Joe Stanganelli | The Verge

How to shop for an internet provider in your new home

2024-07-12T08:40:00-04:00

Moving is complicated, and comparing internet plans can be, too. Combine the two, and it can be even more complex.

But if you want internet and don’t want to rely solely on your phone’s data plan in your new home, it’s a necessity. Whether you’re a professional work-from-home couple spending all day on Zoom calls while raising three YouTube- and Spotify-happy teenagers or a thrifty single who spends little to no time streaming or scrolling in favor of reading books and raising chickens, you probably need home internet — at least for the chicken cam.

How to find ISPs

You probably have a rough idea of the kind of internet plan you’ll need in your new home based on what you had at your old place and how you felt about it. The first step is to see which internet service providers (ISPs) are available in your new area and what plans they offer.

Unfortunately, depending on where you’re moving, you may not have a lot of options — and you’ll need to know what they are before you go under contract. Websites like HighSpeedInternet.com, Allconnect.com, InMyArea.com, and WhistleOut let you find providers by ZIP code, though you may want to try more than one since they each offer slightly different results and they’re not always up to date.

Just because ISPs allegedly serve your ZIP code doesn’t mean all of it — they may serve all homes in an area, some, or just one. Check with each ISP you’re interested in (whether on their website or via direct contact) to make sure the company can connect to the street address of your new home — not just the neighborhood. Even in relatively built-up areas, you may find homes where the cable or fiber run stops just a couple hundred feet away with an ISP unwilling to extend it. If you live in a big-box “luxury” apartment building, a condo, an HOA, or something similar, you might be limited to only one or two ISPs. Check with your property manager or board.

Understanding your options

Keep in mind that the more people and internet-connected devices in your home, the more bandwidth you’ll need, since it has to be shared. Most people should opt for fiber or cable if available, especially if you stream a lot, work from home all or some of the time, game online, regularly take video calls, or have streaming cameras. Wi-Fi devices will be further limited by their radios, and anything on a mesh network will have further slowdowns the further it is from the main node. BroadbandNow and Consumer Reports both offer calculators to help you estimate your bandwidth needs.

Your options will generally fall among the following types of internet service, in rough order of speed and preference:

Fiber: Fiber is the best speed by far, if you can get it. In neighborhoods where fiber is available, it’s not uncommon to see gigabit (1000Mbps) plans for $100 a month or less. And unlike cable internet, it’s often symmetrical, with upload speeds nearly as fast as download. (Cable upload speeds are often capped at a fraction of their capabilities.) But it’s not as prevalent as cable, it’s more complicated to set up service, and it’s not compatible with equipment like cable modems, if you already own one and were hoping to save some cash.

Cable internet: Cable is widely available, low latency, and can usually be bundled with other services (including phone, cable, streaming bundles, and smart home / security options). In areas where cable ISPs have to compete with fiber, they tend to offer competitive gigabit-plus plans, at least for the first couple of years.

Fixed wireless: Since fixed wireless uses 4G and 5G cell networks, it’s good for areas that don’t have fiber or cable infrastructure, and it’s often much faster than satellite or DSL. But inclement weather and line-of-sight obstructions can hinder connectivity, data can be capped, and it’s only as good as the cell reception. It can be up to 1Gbps or as low as 25Mbps.

Satellite: Satellite is good for off-grid and rural areas. While it’s slower and more expensive than cable, fiber, or fixed wireless, it’s more resilient in natural disasters since it doesn’t rely on ground-based infrastructure, which can be damaged or lose power.

DSL: DSL is widely available and affordable; if you have landline service, you can probably get DSL. It’s often the slowest option — 50Mbps if you’re lucky, and even slower as you get farther from the service provider’s facilities.

Features and drawbacks to look out for

Speed: This is an obvious one. The advertised number represents download speed. The second number, representing upload speed, has become more important in the age of cloud storage, always-on cloud cameras, and video content creation for social networks.

Data caps: Not all plans are unlimited. And some plans may be “unlimited” in name only. Compare any applicable data caps with your anticipated usage, and understand the consequences of going over. (Will your service be throttled? Will you be subject to additional charges? If so, how much?)

