Explore best practices for creating inclusive apps for users of Apple accessibility features and users from diverse backgrounds.

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VoiceOver and limited vision approaches for custom stepper control
I have a product for designing particle emitters, which I suspect may be of limited interest to people with limited vision. I'd still like to ensure I'm doing a good job with VoiceOver mode. There's a related, simplified sample online, if you want to look at the code As you can see from the picture below, a large part of the interface mimics Xcode's particle editor, with many value entry controls that combine up/down buttons with a tappable label. Tapping the label goes into edit mode. Apart from changing how labels are stepped through in voiceover in my app, how should I handle these stepper buttons? Is this a good place to use a Custom Rotor?
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92
Jun ’25
pairedUUIDsDidChangeNotification never fires, even with MFi hearing aids paired
Hi everyone — I’m implementing the new Hearing Device Support API described here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/accessibility/hearing-device-support I have MFi hearing aids paired and visible under Settings → Accessibility → Hearing Devices, and I’ve added the com.apple.developer.hearing.aid.app entitlement (and also tested with Wireless Accessory Configuration: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/entitlements/com.apple.external-accessory.wireless-configuration ). com.apple.developer.hearing.aid.app xxxxx but the app won't even compile with this entitlement Problem NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(...) for pairedUUIDsDidChangeNotification never fires — not on app launch, not after pairing/unpairing, and not after reconnecting the hearing aids. Because the notification never triggers, calls like: HearingDeviceSession.shared.pairedDevices always return an empty list. What I expected According to the docs, the notification should be posted whenever paired device UUIDs change, and the session should expose those devices — but nothing happens. Questions Does the hearing.aid.app entitlement require special approval from Apple beyond adding it to the entitlements file? Is there a way to verify that iOS is actually honoring this entitlement? Has anyone successfully received this notification on a real device? Any help or confirmation would be greatly appreciated.
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653
Dec ’25
Make Accessibility Focus move to UIPickerView when tapping on UITextField (Full Keyboard Access)
I have a UITextField in my application for entering a state. If I tap on it, a UIPickerView pops up and let's the user select a state (but they can still type too). The issue relates to Full Keyboard Access. If we select the UITextField using an external keyboard, the UIPickerView appears, but in order to get to it the user has to tab through the whole view controller to get to the UIPickerView at the end. What would be nice is to a) move focus directly to the UIPickerView (have it highlighted in blue and scrollable right away with keyboard) or b) make the UIPickerView the next view that's accessible when tabbing over or using the arrow keys. I've tried using: UIAccessibility notifications (both .screenChanged and .layoutChanged, with and without a delay). This ended up only announcing the view, but didn't help with full keyboard access. Making the UIPickerView a first responder when it appears. Attempting to change the accessibilityElements order (but with so many views and views within views, this isn't really a viable option either). Pressing tab + -> (tab and right arrow button) will quickly take the user to the end of the chain of accessibility elements, in other words, to the UIPickerView. But there has to be a cleaner way of just automatically setting the focus to the UIPickerView or making it the next element by pressing the arrow key.
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427
Mar ’25
PHPickerViewController No Auto Focus
The issue is, I cannot auto acquire bluetooth keyboard focus in PHPickerViewController after enabling 'Full Keyboard Access' in my IPhone 14 with iOS version 18.3.1. The keyboard focus in PHPickerViewController will show, however, after I tapped on the blank space of the PHPickerViewController. How to make the focus on at the first place then? I'm using UINavigationController and calling setNavigationBarHidden(true, animated: false). Then I use this controller to present PHPickerViewController using some configuration setup below. self.configuration = PHPickerConfiguration() configuration.filter = .any(of: filters) configuration.selectionLimit = selectionLimit if #available(iOS 15.0, *), allowOrdering { configuration.selection = .ordered } configuration.preferredAssetRepresentationMode = .current Finally I set the delegate to PHPickerViewController and call UINavigationController.present(PHPickerViewController, animated: true) to render it. Also I notice animation showing in first video then disappear.
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Mar ’25
VoiceOver is not respecting lang in HTML option
I have an HTML select that has Spanish text in the options. When VoiceOver reads the selected option (unopened), it switches to Spanish as expected. However, when you open the select box and browse through the options, it uses the English voice to read the Spanish text. I have tried adding lang on to the select tag and the option tag but neither helps https://codepen.io/grahamfowles/pen/VYYRxMK
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141
May ’25
FamilyControls API access
I’m requesting access to the Family Controls API for an iOS app currently in development. I’ve submitted the request through the official form here: https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/family-controls-distribution However, after submitting, I receive no confirmation email or support ticket ID. The page only shows a “Thank you for requesting the API” message, and I’m left without a way to track or confirm the request. This entitlement is essential for my app’s functionality, and I need to move forward with development and testing. Can someone from the Apple team please confirm receipt of the request and provide guidance on the next steps or estimated timelines?
