Janet Ingber
After much anticipation, Apple released iOS 15 on September 20, 2021. This operating system has both new accessibility and mainstream features. This article covers the accessibility features for people who are blind, deaf-blind or low vision. Although iOS 15 can run on anything capable of using iOS 14, not all accessibility features are available on older devices. If you are using an iPhone XS or above, all of the accessibility features will work. I am using the new iPhone 13 Mini with iOS 15.0.2.
VoiceOver Quick Settings
If you are already familiar with the VoiceOver rotor, the new Quick Settings works in a similar manner. Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Quick Settings. Here you will find a long list of VoiceOver commands. Select whichever items you would like to have in Quick Settings, the same way as adding commands to the rotor. By default, the command for opening Quick Settings is a 2-finger quadruple tap. You can change this by going to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Commands. The keyboard command is VO+V. According to Scott Davert from AppleVis, “As of iOS 15.0, there is no braille display equivalent for the VoiceOver Quick Settings command, and no option to add this to a keyboard assignment.” VoiceOver Quick Settings can be invoked from most locations on your device. VoiceOver will say, “VoiceOver Settings.” There is a Done button in the upper right corner. You can have the same item in both the rotor and Quick settings.
Live Text
Although Live Text is not specifically an accessibility item, it does deserve mention. You will need a steady hand to take advantage of Live Text. Live Text does not take the place of reading apps such as Seeing AI, KNFB Reader, and Voice Dream Scanner. Live Text lets you point your device’s camera at an item or text, and VoiceOver will start reading if there is any text. At the same time, VoiceOver might speak other items that the camera sees or might give directions to tilt the camera. Flick right to the Detect Text button and select it. This will focus VoiceOver only on the text and VoiceOver will continue reading. If you are a braille user, you will need to read the text quickly before the text disappears (your other hand is holding the phone.) Three buttons (Select All, Copy, and Look Up) will be on the screen. If there is a phone number or email in the photo, the text for that item will be a link. The user can act on this link directly from the photo. The Live Text feature also works on photos.
Image Explore
Image Explore will have VoiceOver speak more information about an image than VoiceOver did previously. The image can be a photo or any other image on your device. It will give information about where people and objects are located within the photo.
Start by going to the image. Next, swipe up with one finger and VoiceOver will say “Explore Image Features.” Flick right to explore what is on the screen. VoiceOver is not always 100% correct, but you get a lot of useful information. Images can be marked up to provide even more information.
Verbosity
New options have been added to VoiceOver’s Verbosity settings. One of my favorites is the ability to inform me if my flashlight has accidentally been left on. I have been a victim of the flashlight draining my battery. Another option I like is whether VoiceOver speaks numbers in words or digits.
Grouped Navigation
If you are a Mac user, chances are you will already be familiar with grouped Navigation. It is called Interacting on the Mac. Grouped Navigation groups similar items together to make navigation within the group easier. The command to begin Grouped Navigation is a two-finger swipe to the right. Get out of Group Navigation with a two-finger swipe to the left. On a keyboard, the commands are Shift+VO+Down Arrow and Shift+VO+Up Arrow.
Per App Settings
For people with low vision, you now have the ability to customize apps so they are easier to see. This is separate from the Display Text Size option in the Accessibility menu. Customization for each app is done separately.
To customize an app, go to Settings > Accessibility > Per App Settings. Next, select the Add App button and then choose an app you want to change. On the next screen, select the app so that the Display and Text Size settings will be on the screen. The changes you make here will only affect the selected app.
You can now also adjust an app’s text size in the Control Center. Make sure the Text Size option is in your Control Center. When in an app, you can quickly change the text’s size.
Magnifier
The Magnifier is now a separate app. It is located in the Utilities folder.
Headphone Accommodations
If you are using supported AirPods or Beats headphones, you can now import your audiogram into Headphones Accommodation. You can send a photograph or scan a copy and import it. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual. The first heading is Audio. Headphone Accommodations is the first option under the heading.
Background Sounds
This feature is designed to reduce environmental noise, help people concentrate, or just relax. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual. Flick down to Background Sounds. This feature is off by default. There is a list of sounds including Rain, Ocean, and Stream. You can control both sound volume and enabling of Background Sounds.
Conclusion
I recommend upgrading to iOS 15. It offers many new accessibility and mainstream features. There are numerous security updates in this release. You can get iOS 15 by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
