I made an iOS 16 app and would appreciate feedback about my a11y support

By MuseumShuffle, 25 September, 2022

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hello. I'm a solo iOS developer and I'm trying my best to support a11y features in my apps. During a WWDC lab I got a suggestion to submit my app for feedback here. I just released an app for iOS 16 and would appreciate comments about how I can improve it for accessibility. It's a freemium app and the vasty majority of the functionality is available without paying. Here's the link for Foodlapse:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/foodlapse/id1619348683

I like making silly things and I made this particular app because I was drinking way too much bubble tea. I wanted a quick way to see how often I had been drinking it to see if I should "cool it" or if it was past time to treat myself. :-)

One of my primary questions is if I implemented VoiceOver support in a way that's helpful. As someone who only uses VoiceOver when I'm testing my apps I've wondered if I'm doing things correctly or have things that need improvement.

Other ways I tried to be accessible:

Dynamic Text - My mom actually inspired me get serious about supporting large dynamic text. I saw her using my first app and was horrified to realize that one of my views was very broken for her. In what was supposed to be a list with a picture of artwork and a description of artwork she was only seeing a list of giant pictures of artwork. Her large text had broken the constraints on my view because as a rookie developer I didn't think to handle them. In Foodlapse I have several views that adjust if I detect accessibility fonts in use.

Colors - In the settings menu I let the user configure the background colors and change the color of the main button used to record entries. I have a widget that is a pie chart with green and red. I added an option for an alternate color scheme of blue and orange. I also have an option for no colors, where the pie is just black.

Would appreciate any feedback!

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Comments

By Squirrel on Friday, October 14, 2022 - 22:32

Thank you for letting us know about your app and what sounds like great work that you have done to ensure that it is accessible to as many potential users as possible.

I'm downloading the app now and will report back later with any issues or suggestions.

By Squirrel on Friday, October 14, 2022 - 22:32

Thank you for letting us know about your app.

I can't comment on the what you've done for low vision users or any additional screens that are present after purchasing the upgrade, but everything that I could test worked great with VoiceOver. I particularly like that you have taken advantage of the VoiceOver enhancements that can be made to charts.

I wouldn't hesitate in recommending the app to any VoiceOver user who wants a quick and easy way to track certain basic things. Nicely done!

By MuseumShuffle on Friday, October 14, 2022 - 22:32

I really appreciate you taking the time to look at it and the nice words! Charts were quite challenging to get right and I'm still experimenting with them.

One problem I noticed early on was that the text on the X and/or Y axis could become completely unreadable if the font size was very large.

https://twitter.com/museumshuffle/status/1547713404902592512

I ended up showing less axis marks if I detect accessibility fonts so that the ones that remained were readable with large fonts.

https://twitter.com/museumshuffle/status/1547975978382594048

By MuseumShuffle on Friday, October 14, 2022 - 22:32

Here are a couple of promo codes to get the premium version for free:

L4PL43XRLJ9F
6E6NAREPEY6W
H9YFLFJKNEPA
HNTLM7J7X7A4

Apple requires me to include this with promo codes:

Promo Codes expire on Tue Oct 25 10:49:47 PDT 2022
and are redeemable only on the App Store for United States. Requires an Apple ID, subject to prior acceptance of license and usage terms. To create an Apple ID, you must be age 13 (or equivalent minimum age in your Home Country, as set forth in the registration process) and in United States. Compatible software and hardware, and internet access (fees may apply) required. Not for resale. Full terms apply; see www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ww/. For more information, see https://support.apple.com/apps.
This app is provided to you by Apple Inc. -
Christopher Wu