Practical guides for using voice input
If an issue entry sent you here, you're in the right place. This article explains what voice input software is and how it works, and points you to a hands-on guide for the voice input software on your phone. No prior experience with assistive technology is needed.
What voice input software is
Voice input software lets people operate a device by speaking instead of touching it. People with motor disabilities, such as limited hand movement, tremors, or repetitive strain injuries, use it to tap, scroll, and type with spoken commands. Common voice input software includes Voice Control (built into every iPhone, iPad, and Mac), Voice Access (Android), and Dragon (Windows).
How voice input works
Voice input software doesn't read the pixels on the screen. It reads the accessibility tree, the structured version of the screen that the app exposes, and uses each element's accessible name to find it. When a user says “Tap Send,” the software looks for an element whose accessible name matches “Send.”
This is why an app can look perfect and still fail: if a button shows the label “Send” but its accessible name is “Submit message,” saying what's on the screen does nothing. Users can only target elements by the names the app exposes, and they usually say what they see.
Why testing with it matters
Automated tools like Evinced detect issues by analyzing the code, but trying the app with voice input yourself is the most reliable way to confirm an issue and understand its real effect on users. Ten minutes with voice input is usually enough to confirm or rule out a reported issue.
Pick your guide
The guides below are written for beginners: setup, staying in control, core concepts, and a scripted first test you can follow step by step.
- Voice Control on iOS – a practical guide for beginners: Voice Control is built into every iPhone and iPad, and is the voice input software to use for testing iOS apps
- Voice Access on Android – a practical guide for beginners: Voice Access is a free app from Google, and is the voice input software to use for testing Android apps
Before you start
The first minutes with voice input can feel awkward: it may react to things you say in conversation, or type them into text fields. That's a normal part of learning, and each guide opens with the commands that keep you in control. Expect basic comfort after one short session, not mastery; confirming issues doesn't require expert skills.