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.
Full Keyboard Access can be tested in the simulator! So convenient! You can enable it from Accessibility's settings in the simulator. And from there, you can navigate your app by just using your computer's keyboard.
Since iOS 14, UIAccessibilityCustomAction has an initialiser that accepts an image, as well as a name and action handler. Configuring one will make your custom actions easier to spot in the Switch Control menu. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uiaccessibilitycustomaction/init(name:image:actionhandler:)
The Accessibility APIs are generic and flexible. They're not just for VoiceOver. If you implement them right, you can do it once and it will very likely work great for VoiceOver, Voice Control, Switch Control, Full Keyboard Access, and more. That's why, to start with, we tend to focus on VoiceOver, the same way you may focus on keyboard navigation for the web. A great VoiceOver experience will get you most of the way to a good experience with the other assistive technologies. We've seen one example with Custom Actions. One implementation works for: VoiceOver: https://x.com/dadederk/status/1550099327053451266 Switch Control: https://x.com/dadederk/status/1551236244088279040 Full Keyboard Access: https://x.com/dadederk/status/1551874732504629249 And Voice Control: https://x.com/dadederk/status/1552253520182640645 Of course that doesn't mean you don't have to test and check how the experience is with the other technologies. But before feeling overwhelmed, or for small teams, making sure your app works for VoiceOver is a great start.
Content © Daniel Devesa Derksen-Staats — Accessibility up to 11!
