This document provides tips on accessibility for visually impaired users, including guide dogs and digital devices. It discusses how Android and iOS handle accessibility features, noting that Android provides basic support like TalkBack while iOS offers more robust support through features like VoiceOver that can make apps usable and be life changing for some users. Developers are encouraged to implement accessibility best practices like adding content descriptions and hints to make their apps more inclusive.

1. Guide dogs and digital devices.
Some tips on accessibility for the visually impaired.
September 6, 2012
Xamarin
Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved

2. Nic Wise
MonoTouch developer
Xamarin Insider
Coffee lover.

3. Agenda
• What is it?
• How does Android deal with it?
• How does iOS deal with it?

4. What is it?
Accessibility is the degree to which a product,
device, service, or environment is available to as
many people as possible. Accessibility can be
viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from
some system or entity. The concept is often used
to focus on people with disabilities or special
needs and their right of access to entities, often
through use of assistive technology.
--Wikipedia

5. What is it?
• Allows people without full sensory ability
to use and interact with technology and the
wider world.
• Mostly visually impaired (blind) users
• Also the deaf and those with poor motor
skills, and those on the autism spectrum
(iOS6)

6. It’s a matter of degree
• Can range from 100% sight loss, to color
blindness or people who are deaf in one ear.
• Deafness and motor issues are handled by
iOS.

7. Why?
• Opens your applications up to more users
• Remember what it was like using a desktop app
with really bad tab ordering? That. But worse.
• In most cases, taking a barely accessible app
and making it easy to use is an afternoons
work.
• Some places require it - Governments
especially. Section 508 (US).

8. [Two guys standing outside, smoking, after an underground rave]
Guy: Why do you do this to yourself? Don't even get paid,
risk getting arrested, for what?
Ernie: You don't know?
Guy: No.
Ernie: The Nod.
Guy: The Nod?
Ernie: Happens to me at least once every party. Some guy
comes up to me and says "Thank you for making this happen...
I needed this. This really meant something to me." And they
nod... and I nod back.
Guy: [scoffs] ... That's it?
Ernie: That's it.

9. Android
Specifically 4.x

10. From a users perspective
• Accessibility is available - TalkBack for
visually impaired users
• Large fonts (not very large)
• Default skin is very high contrast.
• Bare minimum. Better than nothing.

12. For developers
• Add 2 fields into each widget if it needs it -
contentDescription and hint (for edit controls)
• Enable android:focusable where needed
(when used with the D-pad)

13. • android:contentDescription is read when
the user taps on the control and gives it
focus. It should describe what the action
will do.
• android:hint is read when the user taps on
an edit control (eg an edit box).
• If you change either without the user losing
focus, it will not re-read the text.

14. Accessiblity services
• You can customize things at a system level
with Accessibility Services
• Same concept as adding your own
keyboard, but for accessibility functions.

15. Scorecard
• B-, at most
• Limited control, limited use
• Accessibility Services makes Android very
extensible if you are a hardware maker
• Better than nothing, but improving

16. iOS
Specifically 5.x+, but most of this applies to 3.0+

17. For the user
• Very rich support - a point of pride for Apple
• VoiceOver, Zoom, Large Text, white on black, speak
selection.
• Custom vibrations; LED flashing on alert; mono
audio
• Assistive Touch for people with motor disabilities
• Can mean the difference between being able to do
“basic” things with assistance, or not. Life changing.

18. Visual

20. Hearing and Learning

21. Developer
• VoiceOver is your primary access point.
• Good news: it’s baked in! You just have to
make it better.
• Bad news: it does require some work (not
a lot)

22. UIKit
• Most text-based UIKit controls work out
of the box. A lot of what you are doing is
streamlining and optimizing.
• But what about an image button with no
text?

23. UIKit
• Set Accessibility Label; Hint; Traits using
code or Interface Builder, or turn it off

24. MonoTouch
• MonoTouch doesn’t support this in code
out of the box.
Key-value coding and an extension method to
the rescue!

25. https://gist.github.com/3599186

26. This makes it very easy to disable unneeded
controls, and expand on accessibility-specific ones

27. Scorecard
• A+. Gold standard
• Has been changing lives - have a look at the
WWDC keynote

28. • Give it a try!
• Always test with VoiceOver or TalkBack, even if
it’s just to see what happens
• It will take it a bit to get used to, but it’s worth
spending a little time on.
• If your app is especially useful to the visually
impaired, it can make a big difference to people
who need it (eg transport or navigation apps)
• Wouldn’t it be nice if we could use VoiceOver
programmatically? iOS7 maybe.

29. Wheelchair Rugby - aka Murderball
Making Ice Hockey players look soft since 1977

30. Xamarin
Seminar
Please give us your feedback
http://bit.ly/xamfeedback
Follow us on Twitter
@XamarinHQ
Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved