Accessibility in SpeakerClock 1.3.1 | Cocoanetics

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Now you can totally function SpeakerClock with no or low imaginative and prescient. We gave SpeakerClock the complete Accessibility remedy. On this article I describe a number of the issues I discovered including accessibility options to SpeakerClock, now that it’s totally written in SwiftUI.

SpeakerClock’s UI is split into 3 sections, the presets on the high, the LED timer as huge as potential within the middle and the section “visitors mild” on the backside.

The primary interplay gesture is to horizontally swipe over the LED digits to alter the timer. This type of gesture just isn’t potential when VoiceOver is lively as a result of there you may pan over the display screen to rapidly get to the recent spots of interactive parts.

I solved this by having individually adjustable sub-elements for the minutes and seconds whereas the timer just isn’t working. This fashion you may swipe vertically to regulate the minutes and seconds individually.

There are three sorts of normal gestures for Voice-Over which I made full use of:

  1. double-tap with single finger to pick out a component
  2. double-tap with two fingers to carry out a “magic faucet”
  3. draw a Z with two fingers to “escape”

I used #1 for the single-tap operate of the preset and talking section buttons. #2 substitutes for the lengthy press. The rationale is that you need to consciously faucet with two fingers as a substitute of 1 to change the presets, as to stop you from by accident altering them.

Within the common stream of issues, VoiceOver principally feedback on the centered ingredient and after a brief pause additionally reads out the accessibility trace that tells the person what interactions are potential. I additionally used VoiceOver’s announcement notifications to present audio suggestions on some interactions.

The cherry on high is that sure timer values get pink out aloud. Within the yellow and inexperienced phases you get a voice immediate each minute. The section transitions get introduced as properly. Within the pink section there may be an announcement very 15 seconds, with the ultimate 10 seconds being accompanied by beeps.

That felt like an inexpensive quantity of voice suggestions for starters. I’d add some configuration choices at a later level.

On this video I’m demonstrating all that we mentioned.

Conclusion

I’d say my implementation is 95% excellent. There are some edge instances nonetheless – which I can’t do a lot about – the place VoiceOver will insist of talking one thing that it wouldn’t must. Sadly there is no such thing as a technique to inform Accessibility to “shut it” for sure instances when there’s something extra essential occurring.

It value me a whole lot of experimenting and the higher a part of a day to get to this stage. I’m anxious to listen to from precise customers of SpeakerClock, particularly those that are visually impaired and might need use for a timer. And a few common customers additionally requested about acoustic suggestions. What kind of configuration choices associated to sounds would possibly make sense?



Additionally printed on Medium.


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