watson

Getestete Version: 2.7.1

The watson News app delivers news and background information from the fields of society, politics, business, digital and sports around the clock in the form of articles and videos.

Overall assessment of the app watson

Overall assessment: Poor accessibility.

Full name: watson News
Publisher: Fixxpunkt AG
Publisher country: CH
Informationen about the app
Tested version: 2.7.1
Operating system: iOS
Overall assessment normalised: 0.55
– Share of accessibility profile: 0.32 (50% out of 0.64)
– Share of feasibility grade: 0.23 (50% out of 0.46)
Valuation information
The assessments and ratings relate exclusively to the version 2.7.1 of the app tested by us in the period from June to August 2023.

Accessibility profile

Tabelle Aspekte des Accessibility-Profil

Aspect Rating
Mobile operability 2.5 out of 5 points
Keyboard operability 3.5 out of 5 points
Voice control 4.5 out of 5 points
Compatibility with user agents 1.5 out of 5 points
Assistance with interactions 3.5 out of 5 points
Consistency/predictability 5 out of 5 points
Semantic structure 3.5 out of 5 points
Comprehensibility 4.5 out of 5 points
Display flexibility 2.5 out of 5 points
Contrast and sensory characteristics 3.5 out of 5 points
Non-text content graphics 4 out of 5 points
Multimedia alternatives No rating
Average value 3 out of 5 points
The maximum achievable score is 5 points.

On a normalised scale, the score of the accessibility profile corresponds to 0.64 points. This value is weighted at 50% in the overall assessment.

  • Mobile operability: Usability and full display of content in portrait and landscape format; pointing actions and operability by device movement possible with conventional input methods.
  • Keyboard operability: Interactive elements can only be operated with a keyboard and are highlighted when focused on.
  • Voice control: Controls have an accessible label that corresponds exactly to the visual description/name.
  • Compatibility with user agents: User agents and assistive technologies are informed about changes in the state of the user interface as well as status messages.
  • Assistance with interactions: Interaction with forms; pointer entries can be cancelled or undone.
  • Consistency/predictability: Consistent navigation; context remains when focused in or during input.
  • Semantic structure: Content is labelled with structural elements such as headings, lists and labels that reflect the context of meaning.
  • Comprehensibility: Headings, form labels and link texts are understandable, correct language declaration is used.
  • Display flexibility: The presentation of the content can be adapted to the needs of the users: text size, control over animated elements and media.
  • Contrast and sensory characteristics: Adequate contrasts, no expressions such as ‘in the picture on the right’ or ‘click the red button’; information is not conveyed solely by colour.
  • Non-text content (graphics): Informative graphic elements have useful alternative texts.
  • Multimedia alternatives Multimedia content is compatible with at least one alternative sensory channel.
Value range Meaning
4.5 to 5 points Good accessibility
4 points Conditional accessibility
3 to 3.5 points Insufficient accessibility
0 to 2.5 points Poor accessibility

Diagramm Aspekte Accessibility-Profil

Presentation of accessibility by type of limitation

Type of restriction Degree of compliance
Motor skills 66%
Sight 68%
Hearing 20%
Cognition 68%

Feasibility of use scenarios

Grade
2.8
The highest grade is 6.

On a normalised scale, the grade corresponds to 0.46 points. This value is weighted at 50% in the overall assessment.

Key findings

The settings area of the app is hard to find and operate with a screen reader. Likewise, the app’s main menu cannot be perceived as such by screen reader users due to the meaningless designation ‘24’. The app generally lacks semantically effective headings. As a result, screen readers and other technical aids cannot recognise the content structure. The contrast ratios of the controls and icons are inadequate in several places. All in all, keyboard operation isn’t suitable for everyday use: the keyboard focus is often not visible, making it unclear which element has been selected. The message overview can only be scrolled when using the keyboard by jumping to more distant items with the Tab key. However, content is often skipped. To get back to the menu, you have to jump back to the top of the item list with the tab key. The videos provided in ‘watson News’ are neither subtitled nor do they provide audio description. As a result, they are inaccessible to a variety of user groups.

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