Now you can totally function SpeakerClock with no or low imaginative and prescient. We gave SpeakerClock the complete Accessibility remedy. On this article I describe among the issues I discovered including accessibility options to SpeakerClock, now that it’s totally written in SwiftUI.
SpeakerClock’s UI is split into 3 sections, the presets on the high, the LED timer as massive as doable within the heart and the part “visitors mild” on the backside.
The primary interplay gesture is to horizontally swipe over the LED digits to vary the timer. This type of gesture isn’t doable when VoiceOver is energetic as a result of there you possibly can pan over the display screen to shortly get to the new spots of interactive components.
I solved this by having individually adjustable sub-elements for the minutes and seconds whereas the timer isn’t working. This manner you possibly can swipe vertically to regulate the minutes and seconds individually.
There are three varieties of normal gestures for Voice-Over which I made full use of:
- double-tap with single finger to pick a component
- double-tap with two fingers to carry out a “magic faucet”
- draw a Z with two fingers to “escape”
I used #1 for the single-tap operate of the preset and talking part buttons. #2 substitutes for the lengthy press. The rationale is that it’s important to consciously faucet with two fingers as a substitute of 1 to switch the presets, as to forestall you from unintentionally altering them.
Within the common movement of issues, VoiceOver principally feedback on the centered ingredient and after a brief pause additionally reads out the accessibility trace that tells the consumer what interactions are doable. I additionally used VoiceOver’s announcement notifications to offer audio suggestions on some interactions.
The cherry on high is that sure timer values get pink out aloud. Within the yellow and inexperienced phases you get a voice immediate each minute. The part transitions get introduced as properly. Within the pink part there may be an announcement very 15 seconds, with the ultimate 10 seconds being accompanied by beeps.
That felt like an inexpensive quantity of voice suggestions for starters. I would add some configuration choices at a later level.
On this video I’m demonstrating all that we mentioned.
Conclusion
I might say my implementation is 95% good. There are some edge circumstances nonetheless – which I can’t do a lot about – the place VoiceOver will insist of talking one thing that it wouldn’t have to. Sadly there isn’t any option to inform Accessibility to “shut it” for sure instances when there’s something extra vital happening.
It value me a variety of experimenting and the higher a part of a day to get to this stage. I’m anxious to listen to from precise customers of SpeakerClock, particularly those that are visually impaired and may need use for a timer. And a few common customers additionally requested about acoustic suggestions. What kind of configuration choices associated to sounds may make sense?
Additionally revealed on Medium.