Accessible Mobile Apps - Issue #54

Hello everyone,

Hope you're having a good week, and a great holiday season. ⛄️ Going into the new year, we'd love to know what you think is missing from the mobile accessibility community. So if you have a minute, tell "Santa" what you want for Christmas by filling out this form, and we'll help coordinate volunteers in the community to turn these ideas into realities.

As always, don't hesitate to reach out with any suggestions for the next issue via email (hello@accessiblemobileapps.com) or Twitter (or Mastodon).

- Robin

Fable: Survey of Assistive Technology Users

Fable recently did a survey of the assistive technology users in their community and wrote a great article summarizing their findings. If every you think accessibility labels are talked about too much, it's a great reminder that they're still the most common accessibility barrier for users:

Bar chart showing responses to the question, ‘Which of these accessibility barriers are most challenging for you on mobile devices? (Choose up to 3 options) 60% of respondents selected unlabelled buttons or links, 35% of respondents selected small buttons or links, 35% of respondents selected gestures required to interact, 30% of respondents selected parts of the screen blocked, 26% of respondents selected no error messages, 22% of respondents selected no able to resize text, and 21% of respondents selected not able to pinch and zoom.

Check out the rest of the article on their site:

makeItFable.com

Resources from Orange

Orange has outdone themselves, and given us another great list of accessibility resources. Their resources range from UI/UX to WCAG to testing to mobile. Check out the full list on their website here:

a11y-guidelines.orange.com

Dear Santa

What do you wish existed for mobile accessibility?

Is there a missing tool, or a problem you encounter over and over? Maybe a missing tutorial or a better way to connect with and learn from the community?

Tell "Santa" what you want for Christmas by filling out this form here, and we'll propose the ideas to this community to try and make these ideas a reality: https://forms.gle/jwDkw2yV52EERSEj7

We're all here to support each other and make the world of mobile apps a more accessible place. ❤️

iOS

Testing Plan

Overwhelmed by what to test for accessibility and when? This article by Chris McMeeking shows you how to create a test plan wisely, so you're being efficient and not duplicating your efforts.

moba11y.com

Accessibility Shortcuts

If you don't already use shortcuts when testing your app for accessibility, check out this article which shows you how to get them set up, based on the device you have.

yatil.net

Android

Chameleon Malware

Another malware is out there, abusing the accessibility services on Android devices. Scary to think about, but good to be aware of.

techRadar.com

TalkBack Actions v. iOS Rotor Actions and Google

In one of the latest articles from Accessible Android, Amir compares some Google applications and their support for TalkBack Actions and iOS Rotor Actions.

accessibleAndroid.com

Join the Accessible Mobile Apps Slack Group

Use this link to join our Slack workspace for mobile accessibility. Ask technical questions, share resources, get advice from other developers, and most importantly connect with developers who share your passion for a11y.

If you or your company is interested in sponsoring the Accessible Mobile Apps newsletter, send an email to hello@accessiblemobileapps.com.