Explore best practices for creating inclusive apps that cater to users with diverse abilities

Learn More

Posts under General subtopic

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

VoiceOver spells word letter by letter
We currently have an odd issue with VoiceOver spelling a word letter by letter while the same word is spoken as a whole for other items. The app is in German. I have a View in SwiftUI whose button traits are removed, then a label "Start Tab 1 von 5" is added. "Tab is spoken as a whole word here, all fine. If I change the label to "Tab-Schaltfläche" or for example "SimplyGo Tab 3 von 5", then "Tab" is spoken as "T A B", letter by letter. is there a way to force VoiceOver to speak it as a whole?
4
0
1.2k
Jan ’25
I cannot pair my PHONAK hearing aids
I cannot pair my PHONAK hearing aids after I upgraded to iOS 18.3 under hearing devices, it just keeps on switching will not find anything. I’ve undelete them and reinstall them four times. Uninstalled the app. Under Bluetooth, it finds it and has it. But under hearing devices where I can control everything it will not. Once I add the hearing aids, my phone goes completely silent. I do not know if anyone calls or texts me
4
0
510
Jan ’25
Already Enrolled, but Now Asked to Re-Enroll – Certificates Revoked, No Response
Our company enrolled in the Apple Developer Program as an organization in July 2024. Everything was fine for several months, but in early January 2025, our developer noticed that the certificates were missing. When we logged into our developer account, we were shocked to see a page prompting us to “Enroll Today”—as if we had never joined in the first place. Clicking the enrollment button led us to an error page stating we cannot enroll. We immediately reached out to Apple Developer Support via email, but despite multiple attempts, we received no response. Strangely, our apps remain live on the App Store, App Store Connect functions as usual, and we continue receiving payments every month. However, we are completely blocked from developing and releasing updates. Today, I managed to reach Apple by phone. After being transferred to a senior representative, I was told they couldn’t tell me why this was happening. They only confirmed that a request had been made and that I should “wait.” That’s it—no explanation, no timeline, nothing. While it’s somewhat reassuring that they acknowledge the issue, I’ve already seen other developers with the same problem go unanswered for months. My suspicion? This account might be linked to an individual developer account from way back in 2015 when Apple’s registration process was far less strict. Could that be the issue? No idea—because Apple won’t say a word. Meanwhile, both of our apps have been exposed to several bugs, and customers are waiting for updates. If there’s still no response from Apple, I have no choice but to register a new account—purely to continue supporting our users. CASE ID: 102508598957
4
1
486
Mar ’25
AVSpeechSynthesisVoice ignores user-selected voices in iOS 26 (Regression)
We've identified a regression in iOS 26.0 and 26.1 Beta 4 where AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language:) no longer respects user-selected voices from Accessibility settings. Issue: When users select a specific voice in Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices, calling AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language:) returns the system default voice instead of the user's selection. This worked correctly in iOS 18.6.2. Particularly affects: Third-party speech synthesis voices (CereProc, Grammatek, etc.) Apps relying on automatic voice selection based on user preferences Example: // User selected CereProc Heather for en-GB in Accessibility settings let voice = AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language: "en-GB") print(voice?.name) // iOS 18.6.2: "HEATHER", iOS 26: "Daniel" (system default) Interesting observation: The new Accessibility Reader feature in iOS 26 correctly uses the user-selected voice, but Tap to Speak and the API both ignore the setting. Tested methods: AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language:) AVSpeechUtterance auto-selection Reflection for new APIs All return the system default voice, not the user's preference. Filed: FB[20271264] Has anyone else encountered this? Any known workarounds to programmatically access the user's preferred voice selection?
4
1
341
Oct ’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() } }```
4
0
199
Jul ’25
VoiceOver cursor focus tracking
In some places of our app we make use of NSAccessibilityElement subclasses to vend some extra items to accessibility clients. We need to know which item has the VoiceOver focus so we can keep track of it. setAccessibilityFocused: does not get called when accessibility clients focus NSAccessibilityElements. This method is only called when accessibility clients focus view-based accessibility elements (i.e. when a NSView subclass gets focused). At the same time we need to programmatically move VoiceOver focus to those items when something happens. Those accessibility elements inherit from NSObject so we can't make them first responder. Is this the expected behavior? What are our options in terms of reacting to VoiceOver cursor moving around? What are our options in terms of programmatically moving the VoiceOver cursor to a different element? Here's a sample project that demonstrates the first part of the issue: https://github.com/vendruscolo/apple-rdars/tree/master/DTS12368714%20-%20NSAccessibilityElement%20focus%20tracking If you run the app, a window will show up. It contains a button and a red square. If you enable VoiceOver you'll be able to move the cursor over the red square, and a message will be logged. You'll also notice there's an extra element after the red square. That element is available to VoiceOver, however when it gets focuses, no message gets logged.
