Right of Cursor Setting in VoiceOver

Greetings:

Apple has introduced a relatively new Cursor Output feature in VoiceOver. At least, this feature has been with us since the advent of iOS 26. The default is “as cursor passes,” which means that the character, word, or line that you hear is the thing that the cursor has passed as you move through a document or edit field. Thus, if you move character by character, moving right then left causes VoiceOver to speak the very same character--that being the character that the cursor has just passed. This principle also applies as the cursor is moved word by word or line by line.

The new Cursor Output setting (found under Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Typing) is called “Right of Cursor.” This setting very much resembles how the cursor is verbalized by screen readers in Windows when one moves through a document. With this setting in force, the screen reader speaks the character just to the left of the cursor regardless of the direction the cursor is moving. However, unlike the behavior of the cursor with Windows screen readers, in iOS, moving the cursor by word or by line still uses the “just passes” principle even if the “Right of Cursor” setting is in force.

It is because of this behavior that I have chosen not to use the “Right of Cursor” setting in iOS. Regarding the “Right of Cursor” setting, Apple should have implemented this feature for character, word, and line movement--similar to the behavior of the verbalization of cursor movement in Windows that we all have become accustomed to. Because the “Right of Cursor” setting only works for movement by character, I can see why some of us aren’t really turned on by this feature.

Cordially,

Curtis Chong