accessibility

• How-to
• iOS 7
• accessibility
• settings
• Parallax

iOS 7 How-to: Reduce parallax motion effects, enable bold text

Parallax is a new feature that is introduced in iOS 7. As the user moves their device, the background image and icons move on the screen to match the movement of the device. Parallax gives the device a quasi-3D effect and adds depth to it, but some people prefer to use their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch sans the motion.

If you are like these people on Apple’s Discussion forums, you might be getting dizzy from iOS 7’s new parallax feature.

To disable Parallax go into Settings, then tap on General.

Then tap on Accessibility.

Scroll down until you see Reduced Motion.

Tap on Reduced Motion. By turning on Reduced Motion it will:

Reduce the motion of the user interface, including the parallax effect of icons and alerts.

To turn on Reduced Motion, tap on the white circle, and it will move the switch and it will green indicating it’s on.

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• How-to
• accessibility
• zoom
• settings
• larger text

How-to: Make text more readable/larger on your iPad and iPhone

This is the latest how-to as part of our new series:

For some people, the font sizes on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch are too small. Sometimes, these small fonts prevent people from using or purchasing the iOS devices. Thankfully, there are multiple solutions to this potential issue. Below, we’ve rounded up the fixes:

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• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• iOS
• iPhone
• App Store
• update

Kindle for iOS adds line spacing, multipage highlights, accessibility improvements, more

Amazon updated its Kindle iOS app today with a number of notable improvements. Included in version 3.8 of the app is the ability to adjust line spacing to loose, normal or tight, and multipage highlights allowing you to “highlight long passages that span multiple pages for added convenience.”

Amazon also noted that it added accessibility improvements in today’s update including the ability to set a higher maximum font size.

What’s New in Version 3.8

• Line Spacing – loose, normal, and tight line spacing options change the page layout to suit your reading preference
• Multipage Highlights – highlight long passages that span multiple pages for added convenience
• Accessibility Improvements – select a higher maximum font size, bug fixes
• Bug Fixes/Stability Improvements

• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• iOS
• iPad
• iPhone
• Amazon

Amazon updates Kindle iOS app with new accessibility features, VoiceOver support for the visually impaired

Amazon announced today that it is updating its Kindle mobile apps, starting with an update to the Kindle iOS app,to include new accessibility features for the blind and visually impaired. The updated app now includes VoiceOver support and new accessibility features, the addition of the Hiragino Mincho ProN (Serif) font selection for Japan, and an enhancement to the app’s ‘Before you go’ feature that now offers “the ability to download a free sample and email yourself a reminder about recommended books.”

A full list of new accessibility features available in today’s update below:

• Read aloud over 1.8 million titles available in the Kindle Store using Apple’s VoiceOver technology. Over 300,000 of these books are exclusive to the Kindle Store. Over 900,000 books are less than $4.99; over 1.5 million are less than $9.99.
• Seamlessly navigate within their library or within a book, with consistent title, menu and button names; navigate to a specific page within a book and sort books in the library by author or title.
• Read character-by-character, word-by-word, line-by-line, or continuously, as well as move forward or backward in the text.
• Search for a book within their library or search within their book and navigate to specific text.
• Add and delete notes, bookmarks, and highlights.
• Use customer-favorite features like X-Ray, End Actions and sharing on Facebook and Twitter.
• Look up words in the dictionary and Wikipedia.
• Customize the reading experience including changing the font, text size, background color, margin, and brightness.
• Use iOS accessibility features like Zoom, Assistive Touch, and Stereo to Mono, as well as peripheral braille displays.

• AAPL Company
• Apple News
• Tips and Tricks
• accessibility
• 9to5Mac

Tips: Missing alerts? Try the little known Screen Flash alert

Just in case a bouncing icon in your dock or a Sosumi sound from your speakers isn’t enough to catch your attention, this OS X accessibility feature is certain to be just the news flash you need when OS X demands your attention.

Enabling ‘screen flash’ in the Accessibility panel in System Preferences adds an extra layer of alertness to a busy environment by displaying a lighting fast flash across your screen, similar to what you see when snapping a shot in Photo Booth.

You can test out the screen flash before enabling the feature, and personally I found the experience to be quite jarring, but it  certainly can be a handy accessibility feature and could be a useful tool for your workflow.

You can also do similar on the iPhone: Settings > General > Accessibility > LED Flash for Alerts.

Have any helpful tips and tricks of your own? Let us know in the comments!