Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Mobile Accessibility and You

Gold
Thursday, June 9, 2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Share the love for this talk
Mobile Accessibility and You
Speakers: Sam Proulx
Link:

Summary

You may be familiar with desktop screen readers like JAWS, and desktop voice control like Dragon Naturally speaking. You might know about WCAG, and popular automated testing tools for your websites. But what about mobile apps? How do accessibility techniques apply on the touch screen? As the entire world moves mobile first, your accessibility strategy needs to adapt. In this talk, we’ll introduce you to some of the changes that doing mobile-first accessibility correctly requires. We’ll cover some of the most popular assistive technologies on mobile, give you tips for automated and manual testing of your mobile apps, warn you of some of the pitfalls to watch for, and help you bring your mobile accessibility strategy to the next level.

Key Insights

  • Mobile devices have a lead in built-in accessibility features compared to desktops due to first-party OS integration.

  • Mobile offers accessibility advantages like accurate GPS, integrated dictation, and facial recognition unavailable or less reliable on desktop.

  • Simplified mobile interfaces benefit users sensitive to distractions because of less screen real estate and forced design minimalism.

  • People with disabilities often switch between mobile and desktop to choose the best tool for specific tasks.

  • Mobile accessibility is easier for developers because there are fewer screen reader versions and browsers to support.

  • Standardized accessibility APIs and tools on iOS and Android reduce variability and unexpected issues during testing.

  • Seamless handoff between mobile and desktop improves accessibility, especially for complex tasks like longer text input.

  • Emerging technologies like augmented reality pose new accessibility challenges not yet fully addressed.

  • WCAG guidelines already cover mobile interactions and are expanding to better address mobile-specific nuances.

  • Built-in apps from Apple and Android generally provide exemplary accessibility experiences, setting a high bar for third-party apps.

Notable Quotes

"Mobile accessibility features are built in and ready to go without needing to install or configure anything extra."

"For many users with disabilities, mobile is the best experience for the job because of its accessibility affordances."

"Mobile screens have forced designers to create simplified interfaces without reducing features."

"The cognitive load saved by not having to manage security software on mobile phones is a huge accessibility win."

"There’s just far fewer variables to deal with on mobile because it’s basically one browser and one screen reader per platform."

"If you want an accessible app on iOS and Android, using the standard native APIs and controls will get you there."

"Mobile screen readers can confirm basic accessibility but desktop testing is still needed due to differences across tools."

"Augmented reality is an entirely new paradigm and we haven’t quite figured out accessibility for that yet."

"Every app built into my phone is perfect when it comes to accessibility – Apple and Android set a strong example."

"Starting your accessibility efforts on mobile makes the process simpler and easier to reuse when expanding to other platforms."

Ask the Rosenbot
Sean McKay
Coexisting with non-researchers: Practical strategies for a democratized research future
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Lada Gorlenko
Theme 3: Introduction
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Megan Blocker
Getting to the “So What?”: How Management Consulting Practices Can Transform Your Approach to Research
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Dane DeSutter
What co-speech gestures reveal about users’ thinking during interviews
2023 • Rosenfeld Community
Greg Petroff
Design is the Differentiator: Bringing New Design Innovations to a Very Antiquated and Very Large Industry
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Louis Rosenfeld
Becoming a Civic Designer: Making the Move from Private to Public Sector
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Bria Alexander
Day 1 Panel: Up to the Minute: The latest in AI’s impact on UX
2025 • Designing with AI 2025
Gold
Mujtaba Hameed
Frameworks for Excellence: Using Visual Thinking and Communication to Elevate Your Research
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Kyle Godbey
Non-linear service design for complex adaptive systems
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Maria Rosala
Research Repositories
2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Gold
Libby Maurer
Treating Diversity & Inclusion in Hiring as a Design Problem
2019 • Enterprise Community
Kit Unger
Theme 1 Intro
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Ned Gartside
Navigating accessibility and climate
2024 • Climate UX Interest Group
April Reagan
Look, Think, Act: The Futures-Smart Design Organization
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Ted Neward
Theme 4: Enterprise Organizational Journey
2019 • Enterprise Experience 2019
Gold
Tamara Hale
War Stories LIVE! Tamara Hale
2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Gold

More Videos

Joanna Vodopivec

"Customer obsession is actually one of our key values, which makes my job as a researcher a little bit easier."

Joanna Vodopivec Prabhas Pokharel

One Research Team for All - Influence Without Authority

March 9, 2022

Louis Rosenfeld

"The government is massive, so depending on the agency or program the context shifts dramatically."

Louis Rosenfeld Lashanda Hodge Senongo Akpem Chris Hodowanec

Becoming a Civic Designer: Making the Move from Private to Public Sector

November 17, 2022

Bria Alexander

"No need to take notes — session notes, sketch notes, resources, videos and decks will be shared after presentations."

Bria Alexander

Day 3 Welcome

September 25, 2024

Uday Gajendar

"Lauren Cantor is a heavy hitter gathering all the really good resources and putting them together."

Uday Gajendar Louis Rosenfeld

Day 2 Welcome

June 5, 2024

Sam Proulx

"Consistency is so important that sometimes even consistency in failure works if it means I only have to learn the workaround once."

Sam Proulx

Online Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience

June 7, 2023

Russ Unger

"Unpaid design exercises are unfair because they don’t take into account people's real-life constraints."

Russ Unger

Onboarding: The Ecosystem, not the Afterthought

November 7, 2017

Catherine Dubut

"It almost feels like cheating because your users are showing and telling you what they need. It's almost too easy."

Catherine Dubut

Bridging Physical and Digital Spaces: Approaches to Retail Service Design

March 18, 2021

Josh Clark

"Sentient design is about intelligent interfaces that are aware of context and intent so they can be radically adaptive to user needs in the moment."

Josh Clark Veronika Kindred

Sentient Design: New Postures for AI-Mediated Experiences (2nd of 3 seminars)

January 29, 2025

Dantley Davis

"If you don’t have those challenges, it’s a lot easier to make it in the corporate world."

Dantley Davis

Leadership & Diversity—A Fireside Chat with Dantley Davis

September 17, 2020