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375
May ’25
Best Way to Navigate to the Top Element Using VoiceOver
I’m currently focused on an element at the bottom of the screen. What is the proper way to quickly navigate to the top element? By default, there’s a four-finger single tap to move to the first element, but should I use the Rotor action instead to focus on the element I need? For example, in the Contacts app while adding a new contact, if I enter a value in a field at the bottom, there’s no quick way to directly save the contact. I have to manually navigate all the way to the top to tap the Done button, which feels a bit inconvenient. Is there a better way to handle this using VoiceOver?
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475
Mar ’25
accessibilityRespondsToUserInteraction return true on Simulator but false on device
I am seeing a strange issue where NSObject accessibilityRespondsToUserInteraction returns true on Simulator but false on device. Checking the same object on simulator with Accessibility inspector I see the object traits as image so why would it return true in that case? Are there any other way to check the the item might be accessibilityRespondsToUserInteraction OR Clickable beside that property and traits? (Or is it just another bug)
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Jun ’25
Attaching procedural audio to an ARKit SCNNode
I’m developing an ARKit application where I aim to attach procedurally generated audio to detected planes in the environment. While using a static audio file with SCNAudioSource and SCNAudioPlayer works as expected, integrating procedural audio via AVAudioSourceNode does not produce any sound, nor does it generate any error messages: Stack Overflow Post Working Implementation with Static Audio File: let audioPlayer = SCNAudioPlayer(source: audioSource) node.addAudioPlayer(audioPlayer) Attempted Implementation with Procedural Audio: // Audio generation code } let audioPlayer = SCNAudioPlayer(avAudioNode: audioNode) node.addAudioPlayer(audioPlayer) In this setup, the AVAudioSourceNode successfully generates audio when connected directly to an AVAudioEngine. However, when used with SCNAudioPlayer and attached to an SCNNode, it fails to produce sound. What doesn’t work is creating some procedural audio with an AVAudioNode, as documented here: Apple docs Additionally, I explored the WWDC18 AR game project, SwiftShot, which utilizes SCNAudioPlayer(avAudioNode:). After updating it for the latest Xcode, the graphics function correctly, but the audio does not play. I also noted that the Apple documentation mentions an audioPlayerWithAVAudioNode: method, stating: Using this initializer is typically not necessary. Instead, call the audioPlayerWithAVAudioNode: method, which returns a cached audio player object if one for the specified AVAudioNode object has already been created and is available for use. However, this method does not appear to be available in Swift. Any insights or guidance on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
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229
Apr ’25
AXSpeech Thread Crash SEGV_ACCERR
Hi everyone, I've encountered a rare and strange crash in my app that I can't consistently reproduce. The crash seems to occur deep within Apple's internal frameworks, and I can't pinpoint which line of my own code is causing it. Here's the crash stack trace: #44 AXSpeech SIGSEGV SEGV_ACCERR 0 CoreFoundation ___CFCheckCFInfoPACSignature + 4 1 CoreFoundation _CFRunLoopSourceSignal + 28 2 Foundation _performQueueDequeue + 492 3 Foundation ___NSThreadPerformPerform + 88 4 CoreFoundation ___CFRUNLOOP_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_A_SOURCE0_PERFORM_FUNCTION__ + 28 5 CoreFoundation ___CFRunLoopDoSource0 + 176 6 CoreFoundation ___CFRunLoopDoSources0 + 340 7 CoreFoundation ___CFRunLoopRun + 828 8 CoreFoundation _CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 608 9 Foundation -[NSRunLoop(NSRunLoop) runMode:beforeDate:] + 212 10 TextToSpeech _TTSCFAttributedStringCreateStringByBracketingAttributeWithString + 776 11 Foundation ___NSThread__start__ + 732 12 libsystem_pthread.dylib __pthread_start + 136 Sometimes, instead of line 10 referencing _TTSCFAttributedStringCreateStringByBracketingAttributeWithString, it shows: 10 TextToSpeech LogWarning(char const*, ...) + 7288 Has anyone experienced a similar issue or know what might be triggering this crash? Any guidance on how to investigate or resolve this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Jun ’25
Unable to Add Accessibility Trait to UISegmentedControl
I’m trying to add the .header accessibility trait to a UISegmentedControl so that VoiceOver recognizes it accordingly. However, setting the trait using the following code doesn’t seem to have any effect: segmentControl.accessibilityTraits = segmentControl.accessibilityTraits.union(.header) Even after applying this, VoiceOver doesn’t announce it as a header. Is there any workaround or recommended approach to achieve this?
