Custom actions work with VoiceOver, Switch Control and Full Keyboard Access. They also do for Voice Control. You can say "Show actions for <item name/number>", and an action sheet with all options, numbered, will be presented to the user.
For some use-cases, Voice Control users might not feel it is a big win. Navigation is not as big of an issue, and interacting with custom actions might be a bit trickier than with "exposed" buttons. But lots of times seems a fair compromise.
Believe it or not, one of the most common accessibility pitfalls I see in iOS apps, is forgetting to configure a suitable accessibility label for buttons with just an image (no title), resulting in VoiceOver saying just: "button". Why for buttons with just an image? If it has a title, the accessibility label gets inferred from it. So here's one that should be very easy for you to find and fix in your app. No more apps that just say: button, button, button, button...! If you are looking for the best explanation on what makes, not good, but great accessibility labels, I really recommend “Writing Great Accessibility Labels” by @jordyn2493 at WWDC. The difference between someone using/loving/deleting your app. https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/254/
Accessibility Labels are not just for VoiceOver, and Accessibility User Input Labels are not just for Voice Control. The latter will also help Full Keyboard Access users to find elements on the screen by different names. Good API design!
Custom actions work as great on Switch Control as they do in VoiceOver. It makes navigation much, much, faster and you’ll be able to find all those custom actions in the Switch Control menu.
Content © Daniel Devesa Derksen-Staats on Accessibility up to 11! is licensed under CC BY 4.0. License details
