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

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Making PhotoLibrary UIImagePickerController a11y compliant
I am invoking the UIImagePickerController of type UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypePhotoLibrary from my viewController. I want shift the keyboard focus to the Cancel button which is the first interactive element on the gallery picker. When a user has full keyboard access turned on they should be able to tap tab and interact with the gallery picker modal. How do I achieve this?
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156
May ’25
Why does the macOS window sharing indicator appear for some windows but not others?
On recent versions of macOS, when a window is being shared (via the system screen-capture APIs), the OS sometimes shows a small "shared window" badge in the title bar. I’ve noticed that this indicator is not consistent: For some windows, the badge reliably appears when they are being shared. For other windows, the badge never appears, even though the window is actively shared. In particular, windows that use a standard system title bar seem to show the indicator more often, while windows with custom-drawn or non-standard chrome do not. My questions are: What are the exact conditions under which macOS decides to draw the “shared window” indicator in a window’s title bar? Is this strictly tied to certain NSWindow styles or masks (e.g. titled vs borderless)? Is there any API or flag I can use to detect programmatically whether a given window will display this system indicator when shared?
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1.1k
Sep ’25
Too small font in Notes app
Dear developer team, After updating to iOS 18.3.1 I noticed the font in the Notes app became too small to read comfortably, and I have already got poor eyesight. There is no way to increase the font size. When I select my preferred text size through Accessibility settings, it only changes the size of headings in the Notes app but the text remains too small in the note itself. I’m using the IPhone 13. I googled the issue and seems like other users across the Internet are also unhappy about the lack of ability to change the text size in Notes to suit their comfortable levels. I hope that this issue will be addressed by developers in the next version of the iOS because the reading size in the standard app can affect health for the tired and diminished eyesight. Kind regards, Maria
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533
Feb ’25
Is there any way to make user forced update?
Hi I'm planning to make macos App and distribute to MacOS App Store. The question is should i make force update when update is needed. The reason why I want to make this feature is I don't want to make user use previous version of app. My plan is like this. when app needed update, make user reach special page that describe why update is needed and set a button that can download new version of app. the download will be automatically doing at background don't need to visit app store. I search several forums and gpt but there is no positive reply of this.. so finally i make a post to know is there no way to make this. Thank you!
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477
Mar ’25
Exploring VoiceOver Accessibility for UITableView
I’m currently exploring VoiceOver accessibility in iOS and looking for the best way to reduce the number of swipes required to navigate a UITableView. I’ve come across a couple of potential solutions but am unsure which is preferred. Solution 1: Grouping Subviews in Each Cell Combine all subviews inside a UITableViewCell into a single accessibility element. Provide a concise and meaningful accessibilityLabel. Use custom actions (UIAccessibilityCustomAction) or accessibilityActivationPoint to handle interactions on specific elements within the cell. Solution 2: Using UIAccessibilityContainerDataTableCell & UIAccessibilityContainerDataTable Implement UIAccessibilityContainerDataTable for structured table navigation. Make each cell conform to UIAccessibilityContainerDataTableCell, defining its row and column positions. However, I’m finding this approach a bit complex, and I need guidance on properly implementing these protocols. Additionally, in my case, VoiceOver is not navigating to Section 2—I’m not sure why. Questions: Which of these approaches is generally preferred for better VoiceOver navigation? How do I properly implement UIAccessibilityContainerDataTable so that all sections and rows are navigable? Any best practices or alternative recommendations? Would really appreciate any insights or guidance!
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Mar ’25
VisionOS - Gamepad steals focus
I am developing a vision os app for controlling an underwater ROV. I have ornaments with telemetry and buttons around a central video view feed. I have custom buttons mappings, such as "A" for locking the depth of the drone. However, when I look at buttons or certain ornaments, my custom gamepad logic is kept from running. This means that when a SwiftUI Button gains focus on visionOS, pressing the controller’s A button triggers the system’s default “click” on that Button rather than my custom buttonA handler. Essentially, focus interception by the system is stealing my A-press events and preventing my custom gamepad logic from running. Is there a way to disable the built in gamepad interaction and only allow my custom gamepad mappings?
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219
Apr ’25
I can’t create an iTunes Connect account.
I learned that I need to create an iTunes Connect account to publish my book translations on Apple Books, following the instructions on the Apple Support page. I was then directed to the iTunes Connect website. Despite trying multiple Apple accounts with different credit cards on my Mac, iPad, and iPhone, I kept getting the error “This Apple Account does not have a valid credit card on file.” In the end, I began to wonder if iTunes Connect is unavailable in Turkey. What do I need to do to publish content on Apple Books from Turkey? Do I need to obtain a developer account, or is this service not available in Turkey? The Apple customer service representative I contacted in Turkey said they didn’t have information on the matter and directed me here.
