It’s very annoying but on my iPhone 12 Pro I keep getting the accessibility app with the microphone on and it keeps opening the app by itself and it’s a blank screen and every time I close it it just reopens. I don’t know why it keeps doing this, but it drives me crazy. Does anyone know what else to do? I also have the beta iOS 26 but it’s been doing this even with the past update.
Explore best practices for creating inclusive apps for users of Apple accessibility features and users from diverse backgrounds.
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Hi,
On iOS, I'd like to mark views that are inside a LazyVStack as headers for VoiceOver (make them appear in the headings rotor).
In a VStack, you just have add .accessibilityAddTraits(.isHeader) to your header view. However, if your view is in a LazyVStack, that won't work if the view is not visible. As its name implies, LazyVStack is lazy so that makes sense.
There is very little information online about system rotors, but it seems you are supposed to use .accessibilityRotor() with the headings system rotor (.accessibilityRotor(.headings)) outside of the LazyVStack. Something like the following.
.accessibilityRotor(.headings) {
ForEach(entries) { entry in
// entry.id must be the same as the id of the SwiftUI view it is about
AccessibilityRotorEntry(entry.name, id: entry.id)
}
}
It kinds of work, but only kind of. When using .accessibilityAddTraits(.isHeader) in a VStack, the view is in the headings rotor as soon as you change screen. However, when using .accessibilityRotor(.headings), the headers (headings?) are not in the headings rotor at the time the screen appears. You have to move the accessibility focus inside the screen before your headers show up.
I'm a beginner in regards to VoiceOver, so I don't know how a blind user used to VoiceOver would perceive this, but it feels to me that having to move the focus before the headers are in the headings rotor would mean some users would miss them.
So my question is: is there a way to have headers inside a LazyVStack (and are not necessarily visible at first) to be in the headings rotor as soon as the screen appears? (be it using .accessibilityRotor(.headings) or anything else)
The "SwiftUI Accessibility: Beyond the basics" talk from WWDC 2021 mentions custom rotors, not system rotors, but that should be close enough. It mentions that for accessibilityRotor to work properly it has to be applied on an accessibility container, so just in case I tried to move my .accessibilityRotor(.headings) to multiple places, with and without the accessibilityElement(children: .contain) modifier, but that did not seem to change the behavior (and I could not understand why accessibilityRotor could not automatically make the view it is applied on an accessibility container if needed).
Also, a related question: when using .accessibilityRotor(.headings) on a screen, is it fine to mix uses of .accessibilityRotor(.headings) and .accessibilityRotor(.headings)? In a screen with multiple type of contents (something like ScrollView { VStack { MyHeader(); LazyVStack { /* some content */ }; LazyVStack { /* something else */ } } }), having to declare all headers in one place would make code reusability harder.
Thanks
The accessibility nutrition labels seem like a great feature. I don't see keyboard access mentioned, are there plans to add this into the accessibility nutrition labels? To emphasise that keyboard accessibility is not just for desktop computers, apps need it too.
I need to direct text-to-speech generated audio from my app simultaneously to a bluetooth speaker device AND to the internal iPad speaker. The app uses AVSpeechSynthesizer and several third party speech engines. How best to do this?
I noticed the outputChannels property on AVSpeechSynthesizer...are there any examples of how to use this?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
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?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
Updated to iOS 26 beta and now the TV remote app in the control center won’t open. I’ve tried the following:
Restart phone
Remove shortcut and re-add
Cant find any other troubleshooting methods for this issue online so I’m guessing it’s a new problem.
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
Hello,
I'm currently unable to access App Store Connect. When I try to open https://appstoreconnect.apple.com, I receive the following error message:
“appstoreconnect.apple.com is currently unable to handle this request.”
I’ve tried the following steps, but the issue persists:
Cleared browser cache and cookies
Tried different browsers (Safari, Chrome)
Attempted from multiple devices and networks
Is this a known issue or is there any workaround available?
Would appreciate any help or update on the current status.
Thank you,
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
After updating to the iOS 26 Beta version, the screenshot option within the AssistiveTouch menu has stopped working. Tapping on the "Screenshot" icon does not perform any action.
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
I have just purchased an Apple developer Account from Bangladesh and it sent codes perfectly for the first 2-3 times for logging in, but after that no matter what I do it doesn't send verification code and I am stuck, I now cannot log in and this is extremely extremely frustrating
Hey all — hoping someone here has dealt with this before.
