The revolutionary iPhone also includes an equally revolutionary screen reader,
and other innovative accessibility features that make it easier to use for those
with impaired vision.
The same VoiceOver screen reader made popular on the Mac is now a standard
feature on the iPhone 3G S. It’s the world’s first gesture-based screen reader,
enabling you to enjoy the fun and simplicity of the iPhone even if you can’t see
the screen.
What makes VoiceOver on iPhone truly remarkable is that you control it using
simple gestures that let you physically interact with items on screen. It’s easy
to learn and fun to use. Instead of memorizing hundreds of keyboard commands, or
endlessly pressing tiny arrow keys to find what you’re looking for, with
VoiceOver, you simply touch the screen to hear a description of the item under
your finger, then gesture with a double-tap, drag, or flick to control the
phone.
VoiceOver delivers an experience unlike any screen reader you’ve ever used
before. Traditional screen readers describe individual elements on the screen,
but struggle to communicate where each element is located or provide information
about adjoining objects. This contextual information is very important but
typically filtered out by other screen readers. For example, “off-screen” models
used by traditional screen readers to represent applications and web pages
intentionally strip away contextual information and describe web pages as a list
or menu of items. But with VoiceOver on iPhone 3G S, you’ll experience something
entirely new.
Because VoiceOver works with iPhone’s touchscreen, you interact directly with
objects on the screen and can naturally understand their location and context.
So, when you touch the upper-left corner of the screen, you’ll hear what’s in
the upper left corner of a web page, and as you drag your finger around the
screen, you’ll learn what’s nearby, providing an amazing new sense of context
and relationship between the items you hear. For many, VoiceOver on iPhone will
provide, perhaps for the first time, a true sense of how things appear on
screen, not just descriptions of what they are.
You’ll hear descriptions of every item on the screen, including status
information such as battery level, Wi-Fi and cellular network signal levels, the
cellular network provider, and time of day. It even lets you know when the
display changes to landscape or portrait orientation, and when the screen is
locked or unlocked.
The speaking rate is adjustable so you can set it to a speed that best suits
your listening ability. VoiceOver uses distinctive sound effects to alert you
when an application opens, when the screen is updated, when a message dialog
appears, and more. And, when Voiceover is talking, the volume of background
sounds and music are automatically lowered, “ducking” under the voice, so you
can clearly hear what VoiceOver is telling you.
VoiceOver includes built-in voices that speak 21 languages including Chinese
(Cantonese), Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan), Dutch, English (US), English
(UK), Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), German, Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian,
Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Spain), and Swedish.
VoiceOver is built right into the iPhone 3G S. There’s nothing extra to purchase
or install. All you need is the iPhone 3G S, iTunes 8.2 or later, and a Mac or
PC. You can activate your iPhone and enable VoiceOver without sighted assistance
using iTunes with a compatible screen reader like VoiceOver included in Mac OS X
and GW-Micro Window-Eyes® for Windows XP and Windows Vista (sold separately).
When you activate iPhone using iTunes, you can enable VoiceOver on the iPhone to
start using it right away. Sighted users can also enable VoiceOver for you
directly on iPhone using the Accessibility menu in the Settings application.
With VoiceOver enabled, you’ll use a different, but simple set of gestures to
control the iPhone. For example, instead of tapping to click a button or select
an item, you tap to hear a description of the item you touch and double-tap to
click or select it.
When an item on the screen is selected, a black rectangle called the VoiceOver
cursor appears around it. The VoiceOver cursor is displayed for the benefit of
sighted users with whom you may be sharing your phone. When you prefer privacy,
VoiceOver includes a screen curtain that turns off the display so no one can
read it without your knowledge.
In addition to touching and dragging around the screen, you can also flick left
and right to move the VoiceOver cursor precisely to the next or previous item on
the screen—no matter how big or small it is. By flicking, you have precise
control of what you hear even when it might otherwise be difficult to place your
finger on it.
When you’re typing text, such as an email message or a note, VoiceOver echoes
each character on the keyboard as you touch it, and again to confirm when you
enter it. You can also have VoiceOver speak each completed word instead of and
in addition to individual characters as you type them. A flick up or down while
typing moves the insertion point cursor left and right within the text so you
can edit a word just as easily and precisely as typing a new word.
To help you type more quickly and accurately, iPhone features word prediction
and suggests the correct spelling when you type a word incorrectly. With Speak
Auto-text enabled, you’ll hear a sound effect and the suggested word spoken
automatically. You can just keep typing to ignore it, or press the space key to
have iPhone type it for you.
