It was only seven years ago that Apple rolled out its first iPhone to the general public, introducing the world to the iOS operating system. In 2008, the HTC Dream was the first commercially available smartphone to run the Android operating system from Google. How times have changed! iOS and Android have quickly become the most ubiquitous mobile operating systems on the planet. Apple and Google remain in fierce competition over market share in the mobile OS space. So what does this mean for consumers who are blind and visually impaired? This level of competition, along with a concerted effort by smartphone manufacturers to offer a higher level of built-in accessibility, has resulted in a continual increase in options for consumers with visual impairments. The FCC rules requiring that telecommunications equipment manufacturers make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities has resulted in industry leaders stepping up and taking accessibility very seriously these days. Manufacturers are also realizing that an expansion of their target audience to include people with disabilities is simply smart business. According to the National Eye Institute (NEI), approximately 135 million people worldwide have low vision.
Caption: Photo of logos representing iOS 8 and Android 5
In this product review, I will compare and contrast the accessibility features designed for people with low vision in Apple iOS 8.1.1 and Android 5.0.
Smartphones Used for Testing
The Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and the Google Nexus 6 were used in this review. These phones offer unique hardware capabilities that allow their respective operating systems to be used to their fullest potential. It's also important to be aware that some manufacturers include their own Android skins—which can modify the options and operations of the device—on top of the stock Android version used in this review.
The Importance of Screen Size
Over the past couple of years, the leading smartphone developers and distributors abruptly reversed course and decided to offer larger screen sizes. As an example of how much perception has shifted recently towards "bigger is better," consider the original 2007 iPhone with its 3.5-inch screen—considered large at the time. Much to the opportunistic delight of Apple competitors, the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2010 was quoted as saying that "no one is going to buy a big phone." These days, "go big or go home" seems to be the motto with screen size. In September of 2014, Apple rolled out the iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch display, as well as the phablet-sized iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5-inch display. Samsung has been rolling out similarly sized smartphones over the last couple of years. In November of 2014, Google introduced its flagship Nexus 6 smartphone with a 5.96-inch display.
So how much improvement do the larger screen sizes make for individuals with low vision? As would be expected, it all depends on each individual user's preferred font size. If your vision is such that a pair of over-the-counter reading glasses from your local drug store makes a difference when it comes to reading standard-size print, then screen size will likely make a substantial difference. If, however, your vision is such that you rely on screen magnification when using a computer, or you require a hand-held or stand magnifier on a regular basis to read text, increased screen size will likely not provide large enough font to be read easily. If you're not sure how much difference a smartphone with a larger screen size will make, it would be in your best interest to visit a distributor of mobile devices with a wide selection of phones.
Depending on your vision, you might be a little surprised at how little the larger screens increase the overall default display font size. As an example, the font size used within the Settings menu of the iPhone 5 is approximately 10-point. Using the iPhone 6 Plus, these same menu items are displayed at approximately 11-point.
The older Google Nexus 4 with its 4.7-inch display and the Nexus 6 with its 5.96-inch display showed a similar increase. With the text size set to "Normal," the 9-point font within the Display menu of the smaller Nexus 4 is displayed at slightly less than 10-point on the Nexus 6.
Modifying Text Size
The iOS 8.1.1 and Android 5.0 operating systems allow additional text size options within the Settings menu. iOS 8.1.1 offers 12 sizes to choose from on a horizontal slider, while Android 5.0 lists four sizes: Small, Normal, Large, and Huge. iOS 8.1.1 and Android 5.0 apply changes to text size in different ways. Changing the font size in iOS 8.1.1 only affects e-mails, contacts, and text messages. In other words, it does not change the actual label sizes of apps or the text size of menu items within Settings, where increased text size is often needed the most. Android 5.0, on the other hand, changes the viewable text size throughout the entire operating system.
Display Zoom
iOS 8.1.1 offers a new feature within the Display and Brightness menu called Display Zoom, which is only available with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Display Zoom offers two settings: Standard and Zoomed. Display Zoom changes are applied throughout the entire operating system, including the app icons, within apps, and across their associated labels. Changing the setting from Standard to Zoomed increases the viewable font size overall so that 9-point text size is bumped up to approximately 10-point. As with adjusting screen resolution on a Mac or Windows-based computer, using Display Zoom can reduce the amount of information displayed on the screen. However, if bumping the overall font size from 9 point to 10 point makes a significant impact for you, it will be well worth the tradeoff.
