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

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The brightness of the iPad Pro screen is gone after new ios26
After 26 IOS update, the colors on my new iPad Pro M4 have become extremely dull almost like those on a very old device. The screen brightness is significantly reduced, and it's now difficult to see UI elements clearly. This is very disappointing considering the device’s high display quality before the update. Please advise if this is a known issue or if there's a fix.
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110
Jun ’25
TV Remote Application does not open
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.
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112
Jun ’25
VoiceOver and currency - high amounts
I’ve noticed that the VoiceOver reads currency amounts correctly when they are below thousand. Then, for higher amounts, for example 12.225,34 € VoiceOver reads ‘twelve point two two five thirty four euros’ If the amount is formatted without the thousand separator (12225,34 €) this problem doesn’t exist. (VO reads twelve thousand two hundred and twenty five euros and thirty four cents) Why is the thousand separator a problem for VoiceOver if this formatting is coming from the currency and locale? This issue exists in English. I changed my device language to Italian and German and in both cases the number was read correctly even with the separator. Is there a way to make it work in English?
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2.4k
Jun ’25
How to set accessibility-label to NSTextAttachment ?
I have the following method to insert @mentions to a text field: func insertMention(user: Token, at range: NSRange) -> Void { let tokenImage: UIImage = renderMentionToken(text: "@\(user.username)") let attachment: NSTextAttachment = NSTextAttachment() attachment.image = tokenImage attachment.bounds = CGRect(x: 0, y: -3, width: tokenImage.size.width, height: tokenImage.size.height) attachment.accessibilityLabel = user.username attachment.accessibilityHint = "Mention of \(user.username)" let attachmentString: NSMutableAttributedString = NSMutableAttributedString(attributedString: NSAttributedString(attachment: attachment)) attachmentString.addAttribute(.TokenID, value: user.id, range: NSRange(location: 0, length: 1)) attachmentString.addAttribute(.Tokenname, value: user.username, range: NSRange(location: 0, length: 1)) let mutableText: NSMutableAttributedString = NSMutableAttributedString(attributedString: textView.attributedText) mutableText.replaceCharacters(in: range, with: attachmentString) mutableText.append(NSAttributedString(string: " ")) textView.attributedText = mutableText textView.selectedRange = NSRange(location: range.location + 2, length: 0) mentionRange = nil tableView.isHidden = true } When I use XCode's accessibility inspector to inspect the text input, the inserted token is not read by the inspector - instead a whitespace is shown for the token. I want to set the accessibility-label to the string content of the NSTextAttachment. How?
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876
Jul ’25
Assistive Access + Firebase Authentication
I have an issue in my app when it is used together with the assistive access feature. For authentication, we are using the capacitor firebase authentication plugin (https://www.npmjs.com/package/@capacitor-firebase/authentication) which enables users to login via apple (FirebaseAuthentication.signInWithApple(...)), google (FirebaseAuthentication.signInWithGoogle(...)), or email. Works just fine. However, when the assistive access feature is enabled, the login fails for apple ("The operation couldn't be completed. com.apple.AuthenticationServices.AuthorizationError error 1000) and google ("The user canceled the sign-in flow). It seems like the popups for sign-in are blocked and therefore an error is returned immediately. The popups may be blocked by assistive access, causing the capacitor plugin to be unable to authenticate. I have tested this on my iPhone 12 Pro using iOS 17.7 I would appreciate any suggestions to handle this issue!
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750
Jul ’25
Fullscreen Detection
Hi, I want to detect if there is a fullscreen window on each screen. _AXUIElementGetWindow and kAXFullscreenAttribute methods work, but I have to be in a non-sandbox environment to use them. Is there any other way that also works? I don't think it's enough to judge if it's fullscreen by comparing the window size to the screen size, since it doesn't work on MacBook with notch, or the menu bar is set to 'auto-hide'. Thanks.
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1.9k
Jul ’25
iOS: How to maintain good app icon contrast in grayscale mode?
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.