VoiceOver features an innovate new virtual control called a “rotor.” Turning the
rotor— by rotating two fingers on the screen as if you were turning an actual
dial — changes the way VoiceOver moves through a document based on a setting you
choose. For example, a flick up or down might move through text word by word.
But when you choose the “character” setting, each time you flick up or down
VoiceOver will move through the text character by character — perfect when
you’re proofreading or editing text.
You can also use the rotor to navigate web pages. When you’re on a web page, the
rotor contains the names of common items, such as headers, links, tables,
images, and more. You select a setting, then flick up and down to move to the
previous or next occurrence of that item on the page, skipping over items in
between.
VoiceOver works with all of the built-in applications that come with iPhone 3G
S, such as Phone, iPod, iTunes, Mail, Safari, and Maps. So, you can place and
receive calls, surf the web, text and email your friends, check your stocks and
the weather, and much, much more. Apple is also working with iPhone software
developers so they can make their applications VoiceOver compatible. Learn more
In addition to gestures, you can use your voice to play music and make a phone
call. Just press and hold the home button, listen for the audio prompt, and
speak the name of the artist, album, or playlist you want to hear. You can
pause, play, change tracks, even shuffle your music.
When you want to make a call, speak the name or telephone number of the person
you want to call. iPhone 3G S understands 21 different languages. Learn more
While many iPhone applications let you zoom in and out specific elements such
as images in Mail, or webpage columns in Safari, Zoom lets you magnify the
entire screen of any application you’re using to help you see what’s on the
display. Zoom can be enabled on iPhone 3G S using iTunes when you’re setting up
the iPhone, for yourself or someone else, or later, using the Accessibility menu
in the Settings application on the iPhone.
Zoom works everywhere, including the Home, Unlock, and Spotlight screens—even
with applications you purchase from the App store.
A simple double-tap with three fingers instantly zooms in and out 200% and you
can double-tap and drag three fingers to dynamically adjust the magnification
between 100% and 500%. Even when zoomed, you can continue using all of the
familiar flick, pinch, tap and other iPhone gestures to run your favorite
applications. Zoom can also be used with white-on-black (reverse video) and
speak auto-text.
For those who need or prefer higher contrast, iPhone 3G S provides an option to
change the display to White On Black. This reverse video affect works in all
applications including the Home, Unlock, and Spotlight screens and can be used
with Zoom and VoiceOver.
When typing, iPhone suggests a word before you finish typing it or a correction
when a word is misspelled. Speak Auto-text speaks these suggestions so you can
hear them when they’re presented. When zoomed, for example, the suggestion might
not be visible on screen, but you can hear and accept it without seeing it. If
you’re using VoiceOver, you won’t have to interrupt your typing and touch the
suggestion to hear it. Speak Auto-text can be enabled even when you’re not using
VoiceOver or Zoom.
iPhone includes a few, easily discernible physical buttons used to control the
phone: the Sleep/Wake button, located on the top edge; the Ring/Silent switch
and volume-control buttons, located on the upper-left edge; and the Home button,
centered below the display.
For improved email readability, you can increase the default font size of email
text from Medium (the default) to Large, Extra-large, or Giant.
iPhone comes with a stereo headset with a high-performance microphone built into
the cable. Plug it into the standard 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack and the
headset lets you control music playback and answer and end calls by clicking the
built-in remote control button.
Several add-on products are also available to work with iPhone that can help
those with hearing disabilities, including a hearing aid-compatible induction
ear loop from TecEar, wireless remote headset from Oticon, and others.
Enjoy hands-free communication using the built-in speakerphone, which you can
also use to listen to Visual Voicemail, music, podcasts, and video.
Turn the ringer on, and iPhone delivers both audible and visual alerts. You can
activate alerts for phone calls, text messages, incoming and sent mail, and
calendar events. iPhone also offers an audio option confirming keyboard clicks.
You can even set incoming calls to display a full-screen image or photo of the
caller.
In silent mode, iPhone vibrates instead of playing a tone. To ensure that you
never miss a notification, you can also have iPhone vibrate and play an audio
alert.
You can assign distinctive ringtones to individuals in your contacts list, using
the ringtone as an audible caller ID. Visit the iTunes Store to create,
purchase, and download additional ringtones of your favorite songs (sold
separately).
The iPhone
User Guide is provided online in HTML format designed with accessibility in
mind. You can read the guide using your favorite screen reader and web browser
on your Mac and PC, and using Safari on the iPhone with VoiceOver.