Various forms of physical and motor disabilities make it difficult to use an iPhone and other Apple devices. In this guide, we’ll take a look at how Apple is meeting these people.
Use iPhone and other Apple products with a physical limitation
Earlier we wrote about how Apple uses special accessibility settings to accommodate people who have a visual impairment or hearing impairment. In addition, the settings also contain options for people with a physical or motor disability. We explain those settings in this guide. You can find the other two guides here:
- Guide: Using Apple Devices with Hearing Impairment
- Guide: Using Apple Devices with a Visual Impairment
Using iPhone and iPad with a physical disability
The small smooth screen of an iPhone and the form factor of the iPad can be difficult to use for people with physical or motor disabilities. These products are designed for people who can use their arms and hands without any restrictions. What institutions are there for them, for whom that is not so obvious?
Most of these options can be found in the iOS Accessibility menu. If we mention that menu in this guide, you’ll find it if you go to ‘Settings> General> Accessibility’. You will then find the options under the heading ‘Interaction’.
Switch control
The main way Apple meets its users with physical and motor disabilities is Switch Control. The idea of Switch Control is that you use the device via all kinds of Bluetooth switches. For example, you can set how you select, tap, drag, type, etc. via these switches.
Switch controls can be found in the iOS Accessibility menu. In the separate Switch Control menu you will find a lot of options for customizing iOS to work well with your circumstances. Under ‘Switches’ you add switches and under ‘Recipes’ you add a collection of specialized tasks to a switch. There are also piles of smaller settings in the menu to adjust everything to your own wishes.
Conveniently, once it has been set up properly and the settings are in sync with your iCloud account, you can also use the switches with other Apple devices such as your Mac.
Help with touch
There are two ways you can adjust touch in the Accessibility menu. First of all, AssistiveTouch. If you enable this option, you can make adjustments to what it means to touch the screen. For example, if you find it difficult to pinch to zoom in, you can set an alternative in the AssistiveTouch menu.
In this way you can also set, for example, that you shake the device with specific touches or rotate the screen without having to physically do so. If you switch on AssistiveTouch, an icon will always appear on the screen. If you press it, you can bring up Siri, your messages or the control panel, among other things.
In the ‘Custom touch’ menu you can set how the screen of an iPhone or iPad reacts to your touch. For example, by flipping a switch and choosing a time, you can set how long it takes until a touch of the screen is registered as an actual touch. In this menu you also set that a repetition should be ignored, which is useful for example with shaking hands.
You can then turn on ‘Tap Assist’ if you find it difficult to keep your finger in the same spot. This way you can ensure that your first touch is leading for your taps, or your last touch.
The home button
The home button is the tricky part of the iPhone or iPad for some. In the Accessibility menu you will find a separate Home button menu, where you indicate how quickly you have to press the button in succession to get something done. You can also set that you only have to put your finger on the button to unlock the device, and therefore no longer have to press.
You can also reach the home button virtually, so on the screen. Then Touch ID does not work, but you can easily go to the home screen. To do this, switch on AssistiveTouch and press the newly appeared icon that with AssistiveTouch constantly floats on top of the screen. Then press ‘Home’.
Talk to your device
Touching is often not even necessary. Voice assistant Siri can perform all kinds of tasks on your iPhone or iPad, without you having to touch the device itself. The Accessibility menu also has a separate menu for Siri. Here you enable that you can ask the assistant questions by typing. This is useful if talking is not easy either.
Using Apple Watch with a physical disability
The Apple Watch is a lot smaller than an iPhone and can therefore be extra difficult to use. There are a number of options you can use. For example, you can set the pressure of the side button for when you want to press the button two or three times. To do this, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and go to ‘My Watch> General> Accessibility> Side button pressure speed’.
Prepare the Apple Watch for wheelchair
One of the most important parts of the Apple Watch is that the watch keeps track of your activities. This is also possible if you are in a wheelchair. To let the Apple Watch know that you are using the device while in a wheelchair, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. There, tap on ‘Health’ and then on ‘Edit’. Then select ‘Wheelchair’.
By default, Apple’s Activity app activity rings are set to Move, Exercise, and Stand. For wheelchair users, ‘Standing’ is exchanged for ‘Rolls’. This ring encourages you to roll or stretch a bit every hour. In addition, the watch recognizes the movements you make in a wheelchair. With the Workout app you can also measure specific workouts. You choose ‘Outside wheelchair driving at a slow pace’ or ‘Outside wheelchair driving at a fast pace’. Unfortunately, there are no more different workouts to choose from yet.
Using Mac with a physical disability
Also on the Mac there are several possibilities to use all the possibilities that Apple’s computer offers with a physical or motor disability. To find the macOS Accessibility menu, press Option + Command + F5. You can also ask Siri to open accessibility, or type ‘accessibility’ in Spotlight.
For when you can’t use a keyboard or mouse
Just like on iOS, the most important part in macOS is Switch Control, to use the operating system via bluetooth switches. In addition, macOS has other options if you cannot use a keyboard. For example, there is a special accessibility keyboard in the Accessibility menu. This is displayed on the screen and can be used with hardware that registers movements of your head.
In the Accessibility menu you will also find a key delay option to adjust the sensitivity of a keyboard. Using Lock Keys, it is possible to enter commands by pressing the keys one by one instead of a combination of keys. The mouse can also be replaced by controlling the pointer via the numeric keypad.
Of course you can also use Siri for a lot of actions. Since High Sierra, the voice assistant has been a regular part of macOS. You can also set up the Accessibility menu in macOS to ask Siri questions by typing instead of speaking.
More possibilities through accessories
In addition to the settings of the devices themselves, there are also various accessories that can help people with disabilities. Think of a holder for a wheelchair, a pressure switch to use via Switch Control or an easy mouse. You can read all about it in our guide: these Apple accessories help people with disabilities.
The latest articles on the topic of accessibility
- Apple trains Siri to better understand people with speech impediments (26-2)
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- People with a disability about their iPhone: “you are missing out on potential customers” (22-10-2020)
- Accessibility in iOS 14: 5 new features for people with disabilities (7/13/2020)
- Are you color blind? This way you turn on color filters on your iPhone, iPad and Mac (2/6/2020)