Equipment pricing: Does the ISP let you buy your own equipment instead of using theirs (e.g., modem, routers, wireless mesh signal extenders)? If so, will they waive the monthly leasing fee on the equipment they would otherwise rent out to you? What’s the cost of that when you compare the upfront capital expenditure of buying versus leasing?

It may also help to check reviews of the ISP’s equipment against reviews of third-party equipment to see if it’s even worthwhile to buy your own. Sometimes the ISP’s equipment is functionally competitive, and nowadays it’s common for companies to throw in whole-home Wi-Fi instead of a single access point.

Contracts and introductory pricing: The best deal you can get is a low price with no contract. But that’s not always doable. Some internet plans offer introductory pricing that expires after a certain number of months. Others require you to sign a contract for a year or two to get attractive pricing. Always ask how long pricing is guaranteed for, what the price will go up to after that period, and how long — if at all — you’ll be contractually obligated to stick around to avoid a penalty. (Also, find out what that penalty is.)

Installation fees: There’s not a lot of DIY in the land of ISPs; you’ll almost certainly have to have a technician come out to set you up. If installation isn’t free, you can sometimes talk the sales rep into waiving part or all of the fee. Just ask. (That’s how I always get my installation fees waived.)

Check the nutrition label — and the neighbors

Things have gotten a bit easier since the Federal Communications Commission mandated that fixed and mobile ISPs post user-friendly broadband “nutrition labels.” The labels outline many of the items discussed in this article, including pricing information, data caps, and speeds — as well as a lot of other important information, like taxes, early termination fees, privacy policy links, customer support information, etc.

To better understand the packages you’re considering, look for the nutrition label on an ISP’s website or in any of their retail locations, i.e., at any of their points of sale.

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The real experts on your local ISPs are current and former customers. Find online reviews on sites like HighSpeedInternet.com or Trustpilot. Poke around forums and social networks like Reddit to look for common complaints. If feasible, talk to people in the neighborhood directly about their own ISP and their experiences.

And my favorite trick: join the most popular community Facebook group(s) for people in the neighborhood — and just ask. (A few such groups require actual residency and will verify, but many others won’t mind if you haven’t moved to the area yet.) This works especially well in the suburbs and exurbs; Gen X townies often love to dish on who the best and worst companies to do business with in the area are, ISPs included.

Pick up the phone — yes, really

Yes, you can often sign up for an internet plan on the internet without ever talking to a human being. But unless you have enough money to swim around in, Scrooge McDuck-style, I don’t recommend it. No hate to you introverts out there, but bargains travel with empathy — and empathy happens in conversation. If you want the best deal, you’re going to have to dial and talk.

Once you and the sales rep have identified the package you’re targeting and the pricing, your two goals are (1) to sweet-talk the rep into giving you a better deal and (2) to discover the “fine print” and any details you don’t like. For the first, break out the charm and your best negotiation tactics (mentioning any other ISP that you’re considering never hurts, for example). For the second, grill the rep on all the “things to look for” points above.

Rinse and repeat for other ISPs you’re considering (making sure you get the sales rep’s name, their direct line / extension, and a reference number each time). And don’t forget your current ISP if you haven’t ruled them out; if they offer service in your area, they may be willing to sweeten your deal with them in exchange for your continued business, especially if there are promotions you qualify for (which an ISP’s phone rep can find more easily than you can on your own).

When all is said and done, you’ll be equipped to pick the deal that works best for you. Happy internetting!

P.S. If you’re switching, don’t forget to break up with your current ISP (and return any equipment of theirs).

Microsoft’s Adaptive Accessories are a tradeoff

2023-02-07T10:12:28-05:00

Like many people, I have invisible accessibility needs. I’m not in constant barely bearable pain these days (I used to be!), but certain movements come at a physical cost: sustained reaching, hunching over a laptop — things like that.

The complicating factor is that I hate using computer accessories marketed for “accessibility.” Too many accessibility tools have a user experience tradeoff — either in functionality, comfort, or simplicity.

Too many accessibility tools have a user experience tradeoff in functionality, comfort, or simplicity

Consequently, I’ve become set in my ways when it comes to my work setup. I use a well-placed touchpad (with a wrist rest) in lieu of a mouse, and I keep a keyboard in my lap so I can sit back in my way too pricey ergonomic chair without reaching forward. Still, it’s not the most convenient thing in the world. So if there’s a better way, I’m game.

