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  • iOS and iPadOS Accessibility

iOS Accessibility Settings

Select another operating system:

Windows
macos
Linux
windows
android

To Open Accessibility Settings

  1. Settings App > Accessibility

Pro-Tip:

Display and Text Size settings can now be adjusted on a per-app basis in iOS 15. Go to Settings > Accessibility and select Per App Settings.

iOS Accessibility Preferences

Vision

Hearing

Motor

Cognitive

 

Make Text, Icons and the Pointer Bigger

Make Text Bigger

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Display and Text Size> Larger Text
  2. Adjust the Larger Accessibility Sizes Toggle
  3. Use the slider to select the preferred text size

Video version of the instructions

enable hover text press command to enable large text view under the cursor

Tips & Notes


Text size adjustments can also be made in Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size, however the larger accessibility sized options are only available from the accessibility settings area. 

  • See also: Apple support page for Larger Text
  • Per app setting: iOS 15+.

Make Everything Bigger

  1. Settings > Display & Brightness
  2. Select View
  3. Select Zoom
  4. Select Set

Video version of the instructions

Display Zoom Adjustment

Tips & Notes


Display scaling makes everything on the screen look bigger but can make less information available on the screen requiring more scrolling. Using the Zoomed view requires a restart.

  • See also: Apple support page for Display Zoom

Adjust Colors and Contrast

Increase Contrast

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size
  2. Adjust the Increase Contrast toggle
increase contrast settings

Tips & Notes


Increased contrast slightly increases the contrast of text and user interface elements such as toggle, and icons to make them easier to see and read.

  • See also: Apple support page for Increased Contrast
  • Per app setting: iOS 15+.

Apply Color Filters

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size
  2. Select Color Filters
  3. Enable the Color Filters toggle and choose a filter type
Color Filter Adjustment

Tips & Notes


Choose from grayscale, color tint, deuteranopia, protanopia, tritanopia.

  • See also: Apple support page for Color Filters
  • Per app setting: iOS 15+.

 

 

Enable Dark Mode

  1. Settings > Display & Brightness
  2. Select Dark
Dark Mode Selector

Tips & Notes


Dark mode replaces the standard light background & dark text system theme with a dark background light text theme which can make text easier to read for some individuals and may reduce eyestrain.  

  • See also: Apple support page for Dark Mode

Use Night Shift

  1. Settings > Display & Brightness
  2. Select Night Shift
  3. Schedule sunset to sunrise or create a custom schedule
Night Light Settings

Tips & Notes


Night Light reduces the blue light emitted from the computer screen. Reducing blue light may reduce eye strain when used in dimly lit or dark settings. 

  • See also: Apple support page for Night Shift

Try Smart Invert

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size
  2. Adjust the Smart Invert toggle
smart invert settings

Tips & Notes


Smart Invert reverses the colors of the display. It can make light displays dark and dark displays light without affecting images, media and some apps with dark styles.  

  • See also: Apple support for color invert
  • Per app setting: iOS 15+.

 

Magnify Apps and Text or Use a Screen Reader

Use Zoom to Magnify the Screen

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Zoom
  2. Adjust the Zoom toggle
Turn on Zoom

Tips & Notes


Zoom can enlarge the entire screen, or parts of it as needed. Options can be adjusted using the Zoom style selector in the Zoom settings area.

  • See also: Apple support page for Zoom

Use the Built-In Screen Reader

  1. Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver
  2. Adjust the VoiceOver toggle
enable voice over

Tips & Notes


VoiceOver is a screen reader designed to support individuals who are blind or who have limited vision. 

  • See also: Apple support page for VoiceOver
 

Audio Adjustment and Captioning

Pair Made for iPhone Hearing Aids

  1. Settings > Hearing Devices 
  2. Select your Hearing Aids from the discovery list
  3. Select Pair
hearing devices settings

Tips & Notes


Several manufacturers make hearing aids that work with Apple's made for iPhones (MFi) certification. These devices let you stream audio, music and phone calls directly to your hearing aid.

  • See also: Apple support page for Made for iPhone hearing devices

Hear better when using Apple or Beats Headphones

  1. Settings > Audio Visual
  2. Select Headphone Accommodations 
  3. Adjust the Headphone Accommodations toggle
  4. Select a frequency range and adjust the level of boost
headphone accommodation settings

Tips & Notes


Amplify certain sound frequencies when wearing headphones made by Apple.

  • See also: Apple support page for Hearing Accommodations

Use Live Listen with AirPods Headphones

Add Live Listen to the Control Center:

  1. Settings > Control Center
  2. Tap Add next to the Hearing button

Turn on Live Listen

  1. Control Center
  2. Tap the Ear icon
live listen

Tips & Notes


Live listen can send sound from your iOS device's microphone directly to your Apple AirPods to make it easier to hear in noisy situations. 

  • See also: Apple support page for Live Listen

Be Alerted to Background Sounds

  1. Settings > Sound Recognition
  2. Adjust the Sound Recognition toggle
  3. Choose sounds to trigger alerts
sound recognition settings

Tips & Notes


iOS devices can listen for certain sounds in the background such as sirens or babies crying then provide a visual alert on the screen.

  • See also: Apple support page for Sound Recognition

Activate Mono Audio

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual 
  2. Adjust the Mono Audio toggle
mono audio setting

Tips & Notes


Mono audio may improve the listening experience for individuals who have significantly better hearing in one ear by combining the left and right audio channels into one channel.

