Introduction
Thanks for your interest in the Abra kick-off training about the accessibility of apps.
Accessibility Features
Mobile phones include a lot of accessibility features. We will share how these work and how often these features are used. We will elaborate on the screen reader, switch control, keyboard access, voice control, larger text and dark mode. You need to know how these features work to comply with the accessibility guidelines.
Let’s talk about the numbers first.
Features in numbers
Q42 did an extensive research on the use of accessibility features based on more than 1 million iOS users. 43% of the users use one or more feature, 14% uses two or more.
Text size
Features are for example adjusted text size, which is used by 32% of the users. About 12% prefers smaller font size. But 20% prefers or is even dependent on a larger font size.
Dark mode
27% of the users has dark mode on. Dark mode is officially not a accessibility feature but the numbers and user testing shows that users want and need this. For example, some visually impaired people can better perceive white letters on a dark background.
Zoom & bold text
Other numbers are zooming and bold text, that are both used by 7% of the people mainly with a visual impairment.
Restore by shaking
Restore by shaking is disabled by 6% of the users. This functionality is often used by people in wheelchairs or with spasm. You do not want to trigger restore, without you actually wanting to use this feature.
Speak selection
Speak selection is 4%. This feature allows text to be read aloud. When you select a piece of text, the option to have it read aloud appears. For people that are dyslectic or low-literate, this can be very helpful.
Reduced transparency
For people with cognitive disabilities the reduced transparency can prevent misunderstanding. Reduced transparency limits the transparency in case of pop-ups or menu’s, so users know what blocks to focus on.
Support
Most apps do not support the features mentioned. Not all settings mentioned are mandatory by law. But if these features are not working, this impacts the user a lot.