Recently, I had the opportunity to test four new and long-awaited accessories from Microsoft: the Adaptive Hub ($59.99) the Adaptive D-pad Button ($39.99), the Adaptive Mouse ($44.99), and the Adaptive Mouse Tail and Thumb Support ($14.99).

All of these are compatible with Windows 10 and 11 — good news for the upgrade-phobic among you — and can be configured through the Microsoft Accessory Center app. They can also be used with devices running other OSes, but they require initial configuration on a Windows PC. They also function wirelessly (via Bluetooth) or while hardwired via a USB-C cable (which also charges them).

On the whole, these devices do a good job of providing the opportunity to make a lot of actions and functionalities more accessible via simple long and short button presses without the burden of having to reach forward across a desk (something that’s super important to people like me; see above). In other words, they more or less do what they set out to do. They are also sized for portability — and thus, accessibility. Any of these (short of, perhaps, the Adaptive Mouse Tail) could comfortably fit in your pocket — even the way too small pockets on women’s jeans.

I do have nitpicks, however. I’m not a fan of the materials / texture. All of the Microsoft Adaptive Accessories I tested have a very (and forgive me because this is going to sound weirdly obvious) plasticky feel. They are at once too textured and not textured enough. The casings feel cheap and unpleasantly rough.

That said, let’s delve into those accessibility functions. (Keep in mind that I’ve looked at these in terms of my own needs; for other people, these accessories may work differently or suit them better.)

The Microsoft Adaptive Hub

The Adaptive Hub enables the devices that provide accessibility. | Photo by Joe Stanganelli for The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Photo by Joe Stanganelli for The Verge" />

The Adaptive Hub is a small black box-shaped device about the size and shape of a portable USB charger. “Hub” is the key word here. It doesn’t so much provide functionality as it enables the devices that provide accessibility. It’s sort of a wireless docking station for your other adaptive devices — and not just other Microsoft Adaptive Accessories. The Adaptive Hub has five 3.5mm ports and three USB-C ports (not counting the charging port), all configurable, for connecting adaptive buttons and switches. It also has a Bluetooth pairing button.

What I really like about the Adaptive Hub is that it features a profile button allowing you to switch between three separate device profiles. Each profile can be customized so that your adaptive devices function one particular way when the Adaptive Hub is set to that profile. This means that up to three different people can use the same adaptive accessories with their own individual configurations via the Adaptive Hub. Or, if you don’t have to share, it means that one person can effectively triple the number of functions their individual adaptive accessories offer.

You can also customize a set of button actions for a specific app via a fourth profile, Profile 0.

The Microsoft Adaptive D-pad Button

The D-pad features a pushable button for eight cardinal directions plus the center for a ninth pushable area. | Photo by Joe Stanganelli for The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Photo by Joe Stanganelli for The Verge" />

The Adaptive Button is a small square-shaped device about the size of the aggregate of keys one through nine on my keyboard’s 10-key number pad. The one I received came with a D-pad topper on it out of the box, but the Adaptive Button is customizable. Microsoft sells at least two other toppers, including a joystick topper and a two-button topper. The company has also partnered with Shapeways, a 3D-printing company that creates other 3D-printed toppers and add-ons to fit specific needs. (Changing the topper, by the way, requires some awkward pressing and twisting.)

This review, however, will focus on the D-pad.

The D-pad features a pushable button for eight cardinal directions plus the center for a ninth pushable area. You can use the Microsoft Accessory Center app to customize what each of these does for a short press and a long press; effectively, the D-pad gives you 18 functions or actions (including, if you like, macros) per profile.

The Adaptive Button is small and has rubbery feet so you can hold or situate it however you like — almost. The square shape of the Adaptive Button device is not the most ergonomic design, depending on how you want to use it. I found it to be uncomfortable to hold for extended periods of time (i.e., to control with my thumb); the size and shape are more for portability than anything else.

Additionally, because it is perfectly square, perfectly symmetrical, and entirely black, it is not always easy to tell which side is which — so I sometimes got confused when figuring out which button to press. All you have to go by are the power button and pairing button (both small and the same color as the rest of the device) on the down side and the USB-C charging port on the up side. There are no other indicators. Perhaps it would help to put stickers on the D-pad.

