As advertised, The iPad will now support multitasking in iOS 9, and it is just as easy for VoiceOver users to take advantage of this feature. Here is how it works.

1. While in an app, tap the status bar. You will notice there is a third option here instead of just notification enter and Control Center.
2. flick left with three fingers to move in the apps list.
3. Find an app on the right side of the screen and double tap it.
4. Once both apps are open you will have your right most app on top of the left app. you will need to now take your finger and slowly move left on the screen. You will hear something that says side app decider. This lets you drag or manipulate the two apps you have on the screen. To make both apps visible, double tap on the side app decider.
5. To pick another app, you will need to find the status bar in the right app and flick left with three fingers again. This will let you pick an app from the app list.
6. If you have an app on both sides of the decider, you can double tap the side app decider again to unpin apps. This means that only the app on the right would be active,
7. You will also be able to flick up or down on the side app decider for other options. You can dismiss the app on the right, maximize the app on the right, or use it to pin apps together by double tapping. Another option in the actions list is the app chooser for the right side.
8. If you double tap and hold on the side app decider, you can drag the decider left or right to make each app bigger or smaller.

One thing to remember is that apps are not pinned side by side by default. You will have to pull in an app, and then use the side app decider to pin both apps on the screen.

I hope you have found this guide helpful. We will be doing a few more iOS 9 guides later today on new accessibility features, and we will also be making a few iA Cast episodes to go with this release.

Siri has a few snarky things to say about Apple’s new event on September 9th as suggested by their invitations. Below are two pictures with descriptions of some things that Siri said.

“Give us a hint.”, Siri, “The only hint I can give you right now is a hint of lime. And that there’s a big announcement on September 9th.” “Give us a hint.” Siri, “You’ll have to wait until September 9th. I bet you one of those kids who snuck downstairs to open presents early, Weren’t you?”

As I am sure you can tell, This post in more about the accessibility of developing apps for iOS. While this post may be quite technical, I think that all users can learn from what is said here.

While building an app, I found out that some of the code I was using was what is called depreciated by Apple. This means that the code has been replaced with something newer and hopefully cooler, and this is the case with adding a search bar to an app. The trouble is, all of the tutorials I have found on how to do this are giving bad information, and the developers that use these tutorials are making apps with inaccessible search result tables. Read on if you are still interested in learning why this is, and how to fix it.

What is the problem?

When a developer makes a search results table from what is called a UISearchController they are given two options. To make the current table display search results, or have another table display the search results. Which one sounds the easiest.

If you said the first where the table that already presents data acts as the search results table view would be the easiest then you would be correct, but VoiceOver sees the search Bar as being in focus and ignores the table in the background, which does not allow for VoiceOver users to check view website and see search results. visual users not using VoiceOver have no issue here, but VoiceOver will not be able to give the user feedback or allow the person to select a result.

What is the solution?

The solution is option 2 for adding search. Simply add another table view controller that mirrors your table that is to be searched and tell the UISearchController that that table controller is the one responsible for displaying search results. You will have to add methods for handling row selection and displaying of data from the presenting table, but you are already doing this to display your current data.

Conclusion

While this may take a few extra steps of work while building your app it will be worth it to make sure your customers can search through your data as any other iOS user would. I would advise developers to use option 2.

The Health app included in iOS 8 has allowed iOS users to track many different aspects of their health including calorie intake, distance walked, height weight, allergies, medications and more. Lets take a look at how blind and low vision users can use these features of iOS.

The Health App

The Health app is Apple’s one stop information shop for health information on your iPhone. It stores all information gathered by other apps, so that you or your doctor view website can get to the information quickly. You can also set up your medical ID here that can be used from your lock screen in case of emergency.

The health app is fully accessible, but there is a limited amount of information that can be entered here. This app is mainly used for learning information gathered from other apps.

The Activity App

The activity app is an app that appears on your iPhone after you’ve used it for the first time on your Apple Watch. Through this app, you can find out how much you stood, walked, and exercised that day and then you can check your stats for the week as well.

Again, This app is accessible, but requires an Apple Watch to work. You set up a weekly move goal, and it will keep track of how often you meet that goal each day. There are even achievements!

Argus

Argus is an app that also works with the Apple Watch, and with many other accessories. Argus is similar to the Health app, but it can also be installed and used on more than just iOS devices. You can login and it will save your health data to the internet. I believe this is what is used most on Android Devices.

Argus has limited accessibility, but has many features that will work with VoiceOver.

MotionX 24/7: Sleeptracker, Sleep Cycle Alarm, Snore, Apnea, Heart Rate Monitor, Weight Loss, Activity Tracker

MotionX created an app that will keep track of your sleep patterns, detect your heart rate through the iPhone camera, and it will also detect your steps and let you set goals.

When using the app last year, I found it to have great performance in how it worked, but very low usability for VoiceOver users. several buttons did not work properly.

Nike Move

Nike made a neat game app for fitness uses called Nike Move. This app works with Game Center to let users gain what are called Nike Fuel Points. This point system is measured as you move throughout the day, and the more you get the higher the points you get for that day. From what I can remember, it even kept up with how many you had by the end of the week.

While this app is neat, and the game center integration is awesome, I seem to remember that it had several accessibility issues concerning VoiceOver support.

Other Apps

As you can see, there are many great apps for tracking health information on the iPhone. There are so many now that I would not be able to talk about them all. Please write a comment If you use an app that has not been discussed.

As time goes by, we will write new stories related to health tracking apps as these apps have become an important part of using any smart device such as the iPhone.