Accessibility for iOS & Android

Mobile phones are commonly used by people with disabilities. They offer a portable solution to overcoming common barriers.

Both iOS and Android platforms have come a long way in supporting accessibility features and they both provide very good resources & training materials.

Android

Accessibility on iOS

Things to consider

Visual display

  • Is there sufficient contrast? Can the content be viewed under different lighting conditions?
  • Does colour reinforce meaning? Using colour alone may affect people who are colour blind.
  • Is pinch zoom supported (HTML only)? Font size helps readability, but zooming helps with details in text and images.
  • Are links visually evident? Can your customer identify and understand where the link will take them.
  • Are navigation cues clear? Is your call to action consistent and recognizable?
  • Are images and links to the same target grouped into one touchzone? If an image is part of a call to action, make sure the full area is clickable.

Zoom enabled

  • Is the text readable if the zoom features of the phone are activated? Does it fit on the screen?
  • Are labels and form inputs close together? Does the form layout break when the text is larger?

User Interface (UI)

  • Is the correct keyboard/input type used in forms (tel, date, numbers, letters, etc)?
  • Is all content and functionality available by touch? Customer desktop interfaces might rely on hover to open menus. Is this available on touch?
  • Do pop ups fit within the viewport i.e. you don’t have to swipe to find the close/submit/cancel buttons?
  • Do pop ups have a close button?
  • Is the text selectable? Can customers copy and paste text or select and use speak aloud options?
  • Does link text describe the target clearly?

Voice output

  • Can all actions be accessed and completed with device voice features?
  • Is the content order logical? Device features will announce content or interface elements from top to bottom / left to right.
  • Is all content and functionality available by swiping left and right and up and down?
  • Are images labelled appropriately and announced. Are decorative images ignored?
  • Are landmarks and headings announced?
  • Do form fields have clear labels?
  • Are changes of state announced?
  • Are buttons used for actions, like submitting forms?

Other resources