I’m trying to understand the best practice for assigning accessibilityTraits to a UITableViewCell that users can select from a list of options.
In Apple’s first-party apps like Settings, I’ve noticed an inconsistent approach—some cells use the Button trait, while others simply announce the label along with the Selected trait when applicable, without any additional role like Button or Adjustable.
So my question is:
What is the most appropriate accessibility trait to use for a selectable table view cell that updates a selection (like a settings option)?
Is using .button the right approach, or should we rely solely on .selected?
Is there any user experience guideline from Apple that recommends one over the other?
Would love to hear how others handle this for clarity and consistency in VoiceOver behavior.
Explore best practices for creating inclusive apps for users of Apple accessibility features and users from diverse backgrounds.
Selecting any option will automatically load the page
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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.
We have a requirement to manage the shortcuts and hotkeys in our application, and have it to be intuitive and support multi-lingual fully. The understanding that we have currently is that most universal shortcuts and hotkeys on MacOS/iOS are expressed using English/Latin characters’ – and now, when a ‘pure foreign language physical or virtual keyboard’ is the ‘input device’ – we are unclear how the user would invoke such a hotkey.
Now, considering cases where other language keyboards have no Latin characters, in these environments, managing shortcuts and hotkeys becomes a rather difficult task. Taking a very simple example, the shortcut for Printing a page is Command/Control + 'P'. This can be an issue on Non English character keyboards like Arabic, where not only are there no letters for P, there is also no equivalent phonetic character as well, since the language itself does not have it.
Also – when we are wanting customizability of a hotkey by the user, how would the user express ‘which is the key combination for a given action they want to perform’.
So, based on these conditions, in order to provide the most comprehensive and optimal experience for the user in their own language, what is it that Apple recommend we do here, for Hotkeys/Shortcuts support in Pure Languages
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
Tags:
InputMethodKit
Internationalization
Shortcuts
Localization
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?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
SwiftUI provides the accessibilityCustomContent(_:_:) modifier to add additional accessibility information for an element. However, I couldn’t find a similar approach in UIKit.
Is there a way to achieve this in UIKit?
Hey everyone,
I've been thinking about a truly innovative way to enhance iPhone battery life and user convenience, drawing inspiration from kinetic energy harvesting. What if we could have a clock display on the main iPhone screen that's powered purely by user motion, and activates only when you look at it, without touching your main battery?
The Core Idea
Imagine this:
Kinetic Energy Harvesting: Your iPhone would have a tiny, integrated kinetic energy generator. This generator would capture the energy from your everyday movements – walking, picking up the phone, putting it in your pocket.
Independent Power Source: This harvested energy would be stored in a small, dedicated capacitor or micro-battery, completely separate from your iPhone's main battery.
Acelerometer-Activated Display: Instead of relying on power-hungry facial recognition, the phone's accelerometer (a very low-power sensor) would detect specific "raise to wake" or "tap to look" gestures.
On-Demand, Ultra-Low Power Clock: Only when the accelerometer detects one of these specific gestures would the stored kinetic energy be used to illuminate just the necessary pixels on the main OLED/AMOLED screen to display the time. The rest of the screen stays completely black (consuming no power on OLED).
Automatic Shut-Off: As soon as the gesture ends or the phone is put down, the clock display would turn off, conserving the limited harvested energy.
Why This Matters
This isn't just a cool gimmick; it offers significant benefits:
True Battery Independence: Get the time at a glance, anytime, without touching your main battery or even the power button. This means more main battery life for apps, calls, and everything else.
Ultimate Convenience: A "magical" interaction – just pick up your phone, and the time instantly appears. No taps, no button presses.
Sustainable & Innovative: Showcases practical "energy harvesting" in a consumer device, pushing boundaries for self-sufficient tech.
Extreme Energy Efficiency: By using a low-power accelerometer as the trigger and only lighting a few pixels on demand, the system is designed for minimal power draw, making kinetic power a viable source.
This concept combines existing low-power sensing (accelerometer), efficient display technology (OLED/AMOLED's true blacks), and cutting-edge energy harvesting, creating a genuinely innovative user experience.