My biggest complaint about the D-pad is the lack of satisfying haptics. The button is mushy and not deep at all. It did not particularly feel like I’d pressed it when I had. (Some people, I think, prefer these kinds of haptics; I am not among them.) The haptic sensations were also inconsistent across the D-pad. Some sides / corners felt different from others in terms of clickiness. Meanwhile, the center press required significantly more pressure than the side or corner presses.

In any case, the D-pad is not going to be the best topper choice for everyone.

The Microsoft Adaptive Mouse

The Adaptive Mouse features two clickable buttons and a scroll wheel. | Photo by Joe Stanganelli for The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Photo by Joe Stanganelli for The Verge" />

The Adaptive Mouse (which connects to your computer directly instead of via the Adaptive Hub) is roughly the same size and shape as the Adaptive Button, except that it has rounded corners and edges (suitable to mouse-dom) and is slightly shorter. It features two clickable buttons and a clickable scroll wheel. Both the buttons and the clickable scroll wheel can be configured for action / function shortcuts for both short presses and long presses, the same way that the Adaptive Button can.

In a world where middle button / scroll wheel clicks and right-clicks aren’t as indispensable as they were 20 years ago, this added functionality adds new and exciting layers of usefulness to what would otherwise be a standard mouse. For example, I set the middle button short press to open Notepad and the long press to open Calculator — two apps I use a lot; it’s not like I was using middle clicks for anything else, after all.

But what the Adaptive Mouse adds in productivity and functionality, it subtracts in physically accessible design. Like the Adaptive Button, its size and shape make it especially handy for travel — but these same factors make it especially uncomfortable for standard use as a mouse. It is far too small for a palm-down grip. And it is too small and smooth for a comfortably sustainable claw grip; as soon as you begin to click a button, you risk losing your grip on it.

All this needed in the design, perhaps, would have been some tiny bumps for texture on the mouse buttons to keep it from sliding away. We can hope that Microsoft offers this in a Microsoft Adaptive Mouse 2.0. Until then, you can stick something on it yourself (perhaps a furniture slider) to keep it from slipping out of your hand. Otherwise, you’ll need a 3D-printed solution (whether home-brewed or from Shapeways) if, for some reason, you’d like your mouse to comfortably remain in your hand while you use it.

The Microsoft Adaptive Mouse Tail and Thumb Support

The Thumb Support attaches to the mouse. | Photo by Joe Stanganelli for The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Photo by Joe Stanganelli for The Verge" />

But wait — there is another solution. You could purchase the Adaptive Mouse Tail and Thumb Support add-on for the Adaptive Mouse. It attaches to the rear of the mouse (once you slip off part of the casing), turning the Adaptive Mouse into something resembling the Microsoft Arc Mouse in terms of shape and letting you use it as a more traditional mouse.

The Thumb Support attachment, which comes with it, can mercifully attach and reattach on either side, making this add-on just as useful for lefties as for righties. (Or you can leave it off if you prefer an alternative grip.)

On the downside, the otherwise nicely responsive buttons on the Adaptive Mouse aren’t designed or angled well for this sort of use. A standard mouse typically lets you push anywhere on the button without much differentiation in force to register the click. Here, when using the Adaptive Mouse Tail with the Adaptive Mouse, I had to make a more conscious effort to either position my fingers toward the far tips of the buttons or press harder. It doesn’t make the Adaptive Mouse with Mouse Tail unusable, but it takes some getting used to.

My conclusion? In my estimation, all of these accessories represent laudable continuations of Microsoft’s entry into the adaptive accessories market. They’ve got some genuinely helpful features in the form of portability, multiple profiles, and click- and reach-saving shortcuts. They can also be adjusted to your needs via Shapeways’ 3D-printed designs. But they come with some UX tradeoffs (unappealing texture, slipperiness, poor ergonomics, subpar haptic design) — things that need to be improved for optimal accessibility.

Photography by Joe Stanganelli for The Verge.

How to minimize distractions when you work from home

2022-08-04T08:00:00-04:00

I’ve been working from home for close to 15 years. I also have ADHD. And a lot of streaming subscriptions. And a PlayStation. And hundreds of books. And a partner who also sometimes works from home and is equally aware of the presence of said streaming subscriptions, PlayStation, and books.

