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Re: desktop and mobile standards.

for

From: Guy Hickling
Date: Jan 19, 2016 6:14AM

The information you want can be found on W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative
(WAI) pages, where they have a page specifically for mobiles
<https://www.w3.org/WAI/mobile/> which includes both mobile native apps and
web apps).

Essentially the WCAG is intended to cover all web pages and documents, and
native apps, regardless of the devices or technology used. Everything in
the WCAG is written generically as it is not limited to websites.

So it applies to mobile apps and other apps just as much as websites. The
page above says this: "WAI is working to enhance technologies for mobile
accessibility, including:* IndieUI
<http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/indieui>; *(Independent
User Interface) is a way for user actions to be communicated to web
applications, including mobile applications. This will make it easier for
applications to work with a wide range of devices, including assistive
technologies.

Of course mobiles, and the apps on them, work differently - touchscreen
gestures being a difference of course, and that is all covered on pages
you'll see links for on the page above. Another useful page they have on
the subject, for instance, is at
https://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-accessibility-mapping/.

Of course much depends on the app vendors, and they should use the W3C's
UAAG (User Agent Accessibility Guidelines), which provides extra advice to
them, but still based on the WCAG. Unfortunately app vendors are just as
far behind on accessibility as millions of major websites, probably even
more so, which is the reason for the non-compliance you mention. I hope
this helps.

Regards,
Guy Hickling
http://www.enigmaticweb.com