After using the iOS 7 switch interface for a couple weeks, I’ve gotten pretty adept at navigating various apps. But one element of app design really frustrates me. Some apps include a menu that can be brought up with a tap on the screen. Unfortunately, the menu disappears after a few seconds. Those of us who use switches don’t have enough time to activate menu items before the menu vanishes. This design flaw is prevalent in magazine and reading apps like the New Yorker and Instapaper.
From an accessibility standpoint, it would be better if menus remain visible until dismissed with another tap (the Amazon Kindle app does it right). As app designers become more cognizant of basic accessibility principles, problems like this should disappear. Komodo OpenLab, the maker of my TECLA Shield, has great resources on how to make apps more accessible.