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463
Aug ’25
Custom prediction panel not working in Google Docs
I’m working on a macOS Accessibility setup for a French-speaking user and I’ve hit a wall. (I'm not a developper and I'm trying to help my kid with dyslexia) I successfully built a custom word prediction panel using the Panel Editor (Keyboard) in macOS Accessibility > Keyboard > Accessibility Keyboard. Here’s what I have so far: • The prediction panel works system-wide: I can use it to type in Finder, Safari, Notes, TextEdit, and even browser search bars. • The panel appears above all applications and suggestions show up correctly. • However, it does not work inside Google Docs (tested in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox). Selecting a word from the panel does nothing in the Docs editor. I suspect this is because: • Google Docs does not use a standard macOS text input field. • Docs is a web app that relies on custom JavaScript editors, contentEditable elements, and canvas rendering, so macOS Accessibility APIs (AXTextField, AXInsertText, etc.) don’t register or inject text events. • Accessibility tools like the Accessibility Keyboard rely on native macOS text input methods, which don’t hook into Google Docs’ custom editor. Important: I’m not a programmer. I’d like to know if there is an easy fix or option in macOS, Google Chrome, or Google Docs that would make my custom prediction panel work, before going into custom development. Technical setup: • MacBook Air (M2, 2022) • RAM: 8 GB • macOS: Sequoia 15.3.1 • Language: French (system and keyboard) • Accessibility Keyboard: Enabled via Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard • Custom panel: Built using Panel Editor (Keyboard), named “Philemon Prédiction” • Browsers tested: Chrome, Safari, Firefox (same issue) • Behavior: Panel is visible, suggestions appear, but inserting text does nothing in Google Docs Has anyone worked around this limitation? Is there a simple setting, workaround, or accessibility option to bridge macOS Accessibility input with Google Docs’ editor? Thanks a lot!
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941
Aug ’25
Autocomplete Select not working with VoiceOver in iOS 18.6.2
Hey folksI, I would like to ask for help on this topic: I think this is exactly the same problem Combobox not working with VoiceOver after… - Apple Community. VoiceOver also breaks the combobox from the official ARIA W3C website https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/combobox/examples/combobox-autocomplete-list/. When VO is turned off, I can use the up/down arrow to go through the menu items from the dropdown, but when VO is turned on, the up/down arrows cannot access the dropdown menu items. Is there an official tutorial on how to control it using voice over? Kind regards, Jakub
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428
Sep ’25
HID Braille keyboard support on iPhone 6S
Hello, I am working on a Braille keyboard by using HID approach. Current the device works with iPhone 11 and SE3. However, when tested in iPhone 6s with iOS 15, although the device can be connected and recognized as Braille device in VoiceOver screen, the phone shows no response to key press report. Would there be any requirement at points such as HID descriptor for iPhone 6s support on Braille device? If iPhone 6s does not support such devices, what is the minimum system requirements? Thank you!
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1.6k
Sep ’25
iOS 26 Voice Over is reporting an extra tab
Feedback number: FB20451665 When building with Xcode 26, Voice Over is reporting an extra tab when swiping through tabs. Please see the sample project below: /* This is a Sample project to show that I believe there is a Voice Over bug in iOS 26. When swiping through tabs with Voice Over active, there always appears to be an extra tab. Here I have 5 tabs, when on tab one VO reads out tab 1 of 6, then tab 2 of 6, all the way to the last tab, when voice over reads out tab 5 of 6. Never tab 6 of 6. Is there a possibility that voice over is picking up the underlying `more` tab and reading that out? This has also been reportedly found in the Files app here: https://www.applevis.com/comment/195441#comment-195441 */ struct ContentView: View { var body: some View { TabView { /// Activating this has Voice over telling us there are 6 Tabs. Tab(RootTab.home.title, systemImage: "circle.fill") { Text("This is the \(RootTab.home.title.capitalized) screen") } .accessibilityLabel("\(RootTab.home.title.capitalized) tab") .accessibilityHint("Double tap to open the \(RootTab.home.title.capitalized) tab") Tab(RootTab.diary.title, systemImage: "circle.fill") { Text("This is the \(RootTab.diary.title.capitalized) screen") } .accessibilityLabel("\(RootTab.diary.title.capitalized) tab") .accessibilityHint("Double tap to open the \(RootTab.diary.title.capitalized) tab") Tab(RootTab.meals.title, systemImage: "circle.fill") { Text("This is the \(RootTab.meals.title.capitalized) screen") } .accessibilityLabel("\(RootTab.meals.title.capitalized) tab") .accessibilityHint("Double tap to open the \(RootTab.meals.title.capitalized) tab") Tab(RootTab.knowledge.title, systemImage: "circle.fill") { Text("This is the \(RootTab.knowledge.title.capitalized) screen") } .accessibilityLabel("\(RootTab.knowledge.title.capitalized) tab") .accessibilityHint("Double tap to open the \(RootTab.knowledge.title.capitalized) tab") Tab(RootTab.profile.title, systemImage: "circle.fill") { Text("This is the \(RootTab.profile.title.capitalized) screen") } .accessibilityLabel("\(RootTab.profile.title.capitalized) tab") .accessibilityHint("Double tap to open the \(RootTab.profile.title.capitalized) tab") /// Activating this also has Voice over telling us there are 6 Tabs. // ForEach(RootTab.allCases, id: \.self) { tab in // // Text("This is the \(tab.title.capitalized) screen") // .tabItem { // Label(tab.title.capitalized, systemImage: "circle.fill") // } // .accessibilityLabel("\(tab.title.capitalized) tab") // .accessibilityHint("Double tap to open the \(tab.title.capitalized) tab") // } } } enum RootTab: CaseIterable { case home case diary case meals case knowledge case profile var title: String { switch self { case .home: "home" case .diary: "diary" case .meals: "meals" case .knowledge: "knowledge" case .profile: "profile" } } } } I'm curious if anyone else can see this issue, or if anyone knows of a workaround for it.
