Category: Accessibility

15/4/2025 0 Comments

If you get motion sick when reading in a car, you should try this iPhone/iPad feature

I have never been good at reading when travelling as a passenger in a car. It can quickly render me motion sick. Even reading on a plane can make me queasy.

So if I want to (or have to) read or watch something on my iPad or iPhone while moving, I can't keep my eyes on the screen for too long.

A change that arrived with iOS/iPadOS 18 has really helped me avoid (or at least reduce) this motion sickness and allows me to now look down at my iPhone or iPad screen while in motion, often for fairly long periods.

Here's what this feature looks like when it is enabled and, importantly, how to enable it.

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28/5/2024 0 Comments

Using your iPhone to help you hear conversations in a busy place

An iTandCoffee Club member had the following question today:
"I want to use my iPhone which is connected to my hearing aids via bluetooth to pick up busy conversations in restaurants by placing it on the table in front of the person I am speaking with. Is there an app which would enable me to do this?"

Whether it is using hearing aids or just your AirPods, the answer is a big Yes! There is a feature of your iPhone and these hearing devices that allows you to use your phone to hear conversations better in a crowded room - or any other time.

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26/11/2022 1 Comment

How you can make your iPhone always answer in 'speaker' mode by default

I have a client who prefers to always use speaker mode when answering her iPhone. She does not want to hold the phone to her ear unless she is in a situation where that is necessary (which is rarely).

There is a way that you can set up your iPhone so that it always defaults to speaker mode when you answer it.

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26/6/2022 0 Comments

Using your iPhone or iPad as a magnifier - for all that tiny text

I recently had to try to work out the model and serial number of an iPad that wouldn't start - by reading the tiny text that appears on the back of the iPad.

If you take a look at the text on the back of any iPad, you will see that it is too tiny for most eyes to read. So I made use of a built-in feature of the iPad and iPhone, one that allows you to capture a magnified version of anything - and dynamically adjust brightness, contrast, use the flash, etc to help you see the magnified text or object.

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21/4/2022 1 Comment

How to make the icons in Mac Mail easier to see

A change that came to Mac's mail in macOS Big Sur has been a source of frustration to more than one iTandCoffee client.

The icons along the top are are now smaller and fainter than they used to be, which can really be a problem for anyone with eyesight issues.

A particular iTandCoffee client asked me this week if there was anything she could do the improve the visibility of the bar of icons. Here is what I suggested - and she has just let me know that the has made a very big difference for her.

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31/7/2021 0 Comments

Get your iPad or iPhone to read the contents of an email, message or other screen content

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

An iTandCoffee Club member sought assistance recently with how to get her iPad to read the contents of her screen to her.

Her eyesight has been deteriorating making it harder to see the content of her screen, but she still wants to be able to read her emails and reply to them.

Fortunately for this client, the iPad and iPhone has a feature called 'Speak Screen' - a great feature when eyesight is an issue or to assist with reading difficulties.

The feature must first be enabled in Settings, and then there are a couple of ways to make this work when you need it.

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31/7/2021 0 Comments

How to adjust text, icon and image sizes in Mail and other places on Mac

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

For the Mail app in particular, I am often asked if there is a way to change the font size of the text.

The answer is 'yes', and there are three places that such a change can be made - and one in particular will apply to any 'sidebars' that you are viewing in some of Apple's standard apps - Finder, Mail, Notes and News

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19/4/2018 0 Comments

What a wonderful feature for those with vision impairment or reading difficulties

I always find that there is a 'theme of the week' for client appointments, and this week's has related to vision impairment and dictation using the iPad, iPhone and Mac.

The iPad and iPhone (and Mac) have some amazing features for those with difficulty viewing and reading the content of the screen, and there is one in particular that will be of particular benefit to the clients I saw this week.

It is the Speak Screen feature, where you can request that the content of the screen currently in view is read to you.

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21/7/2017 0 Comments

Slow down how quickly you have to double-press or triple-press the Home Button on the iPad or iPhone

Your iPad and iPhone has some special features that can be activated by 'double-pressing' or 'triple-pressing' on the Home Button.

Here are some past Handy Hints on the topic of the Home Button, and all the different things it can do.

For many people that we see at iTandCoffee, the 'double-press' or 'triple-press' actions are quite difficult due to the speed with which this multiple press must be performed.

It is possible to adjust a Setting, allowing for slower 'multiple-pressing' of the Home button.

This Setting is an Accessibility feature, found in Settings -> General -> Accessibility.

There are a couple of sections in Accessibility which deal with how you 'Interact' with your device. Under Interaction, you will find the Home Button option.

Tap on this option to see various options to do with pressing/tapping your Home Button.

The first section is Click Speed. Choose Slow or Slowest to allow slower 'multiple-pressing' of the Home Button.

You will then notice that you won't have to be quite as fast with your double and triple clicking.

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Tips, Tricks and News
about all sorts of technology in your life!

If you get motion sick when reading in a car, you should try this iPhone/iPad feature

Using your iPhone to help you hear conversations in a busy place

How you can make your iPhone always answer in 'speaker' mode by default

Using your iPhone or iPad as a magnifier - for all that tiny text

How to make the icons in Mac Mail easier to see

Get your iPad or iPhone to read the contents of an email, message or other screen content

How to adjust text, icon and image sizes in Mail and other places on Mac

What a wonderful feature for those with vision impairment or reading difficulties

Slow down how quickly you have to double-press or triple-press the Home Button on the iPad or iPhone

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Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 420

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YOUR CART

Tips, Tricks and News about all sorts of technology in your life!

Related Handy Hints and Articles

Receive great articles like this fortnightly to your Inbox

Follow us on Facebook

Join the iTandCoffee Club ​for free content, tutorials, videos, classes, offers, discounts and more

What's on at iTandCoffee ?

Archives

Categories

​​Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 420​to book an appointment or class, or to enquire about our services and products

Tips, Tricks and News
about all sorts of technology in your life!

Receive great articles like this
fortnightly to your Inbox

Join the iTandCoffee Club

for free content, tutorials, videos, classes, offers, discounts and more

Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 420

to book an appointment or class, or to enquire about our services and products