For many visually impaired users , myself included , it was a rough changeover from the “ definitive ” iOS 6 to the top - to - bottom redesign of iOS 7 . While Istill take issuewith some of the design change iOS 7 brought , I ’ve grown habitual to them and ca n’t imagine going back to the sure-enough style . If anything , I palpate the iOS 7 and iOS 8 look is much more aesthetically pleasing overall .
Still , as someone with low vision , I continue to struggle with the discernability of Io in various portion of the organization . WithiOS 9 in the work , here are six things I ’d care to see Apple tweak in an effort to make iOS more visually accessible .
Make the App Store more readable
As Iwrote for iMore last year , it ’s my strong opinion that the accessibility of the App Store is arguably its biggest trouble that no one talks about .
The App Store ’s fonts ask to be much bigger .
The App Store ’s show has changed since its inception in 2008 — alas , the font sizing has n’t . It is very small , crap it difficult to understand app descriptions and spill notes . I find myself hold my iPhone or iPad inches from my face , squinting heavily to translate information . It ’s not a pleasant experience , as the squinting lead to eye strain , which is finally atrocious . Worse , I ca n’t get the entropy I want because I ca n’t see it ; if I ca n’t see , what ’s the point ?
App search and discovery are important for Apple to get powerful too , but I trust the ship’s company undertake readability first and foremost . I think Apple should supply a text size slider in options and/or corroborate Large Dynamic Type . And it ’s not just the App Store that has readability issuance — the iTunes Store and the iBookstore suffer from the same job .
Make the magnification loupe and cursor bigger
I make for a flock with text on my iOS devices — I’m writing this very opus on my iPad Air , in fact — and , as such , I often employ the loupe to place the pointer . The job is , I observe that both are n’t big enough to see . As with perusing the App Store , I find myself squint to see where to place the cursor , and it makes my optic uncomfortable .
Apple should add together a fresh Accessibility set to spay the size of the loupe and cursor . The Mac has a similar feature , have substance abuser align the magnification level of the Dock icon , and the sizing of the computer mouse cursor . This would alleviate oculus strain , making working with text with iOS a little easier .
Improve the text-selection interface
Related to the loupe and cursor , I ’d like Apple to alter the text selection mechanics in iOS 9 . The port for selecting text has gone unchanged since itsdebut with iPhone atomic number 76 3 , and while I ’ve never had too much trouble using cut , copy , and paste , I feel it could be improved .
The snap handle and popover baptistery could stand up to be magnanimous .
My indirect request here are double . First , Apple should make the grab handles adult . As it is now , I sometimes have fuss finding them , so making them more identifiable would avail me a great deal . secondly , the popover options would be more decipherable in a bigger font — I oftentimes have problems with seeing the Cut , Copy , and Paste bidding .
Clearing Notifications
Notification Center ’s arrival in Io 5was a godsend , as Apple at last added a primal stead where users could see all their push notification .
Deleting apprisal would be so much well-off with just a swipe .
The problem , though , with Apple ’s execution so far is that users must clear notifications manually ( write for iMessages ) , and it can be quite the task . The liberal trouble I have is solicit the little X button , which then morph into a lilliputian Clear clitoris , to delete a notification . It takes two taps to clear one app ’s notifications , and you have to do this forevery undivided appthat send you these thing . Worse , the button are awfully small and blue direct contrast , which makes them hard to see and knock .
Nothing would make me ( and countless others , I ’m sure ) well-chosen than if Apple would introduce a swipe - to - delete motion to Notification Center , consanguineous to the one added to iOS 8 that permit users to reply to text substance and act on electronic mail from the lock chamber screen door . Not only would such a motion be convenient , but it would rid me of the struggle in find the said little X button . It would mean less eye strain , fewer missed taps , and help me work faster on my devices .
Add an optional dark mode
Currently , iOS has an option under Accessibility ( Accessibility > Invert Colors ) that inverts the colors across the system . The point of this is to supply high contrast , but turning it on makes everything look uncanny . In a like vena , iOS 8 added a Grayscale choice , also under Accessibility , that strips the UI of all colour except for , as the name imply , gray . Like with Invert Colors , the point of Grayscale is to improve line , most notably for those whose visual sensation has hassle concentrate in the presence of color .
A higher line Dark Mode would make recital easier .
But there is a missing “ theme ” in iOS : dark musical mode . While I have never experienced any trouble using Io the normal mode , I do sometimes bask reading in dark mode in apps like Tweetbot and iBooks . This is because since the dividing line is higher , school text pop more easily , and because the background is dark , my eyes endure less tiredness and strain from the bright light of the white screen background . ( This phenomenon is just why movie dramaturgy show films in dark ; it ’s easier for the eyes to focalize on the screen in the absence of ambient light . )
The chances of iOS 9 gaining a non-white mode is , to me , fairly high-pitched because of case law . Apple already has add dark mode toiBooksand inOS X Yosemite , so it seems the natural progression would be to impart it to iOS as well .
Give the camera grid lines better contrast
My iPhone 6 is my only camera , and I love the tone of the pic it produces . The iPhone 6 ’s 4.7 - in covert is enough big enough as a view finder , but I do run into problems using the optional grid lines in the Camera app , which are too lightsome and low - dividing line to see comfortably .
I do like using the grid , as I try my best to adhere to the rule of third , but it ’s not easy , as I ’m constantly shifting my eyes to find where my subject is in the grid . I also experience this issue in third - political party apps likeInstagramandVSCO Cam , where I ’m edit photos prior to sharing . The demarcation of the lines just is n’t high enough for me , and it makes for processing pic a pain — often literally .
Those slight petty grid lines are awfully hard to see .
My Bob Hope is that Apple will make the grid line compact , which will enhance their contrast and easier for my optic to nibble up . In doing so , I think it will improve my picture taking skills because I ’ll be able to focus my subjectsexactlywhere I desire , rather than tense my middle and approximating where it just outfit .
The screw thread that have got my iOS 9 want list together is direct contrast . To a visually impaired person , contrast can make or break an experience , and it ’s a heavy cause why so many in the accessibility community bemoan iOS ’s ocular makeover . My promise is that some ( if not all ) of these ideas are announced at this year ’s WWDC , beacuse I sense these change will get hitched with what was great about the iOS 6 - era UI with the modernistic , advanced look of iOS 7 and 8 .