4
0
485
Mar ’25
`accessibilityUserInputLabels` is ignored on `UIBarButtonItem`
accessibilityUserInputLabels is working fine with any view I tried this on. Meaning that the control can be toggled with the provided alternative names when using Voice Control. When setting this property on any UIBarButtonItem though, it seems Voice Control ignores the alternative names provided by setting accessibilityUserInputLabels. For comparison, accessibilityLabel works perfectly when set on UIBarButtonItem. Is anyone facing the same issue? Using Xcode 16.0 (16A242) on iOS 18
3
0
574
Aug ’25
Live Captions only partially works - help?
Hope it's okay to post here - I haven't gotten resolution anywhere else. Apple's iOs Live Captions is supposed to translate speech into written text either on the phone (works like a charm!) or via microphone (think meeting in a conference room). Microphone doesn't work anywhere, anytime on a new iPhone 14 purchased November 2024. Anyone out there want to fix this and help a lot of people who have trouble hearing? I'm part of an entire generation that didn't know we were supposed to protect our hearing at concerts and clubs and worse, thought it was cool to snag a spot by the speakers...
3
1
227
Mar ’25
"Captions" in the Accessibility Nutrition Label for text-based apps
My game app is text-based interactive fiction, containing no audio/video content, making captions unnecessary. Our game is completely accessible to deaf users. Despite this, in the Accessibility Nutrition Label, I'm only able to leave the "Captions" box checked or unchecked. Leaving it unchecked would leave deaf players with the wrong impression that they can't enjoy our game. Leaving it checked would imply that we do have A/V content with captions included. In the WWDC video on this, https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/224/ the video says: After we completed common tasks, we realized our app doesn’t have any video or audio only content. In this case, we aren’t going to indicate that Landmarks supports Captions. That's okay. This accurately describes the features that people will expect to be available while using the app. Maybe that's "OK," but I wish the form allowed me to say "This app doesn't contain audio/video content."
3
1
123
Jun ’25
Attempting to go directly to a help book page results in the main help book page being displayed instead
There is an issue with Help Books that started with the release of macOS 14.4. The issue is that when an app attempts to go directly to a Help Book page, the help viewer opens to the Help Book's main index page, rather than the specific page requested. As I investigated the issue I found that the requested page was actually part of help viewer's navigation history, and all I had to do was to click the Back navigation arrow and the requested page would be displayed. So it seems like the requested page is momentarily visited but is then (for whatever reason) quickly replaced by the main index page. Our app uses the AHGotoPage() API for directly accessing our Help Book's pages. This is the same mechanism/code that our app has used for more than a decade and has never caused us any issues. Everything works fine on macOS 14.3.0 and earlier. I've scoured the documentation and can't find any newer APIs for accessing Help pages. I've also tried various other things (e.g. reworking the code, creating new indexes for the app's Help, etc.), but none of it seems to make a difference. As far as I can tell, the issue seems to stem from some change made to the OS. So my questions are: Is this a known bug? And if so, is there any ETA on a fix? Is there something different we should be doing for newer versions of the OS (create indexes differently, use a different API, etc.)?
3
0
1.9k
Oct ’25
Application "help" menu does not open main help book page
Following the official documentation, I'm trying to create a set of three localised Help Books. The Help Books should be available in Spanish, English and Polish. Presently, I'm trying to complete English version. App Structure This is the plugin application consisting of main app and the plugin. The main app structure would looks as follows: Files . <XcodeProject Top> ├── Localizable.xcstrings ├── MyAppExtension │   ├── MyAppExtension.swift │   └── <other swift files>.swift ├──MyApp │ ├── Info.plist │   ├── +Array.swift │   ├── +ButtonStyle.swift │   ├── <other app swift files>.swift ├── Resources     └── MyApp.help └── MyApp.help └── Contents ├── Info.plist └── Resources ├── English.lproj │   ├── ExactMatch.plist │   ├── InfoPlist.strings │   ├── MyApp.helpindex │   ├── MyApp.html │   └── pgs └── shrd MyApp / MyApp.help / Info.plist file Consists the following values: Bundle name: MyApp HPDBookAccessPath: MyApp.html HPDBookTitle: My App Help Default localization: en_gb MyApp / Info.plist file Contains the following entries: Help Book directory name: MyApp.help Help Book Identifier: MyApp Help Build phase The Copy Bundle Resources copies MyApp.help in MyApp/Resources. Questions Is the provided folder structure valid for creating a localised help books Is there anything that is missing from across Info.plist files or is in the wrong places? Why the MyApp -> Help opens the main help menu, not the app help
3
0
520
Dec ’24
iOS18.3.1+ widget: Local color picture load widget crashes
Environment:xcode 16.2 WidgetKit: Image(uiImage: UIImage(named: "jp_jump")!).resizable().scaledToFit().frame(width: 58, height: 16).padding(EdgeInsets(top: 0, leading: 16, bottom: 0, trailing: 0)) ”jp_jump“: Local color picture load widget crashes info: Thread 4: EXC_RESOURCE (RESOURCE_TYPE_MEMORY: high watermark memory limit exceeded) (limit=30 MB)
3
0
104
Mar ’25
Developer Mode Restart without HomeButton
After enabling Developer Mode on my iPhone and restarting it, the device asks me to press the Home button to confirm. Unfortunately, my Home button is broken, so I can’t access Developer Mode. The iPhone itself still works, but I can’t enable the mode. Is there any way to bypass this without the Home button?
