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

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IOS18 Crash
At present, in iOS, if using the in-house app, there may be crashes in the new iOS 18.3 and later versions, but it works normally on other phones and the certificate is not problematic. A total of 3 machines were found, and there was no pattern between the machines and the system, with different models and versions. We tested it on a machine that crashes, but the app downloaded from the store doesn't. If the same app is packaged and installed directly in the development tool, it will crash. Is this related to compatibility with the new version of IOS? Is there a solution? Do others also have relevant situations?
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Jun ’25
Having trouble with Accessibility API of the ApplicationServices framework
After replacing Big Sur OSX 11.0 with the latest 11.5, my app's AXObserverAddNotification methods fails. Here is sample code I tested from StackOverflow: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/853833/how-can-my-app-detect-a-change-to-another-apps-window AXUIElementRef app = AXUIElementCreateApplication(82695); // the pid for front-running Xcode 12.5.1 CFTypeRef frontWindow = NULL; AXError err = AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue( app, kAXFocusedWindowAttribute, &frontWindow );     if ( err != kAXErrorSuccess ){         NSLog(@"failed with error: %i",err);     } NSLog(@"app: %@  frontWindow: %@",app,frontWindow); 'frontWindow' reference is never created and I get the error number -25204. It seems like the latest Big Sur 11.5 has revised the Accessibility API or perhaps there is some permission switch I am unaware of that would make things work. What am I doing wrong?
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Jun ’25
"illegal character encoding in string literal" warnings in Xcode
Good day! I have a long-term project ported all the way up from old Think C through many versions of Xcode. Its source files are encoded in "Western (Mac OS Roman)". Some of my error messages have characters outside the straight ASCII character set (i.e. "å"). The editor correctly displays these, but I get plenty of Illegal Character warnings and the messages do not display properly. I imagine there's a way to have seperate files of localized text for internationalized applications, but I am the only end-user of this application, and it used to just plain work in earlier Xcode versions. Furthermore, there must be developers throughout Europe who use such characters in string literals, just typing in their native languages, straight off their keyboards. I was thinking that there must be a Clang setting or something, but have been unable to find it, and an internet search turns up no solution except to cumbersomely escape each individual character. I can't imagine that a French programmer does that every time they want to type "è", "é", or "à"! Any help? (Disclaimer: I'm an English speaker and only use such characters whimsically, but want to keep them for legacy's sake.) Thanks.... p.s. using Xcode 15.3, and under Settings->Text Editing->Editing, "Western (Mac OS Roman)" is already selected as the default text encoding with "Convert existing files on save" checked.
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Jun ’25
External Keyboard + Voiceover focus not working with .searchable + List
While editing the search text using the external keyboard (with VoiceOver on), if I try to navigate the to List using the keyboard, the focus jumps back to the search field immediately, preventing selection of list items. It's important to note that the voiceover navigation alone without a keyboard works as expected. It’s as if the List never gains focus—every attempt to move focus lands back on the search field. The code: struct ContentView: View { @State var searchText = "" let items = ["Apple", "Banana", "Cherry", "Date", "Elderberry", "Fig", "Grape"] var filteredItems: [String] { if searchText.isEmpty { return items } else { return items.filter { $0.localizedCaseInsensitiveContains(searchText) } } } var body: some View { if #available(iOS 16.0, *) { NavigationStack { List(filteredItems, id: \.self) { item in Text(item) } .navigationTitle("Fruits") .searchable(text: $searchText) } } else { NavigationView { List(filteredItems, id: \.self) { item in Text(item) } .navigationTitle("Fruits") .searchable(text: $searchText) } } } }
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Jun ’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
App Store Connect – “Unable to Handle This Request” Error
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,
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Jun ’25
How to force VoiceOver to read decimal point even when there are 6 or more decimal digits?
When VoiceOver reads decimal numbers with six or more digits after the decimal, it stops announcing the decimal separator and also adds pauses between each digit. Text("0.12345") // VoiceOver: "zero **point** one two three four five" Text("0.123456") // VoiceOver: "zero one, two, three, four, five, six" How can I force VoiceOver to announce the decimal separator ("point") and not insert pauses regardless of the number of decimal digits?
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Jun ’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
Is it possible to animate the accessibility frame on iOS and macOS?
Say I have a UI element that moves on the screen. Is it possible to update its accessibility frame as it moves while VoiceOver is focused on it? From my tests, VoiceOver ignores UIAccessibilityLayoutChangedNotification if it's sent repeatedly in a short period of time on iOS, while sending NSAccessibilityLayoutChangedNotification on macOS triggers VoiceOver to reannounce the focused element repeatedly.
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Jul ’25
TabItems in swiftUI do not scale
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?
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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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Jul ’25
VoiceOver does not focus App Store subscription modal when shown via AppStore.showManageSubscriptions(in:)
Description When calling AppStore.showManageSubscriptions(in:), the system modal for managing subscriptions appears visually. However, it is not automatically focused by VoiceOver, and in some cases, VoiceOver still allows interaction with elements in the underlying view controller, such as buttons and labels. This creates confusion and violates accessibility expectations. Steps to Reproduce 1. In a UIKit app, present the system subscription sheet via AppStore.showManageSubscriptions(in:). 2. Ensure VoiceOver is enabled on the device. 3. Observe the focus behavior when the modal appears. 4. Try swiping right/left — VoiceOver continues to announce items in the presenting view controller. Expected Result The modal should automatically take VoiceOver focus, and all elements behind it should be non-accessible until dismissed. Actual Result VoiceOver continues to focus and interact with elements behind the presented modal. Notes • Tested on iOS 18.5 • Reproducible on device • Using Swift/UIKit (not SwiftUI)
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Jul ’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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272
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