lifehacker lifehacker LifeHacker LifeHacker [Android / iPhone] 8 representative "accessibility functions" that make your smartphone convenient

The OS of the smartphone is equipped with many excellent accessibility functions that make the lives of people with visual, motor and auditory needs comfortable.

So if you're a target or know someone like that, it's a good idea to know useful accessibility features.

Even if it doesn't, it's worth knowing that you can find new ways to do common tasks on your phone.

Here is a summary of typical accessibility features found on Android and iPhone.

Enable accessibility features in your smartphone's "Settings"

Most of the features designed for those with needs can be found in the Settings> Accessibility menu on both Android and iPhone.

This article will introduce some of the best features, but not all options are covered. Therefore, we recommend that you check this setting screen to see if there are any other specific functions that may be useful.

However, please note that some will not work without an accessibility accessory such as a Braille keyboard.

Typical accessibility features that aid your visual needs

Both Android and iPhone have some useful features for users with visual needs.

The most important of these is the "screen reader," which, as the name implies, is a function that allows smartphones to read out what is written on the screen.

The screen reader function that reads out not only the texts of newspaper and magazine articles and papers, but also the texts used in the OS is a very convenient function for people with poor eyesight.

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In that sense, the "magnifying glass" is one of the great features of the iPhone.

You can use your smartphone's camera to magnify things around you and see them up close like a magnifying glass. You can quickly adjust the colors and contrasts to make the image easier to see what you want to see.

To enable this feature on iOS, select Settings> Accessibility> Magnifier.

Unfortunately, Android doesn't have a similar feature, but you can manually magnify it using the camera app, or try a third-party magnifying glass app such as "Magnifying Glass + Flashlight". You can also see it.

It is also convenient to adjust the size and color of the characters displayed on the screen of your smartphone as a whole to your liking.

For iPhone, you can adjust it in "Settings"-> "Accessibility"-> "Screen display and text size". There are also useful options here, such as "color filters" that make it easier to identify colors for people with color blindness.

On Android, you can find similar options by going to Settings> Accessibility> Display.

Typical accessibility features that assist with hearing needs

Your smartphone is also equipped with many useful accessibility features that help your hearing needs.

Of particular importance is the "voice-to-character conversion" built into Google's "Pixel" series, which can be purchased as an app on the Google Play store even if you are using another Android smartphone.

"Voice-to-speech conversion" automatically recognizes surrounding sounds and converts them into text. In addition to supporting multiple languages, it can notify you of specific non-voice sounds such as baby crying and smoke / fire alarm sounds.

Notifications are displayed in the form of flashing lights or vibrations so you never miss an important alert.

The iPhone doesn't have a similar app, but you can try out third-party options such as Hearing Helper and Live Transcribe.

Some of these features are available in iPhone's voice recognition feature.

This feature can be set in Settings> Accessibility> Sound Recognition. If you want to use LED flash notifications, you can set it in Audio / Visual in the Accessibility settings.

If you have deafness in one ear, try enabling "Monaural Audio" on your smartphone.

With stereo audio, the recorded sound may be split into left and right channels. When you switch to "monaural audio," the entire sound fits in one channel, so you won't miss it even if you wear headphones on one side.

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Typical accessibility features that assist with motor function needs

Both Android and iPhone have great options to make your phone easier to use for those with physical or athletic needs.

The AssistiveTouch button was popular in the days when the iPhone home button was difficult to use, but it is also active as an excellent accessibility feature in the days of the iPhone without buttons.

You can map useful features such as taking screenshots, using pinch gestures, and activating the camera to a single button on the screen.

To enable this feature, select Settings> Accessibility> Touch> Assistive Touch on your iPhone.

You can add or remove actions mapped to this button in Customize Top Level Menu on the same page.

In addition, you can set the operation when the AssistiveTouch button is "single tap", "double tap", or "long press" in the menu of the AssistiveTouch page.

On Android, you can use similar functions by enabling the "Accessibility Menu".

Choose Settings> Accessibility and select the Accessibility Menu in the Operation Controls item.

Also, consider enabling a shortcut that automatically answers the phone after a preset amount of time.

On your iPhone, you can select the device to play the call voice by selecting Settings> Accessibility> Touch> Call Audio Routing.

If you want to use a Bluetooth headset or speaker, you can route the call voice directly to it. You can also set the time to answer the call automatically on this settings page.

For Android, similar options are available on some Android phones, but not on all models.

You can check if you can use this function by launching the "Dialer" app, clicking the three-point icon in the upper right and selecting "Settings".

If this feature is available on your smartphone, you can enable it by accessing "Call Settings".

Last but not least, "voice input" is a great feature that allows you to speak instead of typing characters.

On iPhone, you can enable it by selecting "Settings" → "General" → "Keyboard" → "Enable voice input". You'll see a microphone icon on both your keyboard and text field, and when you press it to start talking, your iPhone will convert the voice to text.

Voice input is enabled by default on Android. You can use the voice input function by pressing the microphone icon just above the text box or keyboard.

Source: Google Play Store (1, 2), App Store (1, 2)