Day 142

Listen to articles with Speak Screen

7 Oct 2022

Today I want to share something I use a lot. You can convert any article into a “podcast” by enabling Speak Screen in Accessibility Settings, switching to Safari’s Reader Mode and swiping down with two fingers from the top of the screen.

In Accessibility Settings, you can go to Speak Content and Enable Speak Screen. When you are reading an article, you can select the Page Settings button, and then select Show Reader from the menu. Then, you can swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to show the Speak Screen menu and will start reading the text in the article.

I think it is a good example of how if we all knew more about how to use the assistive tech available in iOS, we would find ourselves using more of them, more often, exemplifying quite well that accessibility benefits everyone.

Some of you have asked me how you can support what I do. This would really help, and would be hugely appreciated:

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    • A download and a review go a long way. They're free by default. On the App Store, ratings and reviews really help more people discover them.

    • Finding any of them useful? If so, and if you can afford it, purchasing lifetime access to all features or subscribing lets me buy the coffee that keeps me caffeinated. Caffeine keeps me going to maintain the apps, bring in new features that I hope you'll love, and keep writing.

You may also find interesting...

Today I have a question for you: which books have helped you level up your accessibility game? I'll start: *Developing Inclusive Mobile Apps* by Rob Whitaker (@RobW). It is not just iOS—you also learn about Android, inclusive design, and WCAG.

You can add your Accessibility Shortcuts to Control Centre too. One more quick access point and one more reminder to get you testing often and quickly. How to enable Accessibility shortcuts: https://x.com/dadederk/status/1583519154165800960?s=61&t=_fK9Muzu2MyFEeJLVQZcJg

Configuring the header accessibility trait, when appropriate, is one of my favourite accessibility quick wins. In this example, you need a single swipe down, instead of 12 swipes to the right to get to from Podcasts to Artists, in the app.


Content © Daniel Devesa Derksen-Staats on Accessibility up to 11! is licensed under CC BY 4.0. License details