Accessibility settings on smartphones

When talking about accessibility, I often suggest people try using the screen reader installed on their own device. But it’s not just about screen readers. I actually encourage you experiment with a range of accessibility features and settings. And your smartphone is a good device to start with.

An opportunity to learn

You’ll discover how hard it can be for some people to use the Web. You’ll learn how alternate an experience it can be when using different technologies. And you’ll see just how amazing it is when pages and applications are designed and built properly.

Accessibility settings and features to try first

So, grab yourself a cuppa, whip out your smartphone and give some of these settings and features a try:

iOS

• Get started with accessibility features on iPhone
• Zoom in on the iPhone screen
• Adjust the display and text size on iPhone
• Set up Switch Control on iPhone
• Use Voice Control to interact with iPhone
• Turn on and practice VoiceOver on iPhone
• Hear iPhone speak the screen, selected text, and typing feedback

Android

• Android accessibility overview
• Change your display
• Use Lookout to explore your environment
• Get started with Voice Access spoken commands
• Control your Android device with Switch Access
• Get started with TalkBack

Other screen readers

If you want to try out other screen readers, on different devices (including desktop), here’s AbilityNet’s list of the main screen readers.