.
• Always press keys.
• Expanded predictions.
• Hold down.
• Ignore repetition.
• Slide cursor.
• Head tracking.
• Sound effects.
• Voice.
• Menu items.
• Group items.
• Big courses.
• Cursor color.
• Saved gestures.
• Confirm with button control.

Voice control

The Voice Control Setting, as its name suggests, allows you to be able to use the device through your voice , that is, without having to touch anything at all. Here you can not only activate it but you can also modify certain settings to better suit your needs and tastes. These are the parameters that you can modify.

• Configure “Voice control”.
• Idiom.
• Customize commands.
• Vocabulary.
• Show confirmation.
• Play sound.
• Show directions.
• Overlap.
• Attention detection.

Side button

One of the elements that we use most times almost unconsciously is the side button of the device, for this reason, Apple also provides a series of settings that you can modify and adapt to your liking so that the user experience when using this button is completely satisfactory. These are the settings that you can customize.

• Pulsing speed.
• Press and hold to speak.
• Activate confirmation with button control.
• Activate confirmation with AssistiveTouch.

Apple TV Remote

As you know, you can control Apple TV through its original remote, but you can also do it through the Apple TV Remote app, which after all is giving you the Apple TV remote on the iPhone screen to that you can control it from there. Well, with this function what the Cupertino company allows is to use buttons in the Apple TV Remote app of the iPhone instead of swipe gestures to be able to control it in a more adequate way.

Keyboards

One of the most complicated tasks for those who have motor problems comes when it comes to writing a message with the iPhone keyboard. In order to solve or facilitate the use of the keyboard for these users, Apple has developed a series of adjustments that you can see below.

• Full keyboard access.
• Key repeat.
• Tactile press.
• Slow keys.
• Show lowercase keys.

AirPods

Without a doubt, one of the accessories that most people use with their iPhone are AirPods, which also have a series of touch controls that you can modify to do one thing or another. All this depends on the model of AirPods you have. Here are the different settings that you can customize.

• Pulsing speed.
• Duration of long press.
• Noise control.
• Accessibility audio settings.
  • Settings for headphones.
  • Mono audio.
  • Noise Cancellation.
  • Read notifications.
  • Flashing LED warnings.
• Spatial Audio.

So you can configure your iPhone if you do not hear well

We have already talked about the adjustments that you can carry out if you have vision problems and motor problems, it is time to see what modifications can be made to adapt the use of the device to those users who have hearing problems and thus give it the possibility for these people to continue enjoying the user experience offered by an iPhone.

Earphones

In case you have a hearing aid that you can connect to your iPhone via Bluetooth, this is the place where you can pair it. To be able to do this you have to make sure that your hearing aid or sound processor is labeled ” Made for iPhone “. Otherwise you will not be able to link it with your device.

Sound recognition

With this function, what the iPhone will do is try to listen to certain sounds continuously and use the local intelligence of the device to notify you when it is able to recognize them, that is, you can configure the iPhone to recognize when a knock at the door or the doorbell so that In this way, if you want to use headphones when you are alone at home, you can do it without worrying that when they knock on the door you will not find out about it. In addition, in this case Apple emphasizes that sound recognition should not be relied upon in high-risk, emergency or injury circumstances.

Audiovisual

Within this section of Audio Accessibility Settings is where Apple gives the possibility to users of AirPods or Beats headphones to be able to personalize the user experience with them a little more. It really is the closest thing to an equalizer that Apple offers, obviously far from the functions that an equalizer can offer. Within these settings you have the following parameters that you can modify.

• Settings for headphones.
• Mono audio.
• Noise Cancellation.
• Headphone notifications.
• Balance.
• Flashing LED warnings.

Subtitle

With this option what you can do is that, your iPhone, whenever you consume content in which subtitles are available, preferably closed captions or for the deaf, these are activated automatically without you having to press any button or perform any type of settings in the application in which you are consuming said content. Here are the settings you can customize.

• Subtitles and options for the deaf.
• Style.
• Show audio transcripts.

Keep these settings in mind

We come to the final part of the Accessibility Settings that you have available on your iPhone. In this case we end up with the ” General ” category where you have access to the Guided Access , Siri and Quick function settings. Guided access what it provides is to keep the iPhone a single application in order to control what functions are available. If you want to activate it, all you have to do is press the side button three times in the app you want to use. On the other hand we have the Siri Accessibility options, where you can configure different actions to communicate with Apple’s virtual assistant. The options are as follows.

• Write to Siri.
• Voice responses.
• Always allow wake up when hearing “Hey Siri”
• Show the apps behind Siri.

Finally you have Quick function where you can configure what action you want to be carried out on the device when you click three times on the side button. Below you can check which are the different options that you can make if you activate this option.

• Full keyboard access.
• AssistiveTouch.
• Increase contrast.
• Button control.
• Voice control.
• Detection of people.
• Color filters.
• Classic investment.
• Smart investment.
• Magnifying glass.
• Reduce white point.
• Reduce transparency.
• VoiceOver.
• Zoom.