This article is interesting even though I am totally blind and so couldn't
really relate to much of what the writer is talking about. One thing I can
comment on is how much simpler and more straightforward voiceover is on iOS as
opposed to Mac OS.
As you may recall, David, I was trying to make the switch from windows to mac
when we first spoke. I never did manage it and remain a windows user to this
day. One of the things I found so difficult in the mac world is the concept of
interacting with elements before I could take an action. Now I've been a
computer user for over three decades and what's more I am not a dummy. But I
think if the mac experience were more in line with the iOS experience I would
be able to adjust to a brand new tech universe.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:blind-philly-comp-
bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2018 12:41 PM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Article: Consistent Accessibility: How Apple Can
Make iOS and the Mac More Accessible – MacStories
As I'm not a low vision user and since I haven't been a Mac user for a little
over two years I don't have enough of a perspective to offer any comments.
For those who use both Mac OS and iOS I'd love to hear your thoughts.
From macstories.net
Consistent Accessibility: How Apple Can Make iOS and the Mac More
Accessible – MacStories Steven Aquino
Like all Apple products, macOS is an accessible platform. Blind and low
vision users can navigate their Mac using VoiceOver, while someone who
has physical motor delays can use Switch Control to edit videos in Final
Cut. And under the Accessibility pane in System Preferences, there is a
multitude of other features one can use, ranging from Zoom to Invert
Colors to closed-captioning and more. Whatever your need, the breadth
and depth of Apple’s accessibility software spans many domains. This is
why Apple is lauded as the industry leader in accessibility: the tools
run deep and they’re well-designed.
Still, accessibility on macOS doesn’t quite reach feature parity with
iOS. Amidst rumors that Apple is working on a cross-platform set of APIs
to bridge the company’s two primary operating systems, now is an
opportune time to consider what each platform does and what they offer
one another.
In the context of accessibility, the way Apple brings consistency
between iOS and macOS is by sharing features and technologies among the
two. As such, there are some iOS-first features macOS sorely needs,
while the Mac offers things iOS would benefit from as well. Such
enhancements would not only improve the user experience across devices,
but also would make iOS and Mac software richer, fuller products
overall. And most importantly, more accessible.
Large Dynamic Type
Dynamic Type was introduced to iOS in 2013 with the release of iOS 7.
Five years on, it’s hard to believe the feature has yet to make the jump
to the Mac. Of all the things macOS needs, Dynamic Type should be near –
if not at – the top of everyone’s list. It’s certainly at the top of mine.
While Zoom is an excellent tool for enlarging text, adding Dynamic Type
would make it even better. The purpose of Dynamic Type is simple: it’s a
set-it-and-forget-it slider that, when enabled, allows text size to be
consistent system-wide. (Apple told me at WWDC last year it did a “ton”
of work in iOS 11 to make text render better at the largest settings.)
As on iOS, Apple could make a public API for Dynamic Type so developers
could integrate it into their apps. Crucial, though, is the way in which
Dynamic Type could augment the Mac’s UI in general. For elements such as
the Finder and System Preferences, Dynamic Type would surely give those
menus a visual boost, as the labels and iconography today are still
fairly small, at least for me. Even something like the menu bar would be
enhanced by Dynamic Type.
The lack of Dynamic Type in High Sierra today is even more glaring when
you consider macOS runs on the 12-inch MacBook and the 27-inch iMac.
These sit at polar opposites of the screen size spectrum, but one thing
they have in common, in terms of accessibility, is that text and the
like are relatively tiny. If you use either (or both) of these devices,
chances are good you’ll increase the text size to see comfortably. This
is particularly true on 27-inch displays because the sheer physical size
of the screen means on-screen content is more spread out. Adjusting the
screen’s resolution helps, but it’d be better if it could be used in
tandem with Dynamic Type.
Larger Cursor Support on iOS
When I use the Mac, one way I make it more visually accessible is I have
the mouse pointer set to the largest size. I prefer using a Magic Mouse
with my Touch Bar MacBook Pro, and the bigger pointer makes it easy for
me to find the cursor and click things. Likewise, I prefer dark mode in
Ulysses on the Mac and iOS because the higher contrast makes it easier
to find the insertion point when I’m writing or editing.
Apple should take the larger mouse pointer slider from macOS and bring
it to iOS – particularly for text-editing, I’d like an option to enlarge
the cursor. The current mechanic for moving the insertion point is
fairly inaccessible, and it’s due to its small size. I find it
frustratingly difficult to use. (Bonus suggestion: Another setting for
enlarging the magnification loupe, akin to how you set the Mac dock’s
magnification level.)
Give the Touch Bar a Taptic Engine
One of my hopes for this year’s WWDC is to see Apple announce
improvements to the Touch Bar. I’m in the minority of people who like
the Touch Bar; I believe it is genuinely useful for accessibility. The
Touch Bar's Zoom feature is one of the best pieces of software Apple has
ever shipped. Hopefully 2018 brings more Touch Bar goodness.
One thing I believe the Touch Bar would benefit from immensely is haptic
feedback. While it’s great at making commonly-used controls more readily
accessible, the touch controls would be even better if they included
haptics. I don’t know how technically feasible this is due to the
incredibly small space the Touch Bar occupies, but it would be terrific
if I felt a buzz or pulse every time I tapped a button or scrubbed
through the screen brightness slider. The double dose of sensory
integration would make the Touch Bar experience a richer one.
Dark Mode Everywhere
macOS currently has a dark mode feature, but it only affects the menu
bar. It’s great and I use it; the higher contrast, especially when
selecting menu items, makes using the menu bar a better experience. My
only wish would be for Apple to extend the feature further into the OS:
apply it to windows, the Finder, and other interface elements. And make
it a public API for developers.
Likewise, iOS has a few apps (Clock, Stocks, the Apple Watch app) where
it uses a “dark mode” interface. It’d be equally great if, again, Apple
extended this dark mode to the entire system. It would help boost
contrast, but it also would make it so that app developers wouldn’t need
to roll their own dark modes. Make it an API and developers could let
users switch to Apple’s dark mode whenever they wanted, for reasons of
contrast, fatigued eyes, or whatnot. iOS is close to reaching its
twelfth version; a dark mode is a long overdue addition.
Make Mac Siri and Notifications Literally Front and Center
This is an admittedly esoteric request, but it bugs me often so I’ll
mention it here. When you invoke Siri on iOS, the UI takes up the entire
screen, and when notifications come in, they're centered on-screen; by
contrast, the Mac's counterpart Siri and notification features have been
relegated to the right side of the screen. At least in my experience –
because my right eye is my weaker eye, visually speaking – this makes it
awfully hard to focus my vision on Siri and notifications. Again,
esoteric, but I actually would prefer Apple take an iOS approach to Siri
and notifications on the Mac and center them on screen. At the very
least, it would make reading notifications or infrequent Siri queries
easier because the text would be right in front of me instead of off to
the side.
As Apple’s platforms continue to mature, particularly iOS in this case,
there are ripe opportunities to consider how they can be refined in the
aggregate. The feature suggestions I list here are effectively
design-oriented ones that are geared more towards usability than
aesthetics. The addition of these would boost the accessible design of
both the Mac and iOS, which ultimately makes the user experience better
for everyone.
You are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at
WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info for additional resources and information about
assistive technology training services.
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