Built-In Screen Magnification
Both the iOS and Android operating systems offer their own built-in screen magnification. For many people with low vision, screen magnification represents the most important accessibility feature of the entire operating system. Screen magnification settings can be found within the Accessibility menu. Apple iOS refers to this feature as "Zoom," and Google Android simply labels this feature "Magnification Gestures."
The full screen magnification features offered with previous versions of iOS Zoom are still available in iOS 8.1.1. This includes the ability to increase the viewable display when Zoom is enabled with a three-finger double-tap. With Zoom enabled, increasing and decreasing the level of magnification is still achieved by double-tapping with three fingers, then motioning up to increase or down to decrease. Panning the screen from side to side and up and down is carried out by dragging three fingers in the desired direction.
With Android 5.0, enabling screen magnification after the Magnification Gestures feature has been enabled is still achieved by triple-tapping the screen with a single finger. Increasing and decreasing the viewable screen size is carried out with the pinch and reverse-pinch gestures of pinching the thumb and index finger together or spreading them apart. Panning the screen from side to side and up and down is accomplished by dragging two fingers in the desired direction. Disabling magnification is done by triple-tapping the screen again with a single finger.
iOS 8.1.1 Zoom and Android 5.0 Magnification Gestures are very similar to one another. They both allow any portion of the display to be magnified, and provide a wide range of magnification. That said, the Magnification Gestures feature is superior to Zoom in three areas:
- The gestures required to enable Magnification Gestures, and pan the screen, require fewer fingers than in iOS 8.1.1 Zoom. This is a big advantage, since even larger smartphones have limited screen real estate, and triple-tapping the screen with a single finger to enable the magnification feature is easier to carry out, and leaves more of the screen visible.
- The pinch and reverse-pinch gestures used to increase or decrease the viewable display when Magnification Gestures is enabled not only takes up less space on the screen, but is also much more intuitive than the vertical motion of the three-finger double-tap gesture that iOS 8.1.1 requires.
- The Android Magnification Gestures feature, which was introduced with Android 4.2.2, offers a simple, but very powerful, feature to temporarily magnify the viewable display. Magnification Gestures places the visual focus where the finger makes contact with the screen. This feature is activated with a single-finger triple-tap-and-hold, after which the finger can then be maneuvered around the screen. Lifting the finger off the screen immediately snaps the magnified display back to its standard size, which allows you to quickly see the forest from the trees, so to speak.
Apple Pay and Touch ID Sensor versus Google Wallet
It seems almost unfair to make a side-by-side comparison of these two payment systems when it comes to their level of accessibility. Google Wallet has been around for more than three years, but it hasn't been able to achieve the same amount of traction as Apple Pay, which was launched in October of 2014 and can only be used on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Apple Pay and Google Wallet both take advantage of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which allows a wireless transaction to take place when a smartphone is in close proximity to an NFC-enabled point-of-sale system. Both Apple Pay and Google Wallet can be linked with a debit or credit card. Although many retailers are not yet equipped to receive this method of payment within their stores, the list of retailers jumping on the bandwagon is rapidly growing.
The major advantage with Apple Pay over Google Wallet is the seamless way in which a transaction occurs. The preferred credit or debit card to be used with Apple Pay needs to first be set up, which is a very straightforward process. It's easy enough to use the same credit or debit card that you use with iTunes or Google Play. The Touch ID Sensor on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus merely requires that you rest your thumb on the Home button to accurately identify you as the owner of the phone, while simultaneously unlocking the Apple Pay feature and making the payment through its NFC technology all at the same time. There isn't even an app that needs to first be opened, and there is no code to punch in. The phone vibrates by default after the transaction has been completed. The entire exchange takes place in less than five seconds. Google Wallet, on the other hand, is locked by default and requires a password to be entered manually.
The first time I used Apple Pay at a Subway, the entire process was so quick and efficient that if it weren't for the insistence from the clerk behind the register that the transaction was successfully processed, I wouldn't have believed it. Not having to determine where to slide a credit card on the point-of-sale system, not having to identify the layout of a keypad and additional buttons (which can vary from one retailer to another), and not having to be hunched over the point-of-sale system trying to read small text on a faint display with impatient customers close behind, makes Apple Pay an absolutely brilliant solution for people with vision loss.
Although Google Wallet also uses NFC technology to make the transaction easier, there are still a few steps that slow down the process and require vision and/or audio output.
iOS 8.1.1 Zoom Additions
A number of additional options have been added to the Zoom magnifying program that are not available in Android 5.0. Those who use iOS devices with larger displays such as the iPad Mini and iPad may find some of these additional options to be of greater value than when using the smaller iPhone and iPod touch displays.
