Make your Mac more accessible (and your other devices too)

Apple devices strive to be easy to use, no matter who is using them. Let’s take a look at the accessibility features that can help us interact with our screens

- By Kenny Hemphill

Designing an operating system that works well for everyone means including features that allow users who find it difficult, or are unable to, interact with it to access as much of it as possible and complete the same tasks, regardless of any additional challenges. Apple hasn’t always been as progressive as it could be in this regard and has come in for criticism in the past. However, recent updates to macOS, iOS and iPadOS have added many more features and overall accessibility has been vastly improved.

Voice Control, for example, introduced on the Mac in macOS Catalina, enables anyone to control their Mac using their voice. Dictation has long been available as an alternative to typing, but Voice Control added a new layer of accessibility. Catalina also saw the introduction of features that allow users with visual impairments to zoom in to windows on a second display, while keeping their main display at 100%, and to zoom in on specific text selections. And users with hearing impairments can now elect to have audible alerts trigger a flashing display instead.

Combine these features with customisations to reduce motion in animations, invert the colours on your Mac’s display, change mouse and pointer settings and modify closed captions and there are plenty of options to make your Apple device easier to use. And, of course, you can use Siri and the Shortcuts app to create your own automations.

Part 1

Master Accessibility on Mac Here’s how to use VoiceOver and zoom and hover on your Mac