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VoiceOver provides a way of using iPhones and iPads that is specifically designed for people with severe sight impairment, including those with no useful vision at all; it is built in to iOS and iPadOS, the iPhone and iPad operating systems and is entirely free. VoiceOver gestures need to be learnt before VoiceOver can be used and becoming proficient with VoiceOver if you are totally dependent on it isn’t something that happens in a day. On the other hand, if you still have useful sight and can read the screen, you may find learning just a few simple VoiceOver gestures lets you have screens or parts of screens spoken very conveniently by just dipping in and out of VoiceOver. If you can't read the screen it's likely you'll be improving your VoiceOver skills for several weeks or longer and you'll probably be discovering new VoiceOver techniques months after you start. If you have severe sight impairment and can't see to read the screen please don't start your VoiceOver journey unless you are prepared to devote a significant amount of time to learning and practicing its gestures. VoiceOver gives people with severe sight impairment almost full access to everything that sighted people can do with their devices but some Apps and web sites aren’t written correctly to work with VoiceOver and can’t be used without some sight. The good news is that plenty of Apps and web sites work extremely well with VoiceOver.
You might like to begin by checking out Apple's video on VoiceOver basics.
VoiceOver is controlled by touch gestures on the screen and these gestures do require some manual dexterity. VoiceOver may not be appropriate for people with limited manual dexterity.
VoiceOver can be turned on or off using Siri commands. Instruct Siri to "Turn VoiceOver on" or "Turn VoiceOver off". If you have no useful sight then you will need to leave VoiceOver turned on at all times except, perhaps, when you hand the device to a sighted assistant. If you have some useful sight, you may prefer to dip in and out of VoiceOver.
If you want to be able to turn VoiceOver on and off without speaking to Siri then a shortcut to turn VoiceOver on and off can be made available in Settings. If you’re able to work with Zoom magnification or already have basic VoiceOver skills then you may be able to set up the VoiceOver shortcut yourself. Otherwise, it’s probably best if you ask a helper to set this up for you following my suggested settings for VoiceOver on iPhone and iPad.
Once the VoiceOver shortcut is enabled, VoiceOver can be turned on or off by triple clicking the side or top button on iPhones and iPads with no home button or by triple clicking the circular home button on older models..
When you begin to use VoiceOver, give it time to speak in full. It pays to slow down and listen carefully in the early stages of learning VoiceOver. It often offers hints on how to use the item you’ve selected. These are hints, not instructions, so feel free to do something different but the hints can be very helpful.
The simplest way to start using VoiceOver is to explore the screen by sliding one finger slowly over the screen and listening to VoiceOver speaking what is under your finger. Make sure that no other fingers touch the screen. A stray touch could do things you hadn't intended! If something unexpected does happen, return to the home screen as follows:
On iPhones and iPads with FaceID: slide one finger up from the bottom edge of the screen until you feel a vibration or hear the second sound, then lift your finger. On older models: click the home button once.
Once you’ve heard the item you want, you can activate it by lifting your finger and then double tapping rapidly with one finger anywhere on the screen. That double tap is one of many gestures. You’ll learn lots of different gestures. Although gestures may be performed anywhere on the screen, I recommend aiming for somewhere near the centre of the screen to avoid fingers straying beyond the touch sensitive area of the screen. Older iPhone and iPad models have quite wide frames around the touch-sensitive screen.
The other gestures you need to learn early are flicks across the screen to right or left. This gesture is also called a swipe. It’s a bit like flicking dust off your jacket. Flick your finger from left to right or right to left and briefly make contact with the screen in the middle of the flick. Ensure that your finger is in motion when it first touches the screen and is still in motion when it leaves the screen. If you touch the screen and then start moving or if you rest your finger on the screen at the end of the flick, the gesture will probably be interpreted as a touch rather than a swipe.
If you swipe to the right, VoiceOver will advance through the items on screen.
If you swipe to the left VoiceOver will go in to reverse and go backwards through the items on the screen.
You will find that swiping to right or left is a systematic, if sometimes lengthy, way of finding the item you want to use. As you learn more VoiceOver skills, you'll discover additional ways to navigate around screens more efficiently.
Pages on this website with more details of VoiceOver include:
There is a VoiceOver tutorial by Apple in Settings / Accessibility / VoiceOver which may help some low vision learners; learners with no useful vision may need assistance to locate and start the tutorial but should be able to use it with the minimum set of basic VoiceOver skills outlined on this page.
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