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How To Use Reachability with iPhone to Improve Single-Handed Usage

Oct 9, 2014 - 11 Comments
Using Reachability on iPhone

The larger screen displays of new iPhone models make them beautiful to view apps, text, and images on, but some users find that using the devices with a single hand is a bit more challenging. But one-handed usage of the larger screen iPhone models is made considerably easier thanks to the help of a feature … Read More

2 Big Reasons Why You Might Want to Buy iPhone 6 Plus Over iPhone 6

Sep 27, 2014 - 36 Comments

Much has been said about the iPhone 6 Plus already, and there are plenty of thorough reviews describing the hardware, the design, camera, and every other little improvement and detail of the device. After using one for a week, two things in particular really stand out to me which differentiate the iPhone 6 Plus over … Read More

Enable Button Shapes in iOS to Improve Usability & Make Tap Targets Obvious

Jun 25, 2014 - 6 Comments
Enabling Button Shapes in iOS to improve usability

One of the major changes that came along with the iOS visual overhaul was the removal of obvious buttons across the operating system and apps found on the iPhone and iPad. While the result is a cleaner, flatter, and more streamlined appearance in iOS, many users have found the removal of obvious buttons to be … Read More

Make iOS Settings Toggles a Bit More Obvious (and Geeky) with Binary On & Off Labels

Apr 15, 2014 - 4 Comments
On and Off Labels in iOS Settings

Earlier versions of iOS used to make it very obvious when a Settings toggle was enabled or disabled by showing “ON” and “OFF” text within the button switch itself. While new versions of iOS have removed those word based cues in favor of color indicators (green for on, white for off), there remains an option … Read More

Use Reduce White Point in iOS to Subtly Tone Down Harsh Bright Colors

Mar 21, 2014 - 13 Comments
Use "Reduce White Point" in iOS

The iOS interface is easily identifiable by it’s ubiquitous usage of whites and bright colors, which can be both pleasing to the eye but also excessively harsh when an iPhone or iPad is used in darker ambient lighting situations. New versions of iOS offer an ability to adjust that bright whiteness with a setting called … Read More

Use Darken Colors to Increase Text Color Contrast in iOS

Mar 17, 2014 - 8 Comments
iOS Darken Colors ON vs OFF

One of the bigger complaints stemming from the iOS redesign is that the stark white interface with thin fonts can be difficult to read. Setting text to Bold makes an enormous difference, but some of the color choices in iOS still lack enough contrast to make things easy on the eyes, particularly for those with … Read More

Change the Subtitle Font Size for iTunes Video Playback in Mac OS X

Jan 20, 2014 - 2 Comments
Change the font size of subtitles in Mac OS X video

The default subtitle text size for video playback can be fairly small in Mac OS X, and while it may be tolerable on a smaller screened device, once you send the Macs display it to a larger screen like a TV, it can be difficult to read. Fortunately, Mac OS X provides a lot of … Read More

How to Enable & Control Access for Assistive Devices & Apps in Mac OS

Jan 5, 2014 - 5 Comments
Accessibility feature

Assistive Devices and Assistive Apps are applications and accessories which can control parts of the Mac and MacOS beyond the normal scope of app limits. While it’s primarily thought of as an Accessibility feature, it’s also commonly uses for general apps too, ranging from screen sharing functions, to apps that require microphone access, to even … Read More

Navigate Through the Home Screens of iOS with a Quick Tap

Nov 25, 2013 - Leave a Comment
Navigate home screens in iOS with a tap

Just about every iPhone and iPad owner knows that you can navigate between pages of icons on the iOS Home Screen by using a left or right swipe gesture (if you don’t know this, well, now you do). But if gestures aren’t your thing, there is another lesser known option to flip home screens, and … Read More

Find the iOS Font Hard to Read? Make It Easier to Read with Bolder Text

Sep 20, 2013 - 5 Comments
Make iOS 7 Fonts easier to read

One of the biggest complaints we’ve heard regarding iOS is about the font change in iOS 7, iOS 8, iOS 9, iOS 10, iOS 11, and iOS 213 (the other complaint is usually about battery life, which is also extremely easy to fix). The new default system font is fairly narrow in weight, and as … Read More

Enable the Talking Calculator in Mac OS X

Jul 12, 2013 - 1 Comment
Use the Talking Calculator in Mac OS X

Talking calculators are very useful, whether for accessibility reasons or just for entering a lot of numbers that you want to be sure are correct by hearing the auditory response. Thanks to the Mac’s excellent text-to-speech abilities and a simple settings adjustment, you can transform the bundled Calculator app in Mac OS X into a … Read More

How to Enable & Use the Virtual Keyboard in Mac OS X

Jun 21, 2013 - 30 Comments
Enable the virtual keyboard input in Mac OS X

The Virtual Keyboard feature of Mac OS X is exactly what it sounds like, it’s a software-based keyboard that can be used as an auxiliary onscreen keyboard to type anything on a Mac. These virtual keys are pressable by clicking on them with a cursor, rather than tapping the physical keys on a hardware keyboard. … Read More

Enable a Screen Flash for Alert Notifications in Mac OS X

Apr 10, 2013 - 2 Comments
Flash the screen for alerts in Mac OS X

A little-known screen flashing feature exists in Mac OS X that provides an alternative way of being notified of system alerts, meaning that anytime you’d typically hear the general system sound effect feedback, see a bouncing Dock icon, or have a new icon badge appear, the screen will briefly flash instead. The screen flash alert … Read More

Show a Phone Number in Huge Text for Easier Viewing in Contacts App for Mac OS X

Mar 15, 2013 - 8 Comments
Show phone number in larger type

If you’ve ever needed to retrieve a phone number from Contacts (once called Address Book) in Mac OS X, you’ve probably noticed the phone numbers are shown quite small. On larger screens that’s not too big a big deal, but on smaller screen Macs and those with high resolutions, it can be really quite small. … Read More

Adjust the Size of the Mouse Pointer in Mac OS

Feb 21, 2013 - 10 Comments
Larger cursor size in Mac OS X

Adjusting the mouse pointer sizes on a Mac is a simple way to greatly improve accessibility for individuals with visual impairments. But it’s not the only reason to increase the size of the mouse pointer on the Mac screen, and there are other uses though, for example having a less dramatic difference with just a … Read More

How to Re-Enable the Invert Display Keyboard Shortcut in Mac OS X

Jan 24, 2013 - 1 Comment
Invert the screen colors in Mac OS X

Many Mac users have noticed that the good old Invert Display keyboard shortcut disappeared from Mac OS some time ago. Well, it didn’t disappear completely, but Invert Display is now tucked into a submenu of Accessibility options via a keystroke on the Mac. The change to the Invert Display keyboard shortcut first happened with Mac … Read More

Change the Home Button Click Speed for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Nov 13, 2012 - 3 Comments
Change the Home Button click speed in iOS

If you have an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you probably know by now that double-clicking and triple-clicking the Home button is required to perform some actions in iOS, like bringing up lock screen music controls, showing the multitasking bar, inverting the screen, enabling zoom, summoning Assistive Touch, or even turning on Guided Access to … Read More

Navigate iPad & Switch Apps with Shortcuts and an External Keyboard

Oct 1, 2012 - 16 Comments
iPad with an external keyboard

Did you know you can navigate around the iPad using only a keyboard, without touching the screen at all? It’s part of iOS Accessibility options called VoiceOver, and using keyboard navigation makes the iPad feel a lot more like a traditional computer, even sharing some of the keyboard shortcuts that Macs have to do things … Read More

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