  • See also: Apple support page for Mono Audio

Adjust How Captions are Presented

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Subtitles & Captioning
  2. Select Style
  3. Adjust appearance of the caption's background
caption settings

Tips & Notes


The closed captions settings provide several options for displaying captions for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Captions can also be useful for people in noisy environments or who otherwise have difficulty listening. Options include adjusting the color, size, style and presentation of the caption text and its background.

Enable Real-time Text calls

  1. Settings > Accessibility > RTT/TTY
  2. Select Software or Hardware RTT
  3. Select Relay Number and enter a phone number for RTT/TTY relay calls

Tips & Notes


Use an iPhone to make and receive real-time text calls (US and Canada only)

  • See also: Apple support page for RTT/TTY
 

Hands-free Dictation and Voice Control

Enable Dictation

  1. Settings > General > Keyboard
  2. Adjust the Enable Dictation toggle
enable dictation

Tips & Notes


The iOS device must be connected to the internet to use dictation.

  • See also: Apple support page for Dictation

Turn on Voice Control

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control
  2. Adjust the Voice Control toggle
voice control setting

Tips & Notes


Voice control is designed for people who need assistance operating the computer by voice and requires some training to use effectively.  Use dictation instead for more limited assistance with typing.

  • See also: Apple support page for Voice Control

Touch, External Keyboard and Mouse Settings

Activate Assistive Touch

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Touch
  2. Adjust the AsistiveTouch toggle

 

assistive touch settings

Tips & Notes


AssistiveTouch provides a menu of options including volume adjustments, multi-finger gestures, home, and more that can be operated using a single tap rather than complex gestures.

  •  See also: Apple support page for AssistiveTouch

Explore Touch Accommodations

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Touch
  2. Select Touch Accommodations
  3. Adjust the Touch Accommodations toggle

 

touch accommodations settings

Tips & Notes


Touch Accommodations adjusts how the device responds to taps and other gestures making these easier to use for people with more limited dexterity. 

  • See also: Apple support page for Touch Accommodations

Adjust Pointer Control

  1. Settings > Pointer Control 
  2. Adjust size, speed, color and contrast of the mouse pointer

Only available with an external mouse. See Tips & Notes.

 

pointer control settings

Tips & Notes

An external Bluetooth mouse can be used to control iOS devices. Connect a mouse as follows: 

  • See also: Apple support page for Pointer Control

Use External Keyboard Control

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard
  2. Select Full Keyboard Access
  3. Adjust the Full Keyboard Access toggle
keyboard access settings

Tips & Notes


An external Bluetooth keyboard can be used to control iOS devices. Connect a keyboard as follows: 

  1. Settings > Bluetooth
  2. Put the Bluetooth keyboard in pairing mode
  3. Choose the keyboard from the discovery list

The keyboard control feature maps keyboard keys and shortcuts to specific iOS controls such as opening the control center, opening apps, and going home. 

  • See also: Apple support page for Full Keyboard Access

Adjust External Keyboard Settings

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Keyboards
  2. Select settings for Sticky Keys, Repeat Keys and Slow Keys
typing behavior settings

Tips & Notes


The typing behavior when using an external keyboard can be adjusted in several ways. 

  • Sticky Keys enables one handed activation of multi-key combinations such as Command + P (print) or Command + Tab (switch windows). The feature holds down each system key (Command, Option, Shift or Control) until an alpha-numeric key is pressed.
  • Slow Keys lengthens the time between key press and activation and may be useful for people who have difficulty targeting keys or who have tremor in their hands.
  • Repeat Keys disables or delays the key repeat features to prevent multiple, accidental activations when a key is pressed.

See also: Apple support page for Full Keyboard Access

Control the Pointer with the External Keyboard

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Touch
  2. Select AssistiveTouch
  3. Select MouseKeys
  4. Adjust the MouseKeys toggle
mouse keys setting

Tips & Notes


Allows control of the mouse using the numeric keypad on an external keyboard.

  • See also: Apple support page for Mouse Keys

Enable Switch Control

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Switch Control
  2. Adjust the Switch Control toggle
switch control settings

Tips & Notes


Switch control allows an individual with significantly limited movement to operate an iOS device using one or more external capability switches.

  • See also: Apple support page for Switch Control
 

Support Focus, Reading and Writing

Configure Focus Settings

  1. Control Center > Do Not Disturb
  2. Select a duration

 

focus assist settings

Tips & Notes


Do Not Disturb silences most notification sounds and pop-up alerts.

  • See also: Apple support page for Do Not Disturb

Apple's iOS 15 includes significantly enhanced focus features.

Enable Speak Selection

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content
  2. Adjust the Speak Selection toggle
spoken content settings

Tips & Notes


Speak Selection adds a "Speak" option to the long press menu when text is selected. 

  • See also: Apple support page for Speak Selection

Turn on Speak Screen 

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Speak Screen
  2. Adjust the Speak Screen toggle
speak screen settings

Tips & Notes


Speak screen reads the current app window with a simple two-finger swipe gesture

  • See also: Apple support page for Speak Screen

Activate the Speech Controller 

  1. Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content
  2. Select Speak Controller
  3. Adjust the Speech Controller toggle
speech controller settings

Tips & Notes


The Speech Controller provides single tap access to reading specific text or the entire screen.

  • See also: Apple support page for Speech Controller

Use Guided Access

  1. Settings > Accessibility
  2. Select Guided Access
  3. Adjust the Guided Access toggle
guided access settings

Tips & Notes


Guided Access restricts an iOS device to a single app and enables control over which features in an app are available to the user. 

  • See also: Apple support page for Guided Access

Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering (CIDE)

CU Denver

The Hub, Bioengineering

1224 5th Street

Suite 130

Denver, CO 80204


303-315-1280

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