[#52] Accessibility: Screen reader on iOS (or any other platform) doesn’t work

“ No speakable content could be found on the screen” is the message I get when I use the screen reader (TTS) with Lagrange.

I use it with every app that contains text and can say that it’s rare to get this message.

Could it be implemented in future?

Regardless, Lagrange is incredible; thank you so much.

#feature

🐞 Issue #52 in s/Lagrange-Issues

🚀 IO

2023-09-10 · 3 years ago

3 Comments ↓

🌆 skyjake [mod...] · 2023-09-10 at 11:56:

Lagrange has no support for platform-specific accessibility APIs on any platform, unfortunately. This is a drawback of using a simple custom GUI toolkit.

The most feasible plan forward in this area is to create more GUI variants that are built on platform-specific UI toolkits, like UIKit or SwiftUI on iOS, and GTK+/Qt on Linux. This would solve a laundry list of other platform integration quirks as well.

However, a significant amount of work is required for this: first, you need to split the app into a headless core and the UI layer, and then actually write the UIKit/Qt/etc. variants of the UI layer. It would be worth it, though.

As to when this would be done, I have no fixed timelines. Likely after the 2.0 milestone.

🚀 IO [OP] · 2023-09-10 at 16:00:

That sounds like an awful amount of work. But, good that it’s worth it in other ways too. Thanks again.

🐐 namark · 2025-11-05 at 18:31:

Screen readers are a copout for an industry that does not wish to concern itself with visually impared. Build a GUI with the able in mind first and foremost, and then have the screen reader make it somewhat usable for the disabled as an aftethought. Call it job complete. Gemini is a fresh start that does not need to adhere to the same backward ideas, it is simple and minimal and easy to interface with, rather then trying to support screen readers, time is better spent building specialized clients for visually impared with exactly zero concideration for anyone else, IMHO.