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283
Mar ’25
FKA Accessibility focus seems broken in SwiftUI
There are several ways we are supposed to be able to control a11y (accessibility) focus in FKA (Full Keyboard Access) mode. We should be able to set up an @AccessibilityFocusState variable that contains an enum for the different views that we want to receive a11y focus. That works from VO (VoiceOver) but not from FKA mode. See this sample project on Github: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/79067665/how-to-manage-accessibilityfocusstate-for-swiftui-accessibility-keyboard Similarly, we are supposed to be able to use accessibilitySortPriority to control the order that views are selected when a user using FKA tabs between views. That also works from VO but not from FKA mode. In the sample code below, the `.accessibilitySortPriority() ViewModifiers cause VO to change to a non-standard order when you swipe between views, but it has no effect in FKA mode. Is there a way to either set the a11y focus or change the order in which the views are selected that actually works in SwiftUI when the user is in FKA mode? Code that should cause FKA to tab between text fields in a custom order: struct ContentView: View { @State private var val1: String = "val 1" @State private var val2: String = "val 2" @State private var val3: String = "val 3" @State private var val4: String = "val 4" var body: some View { VStack { TextField("Value 1", text: $val1) .accessibilitySortPriority(3) VStack { TextField("Value 2", text: $val2) .accessibilitySortPriority(1) } HStack { TextField("Value 3", text: $val3) .accessibilitySortPriority(2) TextField("Value 4", text: $val4) .accessibilitySortPriority(4) } } .padding() } }```
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Jul ’25
VoiceOver Text Recognition Announcing Hidden Labels
I have a UIImageView as the background of a custom UIView subclass. The image itself does not contain any text. On top of this image view, I have added two UILabels. To improve accessibility, I converted the entire view into a single accessibility element and set a proper accessibilityLabel. Additionally, I disabled accessibility for the UIImageView and the labels by setting isAccessibilityElement = false. However, when VoiceOver's Accessibility Recognition's Text Recognition feature is enabled, VoiceOver still detects and announces the text inside the UILabels at the end after reading my custom accessibility properties. This text should not be announced. It seems that VoiceOver treats the UILabel content as part of the UIImageView. Additionally, when using the Explore Image rotor action, the entire subview is recognized as a single image. Is this the expected behavior? If so, is there a way to disable VoiceOver’s text recognition for this view while keeping custom accessibility intact? class BackgroundLabelView: UIView { private let backgroundImageView = UIImageView() private let backgroundImageView2 = UIImageView() private let titleLabel = UILabel() private let subtitleLabel = UILabel() override init(frame: CGRect) { super.init(frame: frame) setupView() } required init?(coder: NSCoder) { super.init(coder: coder) setupView() configureAceesibility() } private func configureAceesibility() { backgroundImageView.isAccessibilityElement = false backgroundImageView2.isAccessibilityElement = false titleLabel.isAccessibilityElement = false subtitleLabel.isAccessibilityElement = false isAccessibilityElement = true accessibilityTraits = .button } func configure(backgroundImage: UIImage?, title: String, subtitle: String) { backgroundImageView.image = backgroundImage titleLabel.text = title subtitleLabel.text = subtitle accessibilityLabel = "Holiday Offer ," + title + "," + subtitle } private func setupView() { backgroundImageView2.contentMode = .scaleAspectFill backgroundImageView2.clipsToBounds = true backgroundImageView2.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false backgroundImageView2.image = UIImage(resource: .bannerfestival) addSubview(backgroundImageView2) backgroundImageView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit backgroundImageView.clipsToBounds = true backgroundImageView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false addSubview(backgroundImageView) titleLabel.font = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 18, weight: .bold) titleLabel.textColor = .white titleLabel.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false titleLabel.numberOfLines = 0 addSubview(titleLabel) subtitleLabel.font = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 14, weight: .regular) subtitleLabel.textColor = .white.withAlphaComponent(0.8) subtitleLabel.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false subtitleLabel.numberOfLines = 0 addSubview(subtitleLabel) NSLayoutConstraint.activate([ backgroundImageView2.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor), backgroundImageView2.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: trailingAnchor), backgroundImageView2.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 200), backgroundImageView.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerYAnchor), backgroundImageView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: topAnchor), backgroundImageView.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualTo: leadingAnchor), backgroundImageView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: trailingAnchor), backgroundImageView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: bottomAnchor), titleLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor, constant: 16), titleLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo: centerXAnchor), titleLabel.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerYAnchor, constant: -4), subtitleLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor, constant: 16), subtitleLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo: centerXAnchor), subtitleLabel.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerYAnchor, constant: 4) ]) } override func layoutSubviews() { super.layoutSubviews() backgroundImageView.layer.cornerRadius = layer.cornerRadius } }
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Apr ’25
App in Unlisted Language
I am building a language learning app for a Unlisted Primary Language. Any suggestions or heads ups? My plan is to select english and go with it. Its unfortunate that I have to list a language learning app incorrectly and a tag for that language probably does not exist across the apple system.
