iPhone: The Missing Manual, 13th Edition

Chapter 7. Large Type, Accessibility & Voice Control

If you were told the iPhone was one of the easiest phones in the world for a disabled person to use, you might spew your coffee. The thing has no physical keys! How would a blind person use it? It’s a phone that rings! How would a deaf person use it?

But it’s true. Apple has gone to incredible lengths to make the iPhone usable for people with vision, hearing, or other physical impairments. These features also can be fantastically useful to people whose only impairment is being under 10, over 40, or efficiency-crazed.

If you’re deaf, you can have the LED flash get your attention. If you’re blind, you can turn the screen off and operate everything by letting the phone speak what you’re touching. It’s pretty amazing.

You can also magnify the screen, reverse black for white (for better-contrast reading), set up custom vibrations for each person who might call you, and convert stereo music to mono (if you’re deaf in one ear).

The kiosk mode is great for kids; it prevents them from exiting whatever app they’re using. And if you have aging eyes, you might find the Large Text option handy. (You may also be interested in using the LED flash, custom vibrations, and zooming.)

And in iOS 13, Apple has introduced the astonishing Voice Control feature. It lets you do everything by voice, without touching any part of the phone: tap, swipe, drag, pinch, select text, correct errors, edit text, edit photos—everything.

To turn on any of the features ...