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Play Books   by Google 

  • Reading System Play Books  
  • Vendor Google
  • Assistive Technology: TalkBack 
  • OS: Android 
  • Tested with Braille: No
  • Tested with Screenreader: Yes
  • Input type: Touch

Results for Basic Functionality: 66.67%

Last updated: 19 July 2023

Test book used: Fundamental Accessibility Tests: Basic Functionality, version 1.0.0

These tests were done by Prashant Ranjan Verma.

Summary

Play Books 2023.6.12.0.1 Android 12 The app is more suited for using the Read Aloud feature instead of Talkback for reading. Due to the unique design of the app, many features although supported are not useful for the Talkback users. The Talkback reading and navigation is confined to the current page and because of this the app cannot be used for regular continuous reading.

Test results for Basic Functionality
Test ID Name Description Result Notes
file-010 Operating system/Platform accessibility If you are using a hardware device, it can be started independently and essential accessibility for starting and exiting applications is available. Pass
file-110 The reading system can be activated independently If you are using a reading app that requires you to create an online account then the complete getting started process should be accessible. Pass
file-210 Open content Open the Fundamental Accessibility Test book in the reading system. Pass The test book was uploaded to Play books from device memory
file-310 Listing documents Check if you can navigate inside the bookshelf. Pass
nav-005 The table of contents in the app presents the content hierarchy Check if the table of Contents is accessible and its hierarchy is presented correctly by the reading system Pass The app provides controls to expand and collapse the chapters in the TOC. The Talkback users can get some information about the hierarchy from this.
nav-010 Navigate to chapters through the Table of Contents Check if you can navigate to a section by using the table of contents. Fail After selecting a TOC item, the page preview is shown. It is not possible to start Talkback reading from the desired section.
nav-110 Navigate content by pages Check if you can navigate the content by pages. Fail
nav-210 Navigate forward and backward through reflowed content Use any control or command to navigate forward and backwards in the book content. Pass Reflowed page navigation is available.
nav-310 Read navigation information Use the "Where am I?" or any other similar command available in the reading system and check if you can get information about your current position in the book. Fail All desired information cannot be obtained without losing reading position.
nav-410 Perform a search, review the search results Perform a search, review the search results and navigate to the selected search result in the content. Fail Reading cannot be started precisely from the searched term.
nav-510 Move across chapters without using TOC Check if you can move across chapters without having to use the Table of Contents. Pass With page navigation chapters can be navigated.
anno-010 Add a Bookmark or Highlight Some reading systems may have a Highlight feature in place of Bookmarks. The tests for Bookmarks may then be performed with Highlights. Pass Bookmark can be added at current screen/page level.
anno-110 Review and navigate Bookmarks or Highlights Check if you can review and navigate Bookmarks or Highlights. Pass It is possible to navigate to the screen/page containing the bookmark.
anno-210 Add a note Add a Note at this location in the book. Provide a few lines of text in the Note. Pass On double tap and hold a menu pops up. With Talkback add note option can be activated. However, precise text selection is not supported with Talkback.
anno-310 Review and navigate Notes Check if you can review and navigate Notes. Fail It is not possible to determine the text on which note was added.

Results for Non-visual Reading: 71.43%

Last updated: 19 July 2023

Test book used: Fundamental Accessibility Tests: Non-Visual Reading, version 1.0.0

These tests were done by Prashant Ranjan Verma.

Summary

Play Books 2023.6.12.0.1 Android 12 The app is more suited for using the Read Aloud feature instead of Talkback for reading. Due to the unique design of the app, many features although supported are not useful for the Talkback users. The Talkback reading and navigation is confined to the current page and because of this the app cannot be used for regular continuous reading.

