In huge news for accessibility in Pokémon GO, it appears that Niantic are A/B testing various screen reader prompts!
Under the ‘Accessibility’ menu in settings, you can now find an option to toggle on/off ‘Screen Reader’, with an option for Speech Rate too. A screen reader is typically a software application that converts visual information into speech or braille in order to allow blind and partially sighted people to use a device or app. A/B testing is a form of testing used to compare the performance of two different versions of the same thing to see which performs best. In this case, some trainers have access to the screen reader prompts, whilst others do not.
So far the Screen Reader option doesn’t seem to be available on all devices, with Android devices on app version 0.343.0 seemingly part of the A/B test. We were reached out to by blind Pokémon GO trainer Richard who reports that:
“Some sections of the game now feature screen reader prompts, and some actually have a voice reading out information. So far, I have only found these features in the ‘About’ section and confirmation prompts, such as when confirming the level-up of a Pokémon or transferring one.”
While this feature clearly has a long way to go, it is also a good step in the right direction for Pokémon GO. We’ve discussed accessibility issues with GO before, with trainers reporting a variety of issues with GO that need work. For example, previously shiny Pokémon did not have the * shiny mark on their name, so if you missed the sparkles and are colour blind, you may not realise you have encountered a shiny Pokémon. While this shiny mark has now been added, there are many issues in game that affect those who have visual disabilities. Richard has reported issues with accidentally deleting items, Pokémon fusion and more, because there are no prompts that allowed him to know what he was clicking on in game, and with ever moving and updating menus on Pokémon, this is a huge issue for those who are blind and partially sighted.
The American Foundation for the Blind have written about how Pokémon GO could be improved for the blind and partially sighted, way back in 2016. Since then while have improvements have been made, this screen reader A/B test is the biggest potential update we have seen since the game launched! One of the problems with GO is that it uses the Unity game engine, and Unity doesn’t support the Apple and Android built in accessibility features, such as Apple’s VoiceOver protocols.
We hope that this testing proves that the screen reader is a much needed addition to GO, and that it can be expanded to be available on more devices. We also hope that is can be further developed to more aspects of the game, including when catching Pokémon, and be the first step in improving accessibility in Pokémon GO.