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480
Mar ’25
To say I'm extremely hurt is an understatement! 😔
Voice Control Disabling System Services After Reboot I recently learned from Apple Accessibility Support that the issue I’m experiencing with Voice Control is now affecting multiple users. When I first reported the problem, I appeared to be the first case—what you might call “patient zero.” I have provided extensive feedback and system logs, but now that the issue is more widespread, I have been told that I will not be informed of the cause or notified directly when a fix is found. Instead, updates will be released as solutions are identified, and support staff will not necessarily know the details of the underlying problem. To summarize my experience: after enabling Voice Control and rebooting my MacBook Pro (14.2-inch, M4 chip), critical Apple system services—including FaceTime, Apple Music, and News—stop functioning. Dictation remains available, but it is not as accurate or effective for my needs as Voice Control. I rely on these accessibility features daily due to my disability and cerebral palsy, and this issue has persisted for over five months. I have always valued contributing to the developer program and supporting Apple’s efforts to improve accessibility. However, I find it discouraging that there is no clear communication about the status of this issue or its resolution. My theory is that there may be a hardware interaction—perhaps between the neural engine and the new Wi-Fi chip—rather than a purely software problem. I understand that some information may not be immediately available, but I believe that users who rely on accessibility features should be kept informed about major issues and their progress toward resolution. I appreciate the dedication of the accessibility and development teams, and I want to continue supporting Apple’s mission of inclusion. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Donald Spencer Kirby Dayton, Ohio
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189
Jun ’25
SwiftUI PhotosPicker accessibility issue
iOS 18.3.1, iPhone 16 Pro. I pick photos using connected physical keyboard from the user's photo library using: .photosPicker(isPresented: $viewModel.isImagePickerPresented, selection: $viewModel.selectedImageItem, matching: .images) When picker appears, accessibility focus is moved to "dynamic Island" instead of cancel button. There is no possibility to navigate by keyboard in photos picker view without tapping on this view and move focus to this view manually . I noticed the same behavior in Notes app.
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571
Mar ’25
MacOS Sequoia support for VoiceOver AppleScript automation
We are unable to programmatically enable AppleScript automation for VoiceOver on macOS 15 (Sequoia) In macOS 15, Apple moved the VoiceOver configuration from: ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.VoiceOver4/default.plist to a sandboxed path: ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.VoiceOver/Library/Preferences/com.apple.VoiceOver4/default.plist Steps to Reproduce: Use a macOS 15 (ARM64) machine (or GitHub Actions runner image with macOS 15 ARM). Open VoiceOver: open /System/Library/CoreServices/VoiceOver.app Set the SCREnableAppleScript flag to true in the new sandboxed .plist: plutil -replace SCREnableAppleScript -bool true ~/Library/Group\ Containers/group.com.apple.VoiceOver/Library/Preferences/com.apple.VoiceOver4/default.plist Confirm csrutil status is either disabled or not enforced. Attempt to control VoiceOver via AppleScript (e.g., using osascript voiceOverPerform.applescript). Observe that the AppleScript command fails with no useful output (exit code 1), and VoiceOver does not respond to automation.
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268
Jun ’25
How to Receive Callbacks for UIAccessibilityAction Methods Like accessibilityPerformMagicTap()?
I’ve tried implementing the accessibilityPerformMagicTap() method in a specific UIViewController, its view, and even in AppDelegate, but I am not receiving any callbacks. I directly overrode this method in the mentioned areas, but it never gets triggered when performing a magic tap. How can I properly observe and handle the accessibilityPerformMagicTap() action?
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499
Mar ’25
accessibilityActivationPoint Not Working When Set Directly on UITableViewCell
I’m trying to set the accessibilityActivationPoint directly on a UITableViewCell so that VoiceOver activate on a specific button inside the cell. However, this approach doesn’t seem to work. Instead, when I override the accessibilityActivationPoint property inside the UITableViewCell subclass and return the desired point, it works as expected. Why doesn’t setting accessibilityActivationPoint directly on the cell work, but overriding it inside the cell does? Is there a recommended approach for handling this scenario? The following approach works, override var accessibilityActivationPoint: CGPoint { get { return convert(toggleSwitch.center, to: nil) } set{ super.accessibilityActivationPoint = newValue } } but setting accessibility point directly not works private func configureAccessibility() { isAccessibilityElement = true accessibilityLabel = titleLabel.text accessibilityTraits = .toggleButton accessibilityActivationPoint = self.convert(toggleSwitch.center, to: self) accessibilityValue = toggleSwitch.accessibilityValue }
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159
Apr ’25
WKWebView not scrollable with a physical keyboard
Hello all. Currently I am trying to get WKWebView to scroll with a physical keyboard and it just will not work. I tried allowsKeyboardScrolling( ) and it did not work. UIWebView works but its no longer supported. Trying to get full keyboard access to work to make our app more accessible but WKWebView does not want to play nice. Has anyone else had issues trying to use WKWebView with an external keyboard, and if so did you find any solutions? Greatly appreciated!
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473
Feb ’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?
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191
Apr ’25
The camera preview screen cannot be previewed in full screen
I downloaded the official camera sample code(https://developer.apple.com/tutorials/sample-apps/capturingphotos-camerapreview )it's a .swiftpm package and created a SwiftUI project. I copied the official sample code into this new project, build it, and ran it on an iPhone 13 for testing. I found that there were black empty areas on the top and bottom of the application interface, which means that the application interface cannot be previewed in full screen. I have tried many methods but cannot preview in full screen. How can I modify the code?
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193
Apr ’25
Programmatically force VoiceOver to read parentheses for math expressions
How can I force VoiceOver to read parentheses for math expressions like this: Text("(2+3)×4") // VoiceOver: Two plus three, times four I’m looking for a way to have VoiceOver announce parentheses (e.g. “left paren”, “right paren”) without relying on NumberFormatter.Style.spellOut or .speechAlwaysIncludesPunctuation(), as both have drawbacks. Using .spellOut breaks braille output and Rotor › Characters menu by turning numbers and symbols into words. And .speechAlwaysIncludesPunctuation() makes VoiceOver overly verbose—for example, it reads “21” as “twenty hyphen one.” Is there a better way to selectively announce specific punctuation like parentheses while keeping numbers and symbols intact for braille and Rotor use?
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376
Jul ’25
Hi,I applied for the COMMUNICATION capability failed, what should I do next?
Hi,I applied for the COMMUNICATION capability, but have a message that I already have the driving task app entitlement. After that ,I have applied one more time ,there is no reply anymore. I do not have the com.apple.developer.carplay-communication capability, that means I can not apply this capability? What should i do next to get this capatibility? Thanks
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1.1k
Jul ’25