Test results for Non-visual Reading
Test ID Name Description Result Notes
reading-010 Initiate "read from here" Focus on the beginning of a paragraph or a sentence and initiate reading. Reading should continue until interrupted by the user or at the end of the current document, e.g. current chapter. The text being read should preferably remain in view, but this is not a requirement to pass the test. Fail The Talkback reading is limited to the current screen/page. It does not proceed to the next screen/page.
reading-110 Stop and resume reading Initiate reading from any point in the book. Stop reading and note the last read position. Initiate reading again and check if reading starts at the last read location. Pass Talkback reading is limited to current screen only. Hence resume feature is of not much relevance.
reading-210 All text should be read in the proper order Sample text has been provided to test the reading order. The Paragraph 2 should be read after Paragraph 1. Note that visually Paragraph 2 is placed to the left of Paragraph 1 but it is second in the reading order. Pass
reading-310 Image alternate text reading Ensure that the alternate text for the image is available. Pass
reading-410 Change reading speed It should be possible to adjust (increase/decrease) the speed of reading. This test should be performed using the Assistive Technology being used for accessibility evaluation. Pass
reading-510 TTS allows pause for headings, paragraphs, list items, etc The user should be able to identify the difference between content items such as headings, paragraphs or list items by sufficient pauses in the TTS reading or appropriate formatting in the Braille device. Pass
reading-610 Navigate between the cells, rows and columns in the table Check if you can navigate between the rows and columns of the table Pass Table cells can be navigated using the default Talkback gesture. Talkback also reads the column headers during navigation. Navigation by orws and columns should also be provided.provide
reading-710 Navigate between internal hyperlinks Check if you can navigate between internal hyperlinks. Fail On using the back link, Talkback focus does not land on the correct location.
reading-810 Move to the next block item Check if you can move to the next available page element e.g. paragraph, image or table by using a common key/gesture like swipe right, down arrow etc. Pass Text can be navigated with different Talkback commands.
reading-910 Navigate by characters Check if it is possible to navigate to next and previous character in the book text by way of any command or gesture. Pass
reading-1010 Navigate by words Check if it is possible to navigate to next and previous word in the book text by way of any command or gesture. Pass
reading-1110 Navigate by lines Check if it is possible to navigate to next and previous line in the book text by way of any command or gesture. Pass
reading-1210 Navigate the content by headings Check if you can move to the next and previous headings in this book without using the Table of Contents. Fail Heading navigation with Talkback although supported is confined to the current screen only and hence is not useful.
reading-1310 Select and copy text Reading systems should provide the ability to copy pieces of text that could be used for notes, in quotations, or to facilitate searching terms contained in the book. In some cases, this could be achieved using an AT such as a screen reader, for instance with a dedicated cursor or other procedures. Fail Text selection cannot be expanded or contracted with Talkback.

Results for Extended Descriptions: 0%

Last updated: 19 July 2023

Test book used: Accessibility Tests Extended Descriptions, version 1.1.1

These tests were done by Prashant Ranjan Verma.

Summary

Play Books 2023.6.12.0.1 Android 12

Test results for Extended Descriptions
Test ID Name Description Result Notes
extdescription-010 Detection and Utilization of HTML Details and Summary elements Check if you can use HTML details and summary successfully and read the extended description contained in it. Fail The details element cannot be expanded or collapsed
extdescription-020 Technique for linking to a single extended description placed in a separate HTML file via text hyperlinks Check if activating the hyperlink placed under the image takes you to a separate HTML file with extended descriptions, and the back link there brings you back to the image. Fail The focus does not go to the desired heading although image description can be read from beginning since it is the only content on the page. The back link takes focus to the top of page where link was activated.

Results for Mathematics: 25%

Last updated: 19 July 2023

Test book used: Accessibility Tests Mathematics, version 1.1.1

These tests were done by Prashant Ranjan Verma.

Summary

Play Books 2023.6.12.0.1 Android 12

Test results for Mathematics
Test ID Name Description Result Notes
mathml-010 Navigating block MathML with assistive technology and other technologies The test checks if block MathML works with assistive technology and related technologies. Fail I was able to read the text in the math expression but it did not make sense because you do not hear subscript or the information about being in the numerator or denominator of the fraction. Visual: the math expression is displayed correctly
mathml-020 Navigating inline MathML with assistive technology and other technologies The test checks if inline MathML works with assistive technology and related technologies. Fail I was able to read the text in the math expression but it did not make sense because you do not hear subscript or the information about being in the numerator or denominator of the fraction. Visual: the math expression is displayed correctly
math-image-030 Navigating Block Math images followed by Summary/Details with MathML The test checks if block MathML works with assistive technology and related technologies in a HTML Summary/Details as an option to get at the native MathML. Fail I was able to hear the alt text. The details were collapsed, I was unable to expand it with Talkback. Visual: the math expression is displayed correctly
math-image-040 Navigating Inline Math images followed by commented out MathML This test shows an inline math expression as an image with only alt-text describing the math equation. This is not ideal but if a publisher can not use raw mathML directly this is an option for reprocessing in the future. Pass I could read the alt text and navigate word by word and character by character. Visual: the math expression is displayed correctly