3
0
93
Mar ’25
VoiceOver incorrect focus on modal alert
When my macOS Cocoa app displays a modal alert with beginSheetModal(for:completionHandler:), VoiceOver sometimes seems to focus on an "illegal" upper level, where any attempts at navigation will give the unhelpful response "Alert, dialog", until you "drill down" with VO + shift + down or switch apps. After that, things will work as expected. Is this a known bug? Does it happen to anybody else, or am I doing something wrong?
3
1
112
Apr ’25
SpaceBar Not functioning as expected
When I am doing a file search, in TextEdit, and on certain webistes the space bar will quit functioning as soon as i start typing. If I hold down the "Option" key it allows the space bar to work as normal. I have checked every setting I can think of and nothing has helped.
3
0
128
Apr ’25
Too many verification codes have been sent.
Hello, I have the following problem. I’m developing a NoCode app using the FlutterFlow platform and have been working on it for over a year. This time, after publishing a new version of the app through FlutterFlow, I tried logging into Apple Store Connect, but I got an error saying that I had made too many login attempts and needed to try again later. However, I hadn’t attempted to log in before that at all. No matter how long I wait—24 hours, 48 hours—the same error keeps appearing, meaning I still can’t access my account. Apple Support hasn’t responded for 4 days, and in total, I’ve been locked out of my account for over 9 days. Please help me understand what might be causing this issue. Apple Store Connect refuses to send me an SMS with the login code.
3
1
1.1k
2w
VoiceOver doesn't work for AVRoutePickerView wrapped in UIViewRepresentable
Hi, I've wrapped AVRoutePickerView in SwiftUI using pretty much the code given here, with a few changes: func makeUIView(context: Context) -> UIView { let routePickerView = AVRoutePickerView() // Configure the button's color. //routePickerView.delegate = context.coordinator //routePickerView.backgroundColor = .secondarySystemBackground routePickerView.tintColor = .accent routePickerView.activeTintColor = .accent // Indicate whether your app prefers video content. routePickerView.prioritizesVideoDevices = false return routePickerView } I commented out routePickerView.delegate = context.coordinator because it doesn't compile; context.coordinator is of type Void and I'm not sure how to fix that. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the issue. Anyway, this works fine without VoiceOver; if I tap the button, I get the AirPlay popover. But in VoiceOver, if I select the button and double-tap, nothing happens… it just reads the button's accessibilityLabel again. How can I get the AirPlay popover to show in VoiceOver?
3
0
382
Aug ’25
accessibilityElements excludes the unlisted subviews – How to Fix?
I have a parent view containing 10 subviews. To control the VoiceOver navigation order, I set only a few elements in accessibilityElements. However, the remaining elements are not being focused or are completely inaccessible. Is this the expected behavior? If I only specify a subset of elements in accessibilityElements, does it exclude the rest? What’s the best way to ensure all elements remain accessible while customising the order?
3
0
155
Apr ’25
Accessibility of Show Password Buttons
We have a password entry field with a "show password" button. The button effectively turns the "secure text entry" textfield into a non-secure text entry field allowing the user to view what they typed in. When VoiceOver is enabled, I am not including that button in the UI; it doesn't seem to make sense to me for the following reasons. If you properly test with the screen curtain, the functionality is useless. You don't see anything. I've tried to explain this to my accessibility team. It's also quite ridiculous to offer to show a blind user their password, I'm sure they'd love to see it, but they just can't. This would almost seem insulting as well. If by toggling that button, and turning a secure text entry into a non-secure text entry, now the app is literally speaking their password aloud. This seems like a security vulnerability to me. What if someone else overhears the password spoken aloud. The accessibility team is insisting that I need to include the "show password" button when VoiceOver is enabled. This is the response I received. "functionality should be the same for VI users as for sighted users. It may happen that a VI user wants to check what is typed into password field in order to correct mistakes". Again, I don't agree with that because functionality should not be the same. Functionality should be changed and altered as necessary to make the user experience as accessible as possible. And in this scenario, to me the functionality doesn't make sense at all in a VoiceOver setting. Any thoughts on this? Am I incorrect here? Are there benefits of including a "show password" button to a user utilizing VoiceOver? What should then the functionality be? Speak the password aloud? Thanks.
3
0
373
1d