Using Apple products while you are visually impaired can be tricky. Apple helps blind and visually impaired people with various options, but you need to know where to find them. In our guide we explain what the options are and how to use them.
This article can also be heard in full, especially for our monthly theme Accessibility. Play.
Using iPhone and other Apple products with visual impairment
When the first iPhone was introduced, it became clear to blind and partially sighted people that the smartphone would not be accessible to them. Since then, the development in which phones lose their physical buttons and the visual increasingly important has only continued. With the iPhone X, the home button has even disappeared, so that you only have a flat screen in your hands.
However, a visual impairment should not be an obstacle to using an iPhone or any other Apple product such as an iPad, Apple Watch or Mac. Apple knows this too, which is why various resources have been incorporated into the operating systems for improved accessibility. Both for when you are blind, cannot see clearly, cannot distinguish colors well or have a visual impairment in any other way.
Using iPhone and iPad with a visual impairment
The iPhone and iPad are visual devices. Everything is done on a flat piece of glass and there are hardly any buttons to press. Apple has come up with the following ways to help people with visual impairments. These options can all be found in the settings menu. To do this, go to ‘General’ in the iOS settings menu and then choose ‘Accessibility’. In this guide, we’ll explain some of the features you’ll find there.
VoiceOver
Apple’s main tool is VoiceOver. Since the iPhone 3GS, iOS includes this screen reader, allowing you to use an iPhone or iPad without having to see the screen. Before you can use VoiceOver, you must first enable this feature.
In the Accessibility menu, choose ‘VoiceOver’ and flip the switch so that it turns green. In this VoiceOver menu you can, among other things, set the speaking rate and indicate whether punctuation marks should be spoken.
Once VoiceOver is turned on, you use it via movements of your fingers. The voice reads what you tap or drag your finger on. For example, what kind of button or which app is under your finger. The voice also tells you whether you have new messages in the app that your finger rests on.
With VoiceOver turned on, you can quickly make a double tap. For example, for opening an app or choosing an option in a menu. VoiceOver also works with braille displays.
Zoom in
Do you have trouble seeing the small print, pictures and other things? Then use a magnifying glass. Not a physical piece of glass on a stick, but iOS’s built-in magnifying glass. In the Accessibility menu you will find this option under ‘Zoom’. After flipping the switch, you can zoom in by tapping the screen twice with three fingers.
By scrolling down slightly in the Zoom menu, you will find the option to change the type of magnifying glass under ‘Zoom area’. Or you choose a small movable screen that is placed over the image, or the entire image is zoomed in.
By flipping the switch next to ‘Show controller’ in the Zoom menu, wherever you are on your iPhone you will find a menu in the screen that you can tap to change the zoom options. Such as a change in the lens size or a different filter.
Custom colors
Do you have trouble distinguishing colors on your screen? Then Apple has a solution for that too. In the Accessibility menu you will find the option ‘Custom view’. Here you indicate that colors should be reversed and you set color filters.
You will also find the option ‘Increase contrast’ in the Accessibility menu. If you tap on it, you will get two options. The option ‘Make less transparent’ improves the contrast by reducing blur. You can also override the switch ‘Make colors darker’.
If you have difficulty reading texts
Reading text can be one of the most difficult things on a small smartphone screen. In the Accessibility menu, you therefore get various options to do something about it. By turning the switch at ‘Larger text’ and moving the slider below the screen, you ensure that apps that support dynamic text automatically show text in a larger font, so you do not have to zoom in. You can also indicate in the Accessibility menu that text should be bold by turning the switch at ‘Bold text’.
These switches mainly affect Apple’s own apps, such as Calendar, Mail, Messages and Music. Still, some apps from other manufacturers are also affected.
Is that not enough? Then you can also have texts read aloud. To do this, choose ‘Speech’ in the Accessibility menu and then ‘Speak screen’. If you then swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen, all text on the screen will be read aloud. If you choose ‘Speak selection’ in the Speech menu, you can choose the option ‘Speak out’ after selecting a specific text.
Siri can also help you
Siri is a handy tool to use the smartphone without having to see everything. This voice assistant can, for example, start a phone call or send a message, without having to touch your smartphone. A few of the options mentioned in this guide can also be turned on and off with Siri, so you don’t even have to go into the settings menu. For example, you can say “Hey Siri, turn on VoiceOver” or “Hey Siri, turn on reverse colors.”
Using Apple Watch with a visual impairment
The Apple Watch has a very small screen for your wrist. On this screen you can read messages, control music and keep track of your sports activities. But how do you do that if you cannot see it properly, or see nothing at all?
As on iOS, the Apple Watch also has access to the VoiceOver screen reader. This allows you to use the Apple Watch without having to see the screen. You can enable VoiceOver by asking Siri to ‘Enable VoiceOver’, or by selecting ‘General’ in the Settings app on the Apple Watch and then ‘Accessibility’. There you get the switch next to VoiceOver. You can also switch it on via the Watch app on your iPhone. Once turned on, tap the screen to hear what’s on display.
Feeling the time through vibrations and more
The Apple Watch offers a handy function that lets you feel the time via vibrations. To do this, open the Watch app on your iPhone. There you choose ‘My Watch’, then ‘General’, ‘Accessibility’ and ‘VoiceOver’. In this menu you will find the option ‘Tactile time’.
You can find more options in the Accessibility menu on the Apple Watch or in the Watch app. With ‘Zoom’ you can use a zoom function, for example, by tapping the small screen with two fingers. In the Watch app you will also find the option to enable bold text under the heading ‘Accessibility’, and the option to adjust the text size under the heading ‘Brightness / text size’.
Using Mac with a visual impairment
A Mac is the most accessible Apple device. This is due to the large screen and the possibility to easily add external equipment such as a Braille display. The Mac is also usually in your own home and you can listen undisturbed. However, using a computer can also be difficult for the visually impaired or blind. In the Accessibility menu you will find several options that can help you with that. To find this panel, press Option + Command + F5 simultaneously. If your Mac has a Touch Bar, you can also press Touch ID three times quickly to open this panel.
You can also use VoiceOver on the Mac. You can find it in this menu or you can turn it on with Siri by saying ‘Turn on VoiceOver’. You can also press Command + F5. In the Accessibility menu you will also find a zoom function, so you can enlarge things on the screen up to twenty times. You can find this under the heading ‘Zooming’. You can indicate here whether you want to zoom in the entire screen, or whether you want to use a small movable window that zooms in.
In the Accessibility menu, you will also find options to increase the size of the pointer and increase the contrast. Of course, Siri is also present on MacOS to send messages, search for files, search for something on the internet and other things.
Monthly theme: Accessibility
This month on iPhoned we pay extra attention to the theme of accessibility. Later this month we will look at, among other things, which apps can help with the use of iOS with a visual impairment. Keep an eye on the website, download our iPhoned app and sign up for the newsletter to stay informed.
Read more about the topic of Accessibility
- Apple trains Siri to better understand people with speech impediments (26-2)
- Accessibility: Adjust iPhone text size and use bold text (10-1)
- 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)