Accessibility: UI elements overlapping and critical touch target fixes

[AnaFerreira015]

Hi! I’m Ana Ferreira, a Master's student in Computer Science.

As part of my research on mobile accessibility, I am analyzing open-source Android applications to help identify and correct accessibility barriers so users can utilize assistive technologies more effectively.

I’ve been exploring Solar and noticed some layout and interaction issues, so I wanted to propose a fix.

1. The Issue

On the Main Dashboard / Details screen, several text elements present the following behavior:

• Current behavior: When text spacing is adjusted or system font sizes are increased, elements begin to overlap each other or get cut off (violating WCAG 1.4.12 Text Spacing).
• Impact: This makes the information unreadable for users who need custom text spacing and creates a broken UI experience where data values might be obscured by their labels.

2. Proposed Solution

To fix this, I suggest moving away from fixed heights/widths in the layout containers and ensuring that ConstraintLayout or FlexboxLayout is used to allow elements to reposition themselves dynamically when text expands.

Code snippet / XML suggestion:

<TextView
    ...
    android:layout_width="0dp"
    app:layout_constrainedWidth="true"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

3. Additional fixes (Need your input)

I have identified 4 other accessibility improvements for Solar.

To avoid spamming your notification feed, how would you prefer I submit these?

• Option A: List them all here in this issue (I can update the comment below).
• Option B: Open separate issues for each specific problem.

If you prefer to review everything at once, here is the summary of the other findings:

1. Target Size Failures (WCAG 2.5.8 AA & 2.5.5 AAA): Several interactive elements are too small. They fail the minimum requirement (24x24dp), making them very difficult to tap, especially for users with motor impairments.
2. Duplicate Text (WCAG 3.2.4): Redundant labels cause TalkBack to announce the same information twice, creating auditory clutter.
3. Text Resizing Issues (WCAG 1.4.4):
   • Insufficient Increase: General text content does not scale properly when the system font size is maximized.
   • Insufficient Reduction: Layout issues occur when font size is reduced (Advisory).

I can provide detailed fixes for these upon request.

Please let me know your preference, and I will proceed accordingly.

Best regards,