The point is that my home is full of distractions. Yours probably is, too. Maybe different distractions from mine, but distractions nonetheless. And, like many workers, it may have taken you a pandemic to discover that it can be hard to avoid these distractions when working from home. (Work itself provides plenty of distractions already, if you’re not careful— the continuous pings of emails and Slacks can make you feel like you’re working all the time but never actually getting anything done.)

Sure, there are productivity and project management apps. But Todoist isn’t going to help you resist the siren call of TikTok, and Trello isn’t going to play catch with the dog. At a certain point, you can only manage your distractions by managing yourself.

Accept your distractibility

The first step to mitigating distractions when working from home is to accept that you become distracted because humans are distractible. It is part of your nature. And that’s okay.

Take, for instance, someone who keeps oversleeping because they hit the snooze button on their alarm nine times before finally getting up. Seasoned oversleepers know that one way to overcome this is to keep the alarm clock several feet from the bed — requiring the would-be oversleeper to get out of bed and walk across the room to hit the snooze button each time the alarm goes off. At a certain point, it becomes more restful to just stay awake.

You can do the same thing with distractions — by setting yourself up to be distracted from your distractions when you inevitably succumb to them (if not beforehand).

Set yourself up to be distracted from your distractions when you inevitably succumb to them

Let’s say that your weakness is television, and you know if you decide to “take a quick break” in front of the TV, it’s an even-money shot that you’ll still be on the couch three hours later.

If you can’t resist the siren call of your Vizio, then set yourself up for, if not success, minimal failure. Don’t risk getting sucked into a binge-worthy hour-long drama with eight episodes to go — and if you do, don’t wait to pull out until the end of an episode, when you’ll probably be at your most desperate to see what happens next. Instead, put on something simple that gets in and out of a story fast. A kids’ cartoon that’s separated into six-minute installments. A documentary series that takes only five minutes to explain how baseball gloves are made before moving on to medical electrodes. A daytime talk show that settles questions of a child’s paternity or a lover’s fidelity between commercials for mesothelioma lawyers. Something that will quickly leave you ready to move on to something new.

Or let’s say your weakness is a particular phone app. You might benefit from some kind of barrier to getting sucked into it. My editor Nathan tells me that he’s had success logging out of, or outright deleting, addictive apps if he’s on deadline. Personally, I like to leave my phone in the next room sometimes. (After all, the phone is there for my convenience, not other people’s.

Set daily limits

But let’s say you don’t want to go quite that far, either because you have the kind of job that requires you to frequently have or be using your phone or because you’ve got a bad case of nomophobia. You can set daily time limits for individual apps in Android and iOS.

In Android

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Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls
Tap the chart
Tap Set timer next to the app you want to limit
Select the time limit you want to set, then tap Set

In iOS

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Go to Settings > Screen Time
Make sure Screen Time is turned on
Go to App Limits
Tap Add Limit
Select app categories or individual apps that you want to limit
Tap Next
Select the time limit you want to set (Optional: You can tap Customize Days to set time limits for specific days)
Tap Add

(Oh, and don’t forget to disable push notifications.)

If you live with someone sufficiently kind and understanding (and especially if they work from home, too), try the buddy system. Know each other’s bad habits. Then, if one of you catches the other “stuck” in some distraction, gently call it to the other’s attention in a bid to snap them out of it. A simple “Hey. You’re stuck. Get unstuck” can work wonders if you’re both committed to doing better.

To be clear, the goal isn’t to avoid non-work at all costs. The goal is to manage distractions. Sometimes, that means leaning in.

Schedule everything

While recovering from a car accident years ago, my occupational therapist told me not only to take frequent breaks as I worked from home but also to schedule those breaks on my calendar — and to stick to them as religiously as if they were a work call or a deadline. Ditto for household chores, walks outside, and just about anything else that wasn’t “work.” Even eating had to go in the calendar.

I smiled and nodded and ignored this advice. I continued to struggle.

I smiled and nodded and ignored this advice. I continued to struggle

Finally, I gave in — scheduling things like laundry, snacks, and exercise such that I was never working for more than 55 uninterrupted minutes (and usually less). A typical day in my calendar would have 30- to 55-minute work blocks punctuated by chore breaks, food breaks, exercise breaks, rest breaks, and errands. Every minute during my scheduled workday was accounted for.

