Most apps add accessibility as an afterthought. SimpleKeysVoice is an accessibility app — every design decision is made with the user's motor control, vision, and communication needs at the center. The app was built for a family member recovering from a brain injury, and that origin shapes everything about how it works.
SimpleKeysVoice meets or exceeds Apple's accessibility guidelines for touch target size, contrast ratio, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, and Switch Control.
Every letter button is at least 60×60pt — significantly larger than Apple's 44pt minimum — with generous spacing between keys. Designed for hands with imprecise motor control.
The entire app is navigable via Apple Switch Control. Every interactive element is reachable by switch scanning, with clear focus indicators and logical scan order.
Every button has a descriptive accessibility label. The compose bar reads the current text aloud. VoiceOver users can navigate and compose messages independently.
All text in the app — sidebar phrases, compose bar, word predictions — respects the system font size setting, including the largest accessibility sizes.
Color-coded keys (green vowels, blue numbers, gold action buttons) on a light background with strong contrast ratios. Readable in direct sunlight or low-light environments.
If you have recorded a Personal Voice in Settings → Accessibility, SimpleKeysVoice will automatically use it — letting the app speak in your own voice.
Button animations are minimal by design — only a subtle scale on press. The app remains fully usable with Reduce Motion enabled in system settings.
The app occupies the full iPad screen in landscape orientation — maximizing the size of every key and eliminating the visual complexity of navigation bars and toolbars.
Switch Control lets users operate iPad with one or more physical switches instead of direct touch. SimpleKeysVoice is designed to work well with switch scanning.
Go to Settings → Accessibility → Switch Control and turn it on. Connect your switch via Bluetooth or the headphone jack.
The scanner will move through the three main zones: the shortcuts sidebar, the letter board, and the compose bar.
Scan to the desired letter and activate with your switch. When finished, scan to the Speak button in the compose bar to read the message aloud.
For help setting up Switch Control, see Apple's Switch Control guide.
iOS 17 introduced Personal Voice, which lets you record 150 phrases to create an on-device model of your voice. SimpleKeysVoice automatically detects and uses your Personal Voice when it is available — so the app can speak in your voice, not a generic synthesized one.
This is especially meaningful for people with progressive conditions like ALS, who can record their voice while it is still strong and use it later when speech becomes difficult.
To set up Personal Voice: Settings → Accessibility → Personal Voice → Create a Personal Voice. Recording takes about 15 minutes. Once created, SimpleKeysVoice will use it automatically.
If you encounter any accessibility barrier in SimpleKeysVoice, please let us know — we treat accessibility bugs as critical issues with the highest priority.
Open an issue on GitHub with the label accessibility, or reach us at spiderink.net.