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
In SwiftUI, the date picker component is breaking in colour contrast accessibility. Below code has been use to create date picker:
struct ContentView: View {
@State private var date = Date()
@State private var selectedDate: Date = .init()
var body: some View {
let min = Calendar.current.date(byAdding: .day, value: 14, to: Date()) ?? Date()
let max = Calendar.current.date(byAdding: .year, value: 4, to: Date()) ?? Date()
DatePicker(
"Start Date",
selection: $date,
in: min ... max,
displayedComponents: [.date]
)
.datePickerStyle(.graphical)
.frame(alignment: .topLeading)
.onAppear {
selectedDate = Calendar.current.date(byAdding: .day, value: 14, to: Date()) ?? Date()
}
}
}
#Preview {
ContentView()
}
attaching the screenshot of failure accessibility.
hi giys,can anyone help me bcouse i cant pair my apple watch series 1 with my iPhone 15
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
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.
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
I can’t screenshot using assistive touch after i install ios 26 beta 2
We recently adopted our app to Liquid Glass and received a complaint from a visually impaired user that VoiceOver does not read out the number of unread items in the tab bar anymore. We checked and it seems that before iOS 26/Liquid Glass, setting a tab bar item's badgeValue property also set an appropriate text to its accessibilityValue property (something like "3 items"). But with Liquid Glass tab bars, this does not seem to be the case anymore.
We fixed this by providing our own accessibility value, but we're wondering whether this change was a deliberate choice or simply a bug? If this new behavior is considered a bug, I would post a bug report.
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)
}
}
}
}
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)
Many of us Bangladeshi iPhone users were upset when Apple changed the font to Bangla in the most recent iOS version (18.4.1). We prefer the old Bangla typeface. I want the old Bangla typeface to return, and so do we. Please consider this.
I have users who need to be able to hear the content of SwiftUI Text views. I have specified the .textSelection(.enabled) modifier for the text views. Adding this modifier causes a "copy" option to appear on long press, but it doesn't enable the visible selection of text, nor does it provide the "Speak" menu item that UIKit allows on text selection.
Is the "Speak Selection" accessibility feature broken for SwiftUI Text views? I've found that there's another accessibility feature that does work (enabling the Speech Controller button for "Speak Screen"). Do I need to tell my users that Apple is deprecating the "Speak Selection" accessibility feature, and that they need to use the Speech Controller instead? Or is there something else I can do to my SwiftUI to get that feature to work?
After IOS 26 beta 2 installation in my iphone 13, I can't do a screenshot using assistivetouch nor touch on back.
Hello,
I'm observing a persistent and frustrating issue with an accessibility feature called Guided Access that seems to affect many users across different devices and iOS versions.
Problem
The triple-click gesture (side or home button) to activate Guided Access intermittently stops working after the device has been in normal use for a few days (typically 2-7 days) without a restart.
I have done some debugging for Apple in FB16094026 but received no updates after 6 months. So I'm posting here in the hope that this will be solved sooner. A core accessibility feature shouldn't require daily device restarts to function reliably.
Details:
Guided Access is correctly enabled in Settings > Accessibility.
Initially, the triple-click works perfectly.
After a period of normal device use (2-7 days), the triple-click no longer triggers Guided Access in any app.
Restarting the device temporarily resolves the issue, and Guided Access triple-click works again immediately after a reboot. However, the problem recurs after continued use.
Simply toggling the Guided Access setting on/off does NOT fix it.
Additional observation: Even trying to select Guided Access manually via the Accessibility Shortcut menu (if multiple shortcuts are enabled) sometimes fails to launch the feature when in this state.
Affected:
iPhones and iPads
Observed on iOS/iPadOS 16, 17, and now 18, indicating it's a long-standing bug.
Impact:
Guided Access is a crucial accessibility feature for many users (for focus, special needs, parental controls, etc.). Its unreliable activation significantly disrupts daily workflows and reliance on this function. This issue appears to be widespread, with many reports across forums like Apple Support Communities and Reddit.
For example, this post received over 1k upvotes.
To see more examples please refer to FB16094026.
Could Apple please investigate this bug urgently? Thanks.
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
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!
Can you guys like probably make Visual Intelligence available for the action button on the iPhone 16e? It should be only for iPhones that use A18 and future gen apple chips.
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
after the 26.3 beta update, my mouse has been having major problems with transparency, have to keep going to reset colors in display, but it doesn't hold, anyone else?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General