And sure enough, my physical condition gradually improved. (I’m better now, by the way.) But there was a curious side effect: I was way more productive. Scheduling my distractions and my other non-work into my day, compelling myself to engage in them as forcefully as I would any “work” task, made me more efficient at and more focused on my work. And sticking to a strict schedule for mundanities like “watch TV” and “do laundry” helped me manage my ADHD symptoms — without it ever feeling grueling.

(I also got more laundry done.)

It turns out this resembles the Pomodoro Technique — a time-management method developed in the 1980s, whereby you work in 25-minute intervals punctuated by short breaks. And my routine even more closely resembles the 52/17 rule — a Pomodoro variation proposed by the Draugiem Group, makers of the productivity app DeskTime. In 2014, the company reported finding that DeskTime’s most productive users would work for 52 minutes at a time, then break for 17 minutes, and so on. Their breaks became more “effective” because they would be 100 percent dedicated to taking a break during those 17-minute allotments — and, by extension, more dedicated during their 52 minutes of work.

The takeaway here is that breaks need to happen, so put them on your calendar. To the extent practicable, schedule everything during your work-from-home workday. Everything. From that phone call you need to make to your doctor’s office to the time you’d like to spend playing Fortnite. (And, of course, your actual work.)

Ditto for meeting the needs of your cohabitants. Roommates, partners, family, pets — anyone you live with is going to want something from you from time to time. You’ll need to get really good at saying no if you want to minimize distractions (learning to say no goes beyond the scope of this article), but there are things you’re going to have to say yes to. At some point, the kids will need to be picked up, the trash will need to go out, dinner will have to be made / ordered, etc. Schedule as much as you can in advance. And if you both work from home, tag-team responsibilities (e.g., “I’ll take toddler duty during the even hours, you take toddler duty during the odd hours.”)

Also, don’t forget negative scheduling. Sometimes, distractions are even more unwelcome than usual (such as when you’re on a video call, working on a complicated problem, or rushing to get a project finished). Just as you would do (or, at least, should do) with your remote coworkers, be communicative. Let those you live with know in advance that 1:30-2:30PM tomorrow is off-limits. Or that if your door is all the way closed, don’t come a-knockin’.

The corollary of all of this is that, to avoid distractions while working from home, you also have to avoid work distractions while living from home. Unless you truly have the kind of job where you have to be available 24/7, make sure that when you’re off the clock, you’re off the clock — whether for dinnertime, bedtime, family time, or alone time. You can’t make the most of your work if you’re making the least of your life.

How to make the most of your iPhone’s accessibility features

2022-07-15T08:30:00-04:00

Apple offers a lot of accessibility options for the iPhone. Having difficulty seeing things on your iPhone? Make them bigger. You can also make them brighter (or less bright, or even differently colored if you have a form of colorblindness). You can even make them less migraine-inducing, or have Siri read and describe everything on your screen to you.

If you need help when it comes to hearing sounds and voices on your iPhone, you can adjust audio dynamics, read transcriptions, or have your iPhone flash a bright light when you get a call or a notification.

Maybe you prefer a different way to control your iPhone. You can customize touch gestures — or even use the AssistiveTouch feature to use single taps where more complicated touch gestures might otherwise be needed. You can integrate peripherals to avoid having to touch your phone much at all. You can even use voice commands.

Or maybe you need another accessibility solution. This article will at least help you get started off in the right direction.

The Accessibility Menu

The iOS accessibility menu presents four categories of accessibility options, which you can find by going to Settings > Accessibility.

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Vision: features that will help you see things better or that will describe what’s on your screen
Physical and Motor: features that can help you control your iPhone using your voice, external switches, or physical movements
Hearing: features that will help you hear your iPhone better and/or create a visual aid to accompany sounds
General: a catch-all category of miscellaneous features

This is where you can access and configure each accessibility feature. Some accessibility settings are simple and straightforward. Others are more complex, presenting lots of options and additional features.

To get you started, here’s an introductory overview of each iOS accessibility setting.