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Jul ’25
A Summary of the WWDC25 Group Lab - Accessibility
A Summary of the WWDC25 Group Lab - Accessibility At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for Accessibility. Accessibility Nutrition Labels are a really big step forward for the experience people have on the App Store to find apps that will work for them. How should developers get started with Accessibility Nutrition Labels? A good starting point is to review the Accessibility Nutrition Label evaluation criteria on App Store Connect Help. It's a concise document, roughly 10 pages, and you can approach it section by section after the introduction. Even with prior experience using accessibility features like VoiceOver, the criteria offer valuable insights that might not be immediately apparent. For those newer to accessibility, a good entry point might be one of the visual feature labels, such as Dark Interface, which is a popular and frequently used feature. Which accessibility features can I indicate support for in Accessibility Nutrition Labels? The accessibility features covered include support for assistive technologies like VoiceOver and Voice Control, media enhancements such as captions and audio descriptions, and display accommodations. These display accommodations cover options like larger text, dark interface, differentiating without color alone, sufficient contrast, and reduced motion. With the new Accessibility Nutrition Labels, will app store reviewers validate what we select? The Accessibility Nutrition Label can be edited at any time without requiring a new app submission. However, if an app inaccurately claims feature support, App Review may contact the developer and request an update to the label or the app. Are there any updates to tools for analyzing the accessibility of our apps? Although there aren't new updates this year, continued support for Accessibility Audits is available through Xcode's built-in Accessibility Inspector. XCTest also supports accessibility audits, enabling developers to test app accessibility with every build. These audits analyze aspects like contrast, dynamic type, text clipping, element labels, and more within each view. For a deeper dive, the "Perform accessibility audits for your app" session from WWDC 2023 is a valuable resource. What are accessibility features you wish more people integrated? Accessibility features encompassing user input labels optimized for voice control, keyboard navigation and shortcuts, and dynamic type support could be more used to benefit users. What were some of the biggest accessibility challenges your team encountered while developing Liquid Glass? Apple is known for its innovation and strives to deliver a high-quality experience for everyone. Accessibility is considered a core component of visual design from the outset. For example, the Liquid Glass design inherently supports reduced transparency and increased contrast. As design continues to evolve, user feedback submitted through Feedback Assistant is invaluable. How does Liquid Glass respond to contrast? Especially for text and low contrast environments. Content legibility is a crucial aspect of the Liquid Glass design. It inherently supports accessibility features like reduced transparency and increased contrast. Your feedback during the beta period and beyond is essential to ensuring Liquid Glass provides a great experience within your apps. What are some Apple apps that stand out for their accessibility? Apps like Keynote in the iWork suite offer groundbreaking VoiceOver features to enhance creative productivity for all users. Assistive Access makes core apps such as Messages, Photos, Camera, Phone, and Music more accessible. Podcasts provides transcripts to broaden its reach, and frameworks like SwiftUI ensure that apps built with the latest UI frameworks have excellent built-in accessibility.
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923
Jul ’25
Verifying braille output in an iOS app without a physical braille device?
I'm developing a calculator app and working to ensure a great experience for both VoiceOver and Braille display users. For expressions like (2+3)×5, I need two different accessibility outputs: VoiceOver (spoken): A descriptive string like “left paren two plus three right paren times five,” provided via .accessibilityValue. I'm using a custom spellOut function since VoiceOver doesn't announce parentheses—which are kind of important when doing math! Braille (symbolic): The literal math string (2+3)×5, provided using .accessibilityCustomContent("", ...), with an empty label so it’s not spoken aloud. The issue: I don’t have access to a Braille display device and Xcode’s Accessibility Inspector doesn’t seem to show the custom content. Is there any way to confirm that custom Braille content is being set correctly in Simulator or with other tools? Or…is there a "math mode" in VoiceOver that forces it to announce parentheses? Any advice or workarounds would be much appreciated! Thanks, Uhl
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Jul ’25