What Are Accessibility Features?
Accessibility features are tools and options that are designed to make technology more accessible to people with disabilities such as people with hearing devices. Accessibility features can help people with visual, auditory, physical, and cognitive disabilities to use technology more effectively and efficiently.
What are the benefits of Accessibility Features?
The accessibility features on the iOs and macOS are not just useful for people with physical and motor disabilities. They can also benefit anyone who wants to customize their device to better suit their needs and preferences. Here are some of the key benefits of using iPad accessibility features:
- Improved usability: By enabling accessibility options like Voice Control and AssistiveTouch, you can make your iPad easier to use, especially if you have difficulty with physical gestures or buttons.
- Increased productivity: Features like dictation and Siri can help you save time and complete tasks more quickly, especially if you have difficulty typing or navigating your device.
- Enhanced communication: Closed Captions and Speak Selection can make it easier for you to communicate with others, especially if you have difficulty hearing or speaking.
- Personalization: By customizing your device with features like Zoom and Invert Colors, you can tailor your iPad to better suit your unique needs and preferences.
- Inclusivity: Accessibility features make the iPad more inclusive and accessible to a wider range of people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.
How to Turn on Accessibility Features During Setup?
You can turn on many accessibility features right away when you first set up on your Apple device, iPhone, mac or Apple watch. Turn on iPad, then do any of the following:
- Turn on VoiceOver: Triple-click the Home button (on an iPad with a Home button) or triple-click the top button (on other iPad models).
- Turn on Zoom: Double-tap the screen with three fingers.
- Turn on Switch Control, Larger Text, Smart Invert, and more: Choose a language and country, tap , then choose the features you want.
If you’re moving from a previous iPad, you can also transfer your accessibility settings. See Turn on and set up iPad.
How to Set up Guided Access?
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access, then turn on Guided Access.
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Adjust any of the following:
- Passcode Settings: Tap Set Guided Access Passcode, then enter a passcode.You can also turn on Face ID or iPod Touch ID onscreen to end a Guided Access session.
- Time Limits: Play a sound or speak the time remaining before a Guided Access session ends.
- Accessibility Shortcut: Turn the shortcut on or off during Guided Access sessions.
- Display Auto-Lock: Set how long it takes iPad to automatically lock during a Guided Access session.
How to Enable Voice Control?
VoiceOver, Apple’s industry-leading screen reader for blind and low-vision users, is adding support for more than 20 additional locales and languages.
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver.
- Turn on VoiceOver, tap VoiceOver Practice, then double-tap to start.
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Practice the following gestures with one, two, three, and four fingers:
- Tap
- Double-tap
- Triple-tap
- Swipe left, right, up, or down
- When you finish practicing, tap Done, then double-tap to exit.
How to Enable Siri on your iPad?
Here are the steps to enabling Siri:
- Go to your iPad’s home screen and tap on the “Settings” app
- In the settings menu, scroll down and tap on “Siri & Search”
- Toggle the switch next to “Press Side Button for Siri” or “Press Home for Siri” to enable Siri
- You can also enable “Listen for Hey Siri” if you want to activate Siri using sound recognition
- If you enable “Listen for Hey Siri”, follow the prompts to train Siri to recognize your voice
- You can also customize Siri’s voice and language by tapping on “Siri Voice” and “Language” respectively
How to Enable AssistiveTouch?
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch Accommodations > AssistiveTouch
- Toggle the AssistiveTouch on
- Customize the virtual button by selecting “Customize Top Level Menu”
- Select the gestures or actions you want to perform using the virtual button
How to Enable Zoom?
Here are the steps to enabling Zoom :
- Go to Settings on Home Screen
- Click Accessibility, then choose Zoom
- Toggle the Zoom switch to “on”
- Customize the zoom level and filter options to your preferences
- Use the zoom gesture (double-tap with three fingers) to activate and adjust the zoom level
How to Enable Dictation?
- Go to Safari Settings > General > Keyboard > Enable Dictation
- Toggle the Enable Dictation switch to “on”
- Open a text field (e.g. email, message, note)
- Tap the microphone icon on the keyboard to start dictating your text
What are Additional Accessibility Features on iPad?
In addition to the accessibility features we’ve already covered, there are a number of other features on the iPad that can make it easier for people with disabilities and hearing aids to use their device. Here are a few examples:
- Magnifier: This feature allows you to use your iPad’s camera as a magnifying glass. You can access it by triple-clicking the home or side button (depending on your iPados model).
- Speak Screen: This feature reads the contents of your screen aloud to you. You can activate it by swiping down with two fingers from the top of your screen.
- Speak Selection: This feature allows you to select text and have it read aloud to you and you have spoken content and audio descriptions. To enable it, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Speech and toggle on “Speak Selection”.
- Invert Colors: This feature can be useful for people with visual impairments. It allows you to invert the colors on your screen to make them easier to see. You can access it by going to Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations and toggling on “Invert Colors”.
- Reduce Motion: This feature can help reduce motion sickness for people who are sensitive to motion notifications. It reduces the motion of the user interface, such as the parallax effect on the home screen. You can access it by going to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion.
