Hello!
Is it just me, or has iOS 18 made the Notes app harder to use with VoiceOver?
In the past, I was able to hide the toolbar and use explore by touch to read the contents of the text field. Now, the editing toolbar contains many more items, including some things that should really be in the Formatting menu, the "Hide Toolbar" button has vanished, and VoiceOver can't seem to locate the text field half the time. Explore by touch reveals empty space, and swiping left and right just shows the toolbar controls and the buttons at the top.
Can the toolbar be customized, or better yet, hidden entirely? I checked Notes settings, and even Googled it, but it seems that most sighted people like the toolbar the way it is, because no one else is asking.
If Notes isn't fixable, I might switch to Pages. I tested it about a year ago. It looked a bit cluttered, but the text field was reliable, at least. Then again, Notes was much more VO-friendly a year ago, so clearly, things could have changed with Pages.
I don't need much fancy formatting, just a place to write individual scenes and chapters of a story. This is a collaborative project. My co-author and I are both VO users, and Notes worked very well for us, until it didn't.
If any of you have experience with Pages, what are your thoughts? Can the formatting controls be hidden or collapsed so they don't get in the way? Does Pages have any bugs that make it particularly labor-intensive to use with VoiceOver?
Thanks for any input!
By Kelly, 2 December, 2025
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Comments
Unfortunately
I'm on iOS 18.7, and yes, this is how the notes app is these days. As far as I can tell, there is no way of changing the layout.
Drafts
Maybe you’d like the drafts app better
Alternatives for the notes app
I have continued to use the Notes app. It's still ultimately accessible if a bit more annoying than it needs to be. You may very well find that the Pages app is more suited to what you're doing. Keep in mind that it is a full fledged word processor and is therefore packed with tons of features. They do tend to keep out of your way until needed though.
For a text-focussed alternative, I would agree that you may find the Drafts app to be well worth the subscription cost. I don't feel that I'd make enough use of its many features to pay that subscription myself. The developer has long been aware of his blind audience and is known for being a champion of accessibility. You certainly wouldn't have the same issues with finding the text field and struggling with toolbars. Another more recent free alternative is something called Joplin. It's open source and cross-platform. Developers are aware of interest from blind users and the app supports VoiceOver.
You may also want to consider the Ulysses and Scrivener apps. These are designed for writers who want something more minimalist than a traditional word processor. Both of these apps make it possible to have your notes and the writing you're actually working on in the same app. Scrivener is a one-time purchase at around $30 last time I checked. I find it a bit more clunky than my preferred Ulysses app. Ulysses has a subscription fee which I'm happy to pay annually. AI Writer is another less expensive option you may want to consider. This is just scratching the surface. There are other choices for notes and writing apps. The ones I've pointed out above are known to be very accessible. Other apps may not be so try them out before paying or subscribing whenever possible. Best of luck to you and your friend.