I’m testing an iOS app via TestFlight, and when I originally got access, I didn’t have an iPhone. So I signed in with my Apple ID on my girlfriend’s iPhone and used TestFlight there. Everything worked fine.
Now I finally have my own iPhone (iPhone 16), downloaded TestFlight, signed in with the same Apple ID, and had the developer resend the invite. But when I tap "Open in TestFlight" from the invite email, I get this error:
“Couldn’t load app because your Apple account has already been associated to this app.”
The dev tried removing me as a tester and re-adding me, I’ve deleted TestFlight from both phones, rebooted, reinstalled, waited in between — still no luck. Even tried opening the invite link in Safari instead of Mail.
Is there any way to get Apple to fully reset the association with the old device so I can use TestFlight on my new iPhone? Or do I really need to make a new Apple ID just to get around this?
Any help would be huge — thanks!
I have a TabView with a sample tabItem as follows:
.tabItem {
Label ("Import", systemImage:"doc.on.doc")
.accessibilityLabel("Import Text")
}
But accessibility settings for large display size on does not seem to work, nor do dynamic font sizes:
.tabItem {
Label ("Import", systemImage:"doc.on.doc")
.font(.largeTitle)
.accessibilityLabel("Import Text")
}
The tabItems appear as a fixed size. The tab contents scale well, so this does not look pleasant at all.
Is this a known bug in SwiftUI?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
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.
i would like to ask what are the new touchpad shortcuts in the latest os for ipad using a trackpad. The three fingers swipe to the right and left seemed to be removed. Thank you
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.
Amogst the two languages my app would have lets say 10% and 90%.
I am launching an app for a unlisted Primary Language. I consider whatever is inside the app as the primary and that wont be English. The secondary language
Hello
I tried implementing the ASAM for macOS as per apple guidelines with configuration profile mentioned here but didn't had any success.
Then Apple suggested to use requestGuidedAccessSession in macOS but that is only supported in macOS Catalyst but that also didn't work with valid config profiles too.
Did anyone get success with ASAM mode without assessment entitltlement?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
I'm looking into how to programmatically control color filters in the Accessibility settings under "System Settings" -> "Accessibility" -> "Color Filters"--in particular the "Intensity" and "Filter type" settings.
As far as I have gathered, changing this setting can only be accomplished using the CoreGraphics APIs or Accessibility APIs (I've poked around GitHub, Stack Overflow, and queried some LLMs), but there doesn't seem to be a clear cut example for doing this using public facing APIs, without ripping off source code from another project wholesale or using private APIs.
My goal is to overlay a color filter at either a per-application or system level to help with accessibility. If there's a way to overlay this capability on an application-by-application basis as a third-party developer, that would be the most ideal scenario. For example, modifying the look and feel/UX for Launchpad, Photos, etc, as a third-party developer without accessing the source code of the application that I'm modifying the look/feel for (with appropriate user consent of course).
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
I have subscribed to the developer program, but it’s already been a day and it still shows “is not enrolled in the Apple Developer Program.”
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
The Text view seems to automatically prevent orphaned words on screen, but barring exceptional circumstances such as the font size being too large.
I couldn't find any documentation on this behaviour, how to configure, and would also be very interested in how it's implemented?
Thanks!
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
I’m developing an iOS app, and I’ve noticed that when the user enables Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Color Filters → Grayscale, my app icon loses a lot of visual contrast. The original colored version looks fine, but in grayscale it appears “flat” and harder to distinguish, unlike a pure black-and-white design.
What I want to achieve:
Ensure the app icon remains visually clear and high-contrast even when iOS renders it in grayscale.
Ideally, provide an alternate “high-contrast” app icon version when grayscale mode is enabled.
What I’ve tried:
Increased color contrast in the original icon design.
Added outlines and stronger shapes.
Tested with grayscale filters in design tools.
Researched Asset Catalog and alternate icons, but found no documented API to detect or respond to grayscale mode.
Questions:
Is there any API in iOS that allows detecting when the system is in grayscale mode so that I can programmatically switch to an alternate app icon?
If not, are there Apple-recommended best practices for designing app icons that still look clear in grayscale?
Are there any accessibility guidelines specifically addressing icon design for grayscale or color-blind modes?
Additional info:
iOS version tested: iOS 17.5
Development in Swift + SwiftUI, using Asset Catalog for icons.
I am aware that iOS supports alternate icons via setAlternateIconName, but I haven’t found a trigger for grayscale mode.