Video: Mobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World

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Mobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World

Gold

Thursday, September 8, 2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022

Sam Proulx

Accessibility Evangelist, Fable

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 managing 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

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Mobile accessibility should be the first focus, extending later to desktop, reversing the traditional desktop-first mindset.
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Mobile platforms have more mature built-in accessibility features than desktop, often making mobile more accessible out of the box.
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Testing accessibility on mobile is easier and incurs less organizational friction due to built-in, free tools available instantly.
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Mobile’s smaller screen size reduces cognitive distractions by streamlining and simplifying design, benefiting users with cognitive disabilities.
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Mobile interfaces offer customizable forms of interaction, including voice control and compatibility with assistive Bluetooth devices.
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Developers benefit from a more consistent ecosystem on mobile, where accessibility tools and behaviors are unified by the OS, unlike desktop browsers and screen readers.
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Mobile affordances like accurate GPS or on-device dictation simplify common tasks compared to desktop alternatives.
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Mobile’s simpler and clearer security and update processes reduce stress for users with cognitive challenges, making it safer and more approachable.
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Solutions and lessons learned from mobile accessibility efforts are easier to reuse on desktop than the other way around.
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Despite differences between native apps and mobile web, accessibility on mobile is consistent across these platforms in gestures and controls.

Notable Quotes

"You may be thinking about that exactly backwards — you should start your accessibility work on mobile and then extend to desktop."

"Mobile is the first major platform where accessibility features are built in and mature."

"If you want to try the screen reader on Apple, just ask Siri to turn on VoiceOver — no installations needed."

"The restriction of a smaller mobile screen forces you to eliminate distractions and streamline designs."

"For people with vision difficulties, holding a phone close or far away lets them focus how they want."

"Home assistants like Siri were built out of work to support voice control for people with disabilities."

"On desktop, you have different screen readers and browsers that behave differently; on mobile, there’s one consistent screen reader kept up to date by the OS."

"A license for the JAWS screen reader can cost over $1,200; mobile accessibility tools come free and built in."

"Mobile’s clearer guidelines, like Apple’s App Store rules, help make accessible design more straightforward."

"Many users with accessibility needs prefer using the mobile site even on desktop because the streamlined design is easier to use."

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