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2.1k
Oct ’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?
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544
Oct ’25
IOS 26 Full Keyboard Access (navigation) and WKWebView
We use an embedded WKWebView for several screens in our app. Recently, we have been testing keyboard navigation via Full Keyboard Access in our apps. On IOS 18, everything works pretty much as expected. On IOS 26, it does not. On IOS 26, you can "tab" away from the webview and then never tab back to the webview for keyboard navigation. Is this a known issue? Are there workarounds for this issue that anyone is aware of?
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572
Nov ’25
Download Voices screen
System settings => Accessibility => System Voice => the little (i) beside the pulldown => Voices => THIS SCREEN will allow you to download Premium Voices Is there a way to trigger this screen programmatically. Or at least a link to get my users there without having to dig thru that swamp of screens?
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661
Nov ’25
How to Implement Dynamic Type for UITextFields Without Resetting Data
Hello! I was doing some accessibility testing for my app and found out that when the user switches the text size, all of the data in the text fields is reset, which causes major disruption. I've tried looking for documentation, but all I've found is information on how to dynamically scale the UI for different text sizes, which I've already implemented. My guess is that every time Dynamic Type registers a change, it redraws my UI instead of just updating it. How can I make sure the data is not reset when the text size changes?
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723
Dec ’25
VoiceOver Accessibility Tree out of sync with WKWebView contents
Hey, We've run into an issue where WKWebView contents are not always available for VoiceOver users. It seems to occur when WKWebView contents are loaded asynchronously. I have a sample project where this can be reproduced and a video showing the issue. See FB21257352 The only solution we currently see is forcing an update continuously using UIAccessibility.post(notification: .layoutChanged, argument: nil), but this is ofc a last resort as it may have other unintended side effects.
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906
Dec ’25
how accessible is enough for Accessibility Nutrition Labels?
My team has a robust digital accessibility program and processes for WCAG conformance in our apps. Because of this, there are definitely accessibility defects that get caught and addressed in order of impact and business priority like any other bug. Obviously we want to aim for 100% accessibility for our users, but it's a continual work in progress as new enhancements or changes are released. I'm stuck on the appropriate measurement to indicate support. If we have 50 common tasks and the most central 10 tasks are solid but some supporting (but also common) tasks have a contrast fail or accessibleLabel missing, does that make the whole app not supporting the feature? If "completing the task" is the rubric there are a whole range of interpretations for that. In a complex app, I anticipate that a group like ours will have strong support for many of the Accessibility Nutrition Labels accessibility features across tasks and devices, but realistically never be 100% free of defects for a given Apple Accessibility feature, even among core tasks. As I consider the next steps for Nutrition Labels, I do not see anything in the documentation that gives a sort of baseline or measurement for inclusion. We plan to test all steps to complete a task, and log defects accordingly with an assigned timeline for fixing them (as would be true for functional defects).
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2.1k
Jan ’26
IOHIDCheckAccess(kIOHIDRequestTypeListenEvent) does not work
I have an app that needs Input Monitoring permissions to get keyboard access in the background. I've attempted to use both IOHIDCheckAccess(kIOHIDRequestTypeListenEvent) and IOHIDRequestAccess(kIOHIDRequestTypeListenEvent), but they always return denied, even though I have given the permission for Input Monitoring to the app in Settings. Is there something I need to put in my Info.plist to enable this permission to work?
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2.5k
Jan ’26