Vision Accessibility Options

VoiceOver: When VoiceOver is enabled, your phone will read out loud any text selection you tap on your screen (and/or a description thereof, where text may not be applicable) — and add or substitute new touch gestures for certain functions — opening up a new world of commands through multi-fingered taps and swipes. (For instance, by default, VoiceOver enables a one-finger triple-tap to enable the long press command — such as you might use for dragging an icon.) The VoiceOver setting screen is also where you can connect and configure an external Braille display.
Zoom: Magnifies the entire screen or separate windows.
Display & Text Size: Allows you to adjust text size, button outlines, brightness, colors, and contrast, among other options.

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Motion: Reduces on-screen animation/motion effects and/or autoplay features like video previews and fullscreen message effects.
Spoken Content: Enables your phone to speak words, letters, and emoji descriptions — even as you type them. You can choose voices for different languages and the speaking rate. You can also add the pronunciations of common words or names.

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Audio Descriptions: Autoplays audio description tracks of videos, when available.

Physical and Motor Accessibility Options

Touch: Enables and adjusts alternative tap- and touch-based controls for the iPhone, including AssistiveTouch; more explanations a little further down. (The Verge has written about one of these controls, called Back Tap.)
Face ID & Attention: Allows you to set your iPhone to check that you’re looking at it for Face ID unlocking and other features to work.
Switch Control: Lets you control your device through ability switches, devices that offer an alternative method of controlling your computer. (WARNING: Do not turn this on if you do not use ability switches. Some users report that turning on Switch Control without having an ability switch configured pseudo-bricked their phones.)

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Voice Control: Lets you control your device through voice commands instead of taps and gestures.
Side Button (or, for older phones, Home Button): Changes side button or home button settings; for example, slows down click speed, or controls voice assistants.
Apple TV Remote: Lets you control your device with the directional buttons on an Apple TV Remote.
Keyboards: Lets you use an external keyboard to control your device.

How to use AssistiveTouch

By default, certain tasks on the iPhone require awkward or sophisticated gestures — even simple tapping and dragging have to be done with a certain degree of precision. When you turn AssistiveTouch on, a transparent button will appear and remain hovering on the screen (which you can tap and drag to relocate).

To turn on AssistiveTouch:

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch
Select AssistiveTouch at the top of the screen.

Tapping the button once (by default) will open the AssistiveTouch menu, which makes certain features — otherwise managed by the side button or volume button, or by swiping motions — accessible with a single tap on the screen. You can customize from the AssistiveTouch settings screen by selecting Customize Top Level Menu.

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On the AssistiveTouch page, you can find additional options to connect and set up a mouse or other peripheral pointer device to your iPhone and use AssistiveTouch to control it.

Hearing Accessibility Options

Hearing Devices: Allows you to pair your iPhone with “Made for iPhone” hearing aids and sound processors. Also has an audio optimization setting for hearing aids.
Sound Recognition: When you turn Sound Recognition on, your iPhone will listen for specific sounds that you select (such as alarms, pets, appliances, people, etc.), and then notify you when one of those sounds is detected.
RTT/TTY: Enables the ability to make RTT and/or TTY calls. (This may not be available on your phone depending upon your carrier and/or your country or region.)
Audio/Visual: Allows you to optimize and customize audio quality, volume, balance, and dynamics when listening with headphones or earbuds (with additional accommodations available for official Apple and Beats headphones). There is also an option to have your iPhone’s LED light flash to alert you to incoming calls and other alerts (you can turn LED flash alerts off when your iPhone is in silent mode).
Subtitles & Captioning: Enables captioning and transcriptions for supported video content and/or HomePod announcements.

General Accessibility Options

Guided Access: Restricts use of your device to a single app for a period of time or indefinitely until a passcode is entered. This can work well if you’re trying to get something done on a phone app, but you’re subject to distraction by other apps on your phone. It also means you can let someone else use an app or watch a video on your phone without worrying about them poking through your personal business.
Siri: Adjusts settings for Siri. You can enable typing to Siri instead of talking, indicate when you want Siri to speak her responses, turn on ambient listening for the activation phrase “Hey Siri,” and set apps to remain visible behind an active Siri interface.
Accessibility Shortcut: Sets an accessibility feature to be activated by triple-clicking the side button (or, for older phones, the home button).
Per-App Settings: Enables app-specific accessibility settings for any apps you add here.

As you poke around, you’ll notice that many of these accessibility features have a lot of sub-features and sub-sub-features to tinker with. Whatever your accessibility needs, there’s a not-bad chance that the iPhone offers a solution.