Introducing Accessibillity 101 App for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

WorldSpace xCode app iconFor most developers, accessibility is a foreign concept, and it’s difficult for people who don’t use VoiceOver to understand all of the data connections and interactions that are required. The simplicity of the Xcode environment makes it feel like if you just do a few simple things, you can create an accessible app.

To help developers create robustly accessible iOS apps, Deque has released the Accessibility 101 app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This free app shows you the most common accessibility issues, explains what’s wrong with them and shows how to fix them.

What’s in the Accessibility 101 App?

Accessibility 101 gives you a series of simple examples to help sighted developers understand the implications of the iOS Accessibility APIs and how VoiceOver users are affected by poor app accessibility.

Accessibility 101 displays side-by-side examples of issues we often see in the wild. First, the app shows how each example is done inaccessibly. Then it fixes each issue and describes why the fix is important.

And as a bonus, the app code will be open-sourced soon so that you can explore the code for each solution. Check back at the App Store frequently!

About the App Developer

This project was helmed by Chris McMeeking. Chris joined Deque after we heard about his role in developing an active scanning keyboard for helping people with motor disabilities use mobile devices. Since joining Deque, he has been the lead architect for mobile applications and the key contributor to the Xcode plugin.

Next Steps

photo of Deque Systems

About Deque Systems

Deque (pronounced dee-cue) stands for digital equality. For over 20 years, our software, services and training have helped eliminate billions of accessibility barriers from websites, mobile apps and other digital content - improving the web for everyone, including people with disabilities.

We work with enterprise-level businesses and organizations to ensure that their sites and mobile apps are accessible. Our axe tools have been downloaded over one billion times by accessibility champions around the world. Our experts have implemented thousands of successful accessibility programs. Our training has impacted over a hundred thousand learners.

Deque is the digital accessibility industry standard.