Resize Lens
An added feature that appears to have limited functionality, specifically with smaller-sized iOS devices, is the Resize Lens feature within Zoom. This allows portions of the display to be magnified while simultaneously displaying other portions of the display in their regular size. Even with the larger iPhone 6 Plus display, the screen real estate is too limited to take advantage of this feature. Partitioning such a small display into a combination of the actual display size and magnified display size not only requires nimble fingers, but a clear understanding of which portion of the magnified display has the focus of attention. The concept itself appears to be well intended, but its real-life implementation may be limited.
Speak Screen
The Speak Screen feature is a very useful and easy-to-use feature in iOS 8.1.1 which is likely to be overlooked by many people. It does exactly what its name suggests: it reads the content displayed on the screen. Enable the Speak Screen feature within Settings, then swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen. Let's face it, whether you have a visual impairment or not, certain lighting conditions such as bright sunlight will wash out the ability for anyone to effectively read the display of their phone. The Speak Screen feature allows for quick and easy text-to-speech access, without having to learn the gestures that VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, requires. When Speak Screen is enabled, several high contrast controls appear at the top of the screen. On the far left, a control resembling a turtle decreases the speech rate, while a rabbit on the far right increases the speech rate. Also included are controls to pause, play, rewind, and fast forward the speech. If you occasionally require text-to-speech because of visual fatigue, glare, or the inability to read the displayed font size, the Speak Screen feature will come in very handy.
Android 5.0 provides text-to-speech capability through its built-in TalkBack synthesizer. However, loading it can be cumbersome, and it isn't nearly as user-friendly and convenient as the iOS Speak Screen feature, which was clearly designed for ease of access.
Color Variations
The Grayscale option is a new addition introduced in iOS 8.1.1. When enabled, it renders all content in grayscale, including all apps and photos. It also displays webpages in grayscale. This feature can make it easier for someone who is color blind to distinguish between similar colors, and to interpret information conveyed using colors that may be otherwise indistinguishable.
New to Android 5.0 is Color Correction, a feature that can also be particularly beneficial for people with color blindness. It offers three schemes to choose from: Deuteranomaly (red-green); Protanomaly (red-green); and Tritanomaly (blue-yellow).
Color Inversion
Apple has offered color inversion as one of its accessibility options within its iOS for several years, and has recognized this feature as a very important option for reducing glare and visual fatigue for some people. This feature transposes colors so that a typical display of black text on a white background becomes white text on a black background. Recognizing the importance of this feature, companies like Samsung have also provided their own version of color inversion, which they call "Negative Colors." It has taken Google some time, but they have now integrated a color inversion feature into their stock Android 5.0 version. The color inversion features of iOS 8.1.1 and Android 5.0 both work within their respective apps as well.
Additional Text and Display Options
Both iOS 8.1.1 and Android 5.0 include a number of additional modifications to text, some of which are carried over from previous versions. Under Accessibility, iOS 8.1.1 provides the following options: Bold Text, Reduce Transparency, and Darken Colors. It also introduces the Reduce White Point option, which reduces the overall intensity of bright colors. This can be a valuable feature for anyone who is glare-sensitive.
Android 5.0 now includes high-contrast text. By default, Android tends to display much of its sub-text within the operating system in gray. The high-contrast text feature modifies this text so it appears as the bolder font used with the regular text, making it much easier to read.
The Bottom Line
There are a number of factors to consider when purchasing a smartphone. Choosing between Apple iOS 8.1.1 and Google Android 5.0 can boil down to budget, personal preference, functional vision, and the specific tasks that you wish to carry out. iOS devices are generally more expensive than Android devices. If you only require a low level of magnification, and you're comfortable maneuvering within the Google platform, the powerful Magnification Gestures offered by Android certainly make it a viable option. However, if you rely more heavily on the text-to-speech features that VoiceOver on iOS devices provides, and you function well within the closed Apple iOS platform—which ensures a more consistent layout across various devices—iOS 8.1.1 may be a better fit.
It can be argued that Apple has represented the gold standard of accessibility for some time now. It is reassuring to see Google stepping up its game, and taking accessibility more seriously with its more recent Android releases that include Magnification Gestures and color inversion.
Product Information
Product: Android 5.0
Product: iOS 8.1.1
