Advice to help you use accessibility features to make digital devices more accessible.
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About accessibility
Smart devices have never been easier to use thanks to the amazing accessibility of current technology. This helps us to not only go online but can mean our device can be a helpful tool in our offline lives also.
Most modern smart devices have built-in accessibility features. Look out for the option in your device’s settings. Some key accessibility features to look out for include:
- voice control
- zoom/magnification
- screen readers
- artificial intelligence
- accessibility apps
Accessibility on your device
If you do not have an Apple or Android device, you may still be able to find support for understanding accessibility features on your device. Go to a search engine, and search “Accessibility settings on my...” and enter your device name.
Voice control
We don’t always have to learn ‘tech skills’ in order to use a smart device thanks to voice control. By speaking to the device, voice control lets us make calls, send messages, search information, open apps, use calendars and take notes.
To activate voice control you say a, “Wake up,” phrase. This could be “Hey Siri”, “OK Google” or “Alexa” for example. Voice control will need to be set up in your device’s settings menu before you can use it.
Setting up voice control
Voice control can be setup on most modern smart devices. First, you must know what make and model your
device is. Then, you can look an online guide by going on a search engine website, such as Google, and searching “How to set up voice control on my...”.
Screen readers
A screen reader is an accessibility tool that reads out loud everything you interact with on your device. For example, if you are using the feature on a smartphone, if you touch an app icon, the name of the app will be read aloud.
Magnification
A magnifier or zoom function can be enabled on many modern smart devices. This works like an interactive magnifying glass on your screen to help make text appear larger.
Accessibility apps
As well as in-built solutions for accessibility on devices, there are apps from different companies that you can download. The following examples are not exhaustive and we do not recommend one app over another. Please ensure you use your device’s official app store to download apps. You may not be able to access these apps on some devices.
Seeing AI
Developer: Microsoft
Seeing AI uses your device’s camera and describes what it can see to support people living with visual impairment.
Lookout
Developer: Google
Lookout uses your device’s camera and describes what it can see to support people living with visual impairment.
Live Transcribe
Developer: Google
Live Transcribe displays speech on your devices screen to support someone who is deaf or hearing impaired.
Further resources
There are a number of organisations that may be able to provide specialist or bespoke guidance and support for accessibility needs: