When VoiceOver is on, standard touchscreen gestures have different effects, and additional gestures let you move around the screen and control individual items. VoiceOver gestures include two-, three-, and four-finger taps and swipes.
You can use different techniques to perform VoiceOver gestures. For example, you can perform a two-finger tap using two fingers on one hand, one finger on each hand, or your thumbs. Instead of selecting an item and double-tapping, you can use a split-tap gesture—touch and hold an item with one finger, then tap the screen with another finger.
To explore the screen, drag your finger over it. VoiceOver speaks the name of each item you touch.
You can also use VoiceOver gestures to explore the screen in order, from top to bottom and left to right.
Action
Gesture
Select and speak an item
Tap or touch the item
Select the next item
Swipe right
Select the previous item
Swipe left
Move into a group of items
Two-finger swipe right
Move out of a group of items
Two-finger swipe left
Select the first item on the screen
Four-finger tap near the top of the screen
Select the last item on the screen
Four-finger tap near the bottom of the screen
Speak the entire screen from the top
Two-finger swipe up
Speak the entire screen from the selected item
Two-finger swipe down
Pause or continue speaking
Two-finger tap
Speak additional information, such as the position within a list or whether text is selected
Three-finger tap
For more information about navigation styles, see Get live descriptions of your surroundings with VoiceOver.
You can use the onscreen rotor to change VoiceOver settings, jump from one item to the next on the screen, select special input methods such as Braille Screen Input or Handwriting, and more. See Accessibility features for vision on iPad