Hello Apple Community,
I'm experiencing an issue with "Vocal Shortcuts" on iOS. I created a trigger in Vocal Shortcuts to run a specific shortcut, and it works perfectly on the first day. However, by the next day, the voice command stops functioning entirely. To make it work again, I have to disable and then re-enable Vocal Shortcuts in the settings.
I've tested this on multiple devices (iPhone 11, iPhone 13, and iPhone X), all running the latest iOS version, and the same problem occurs on each one. Is there any additional configuration needed, or could this be a bug?
Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you in advance,
Explore best practices for creating inclusive apps for users of Apple accessibility features and users from diverse backgrounds.
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Hello!
I'm trying to improve the accessibility of a UIKit login form in our iOS app. If an error occurs, an error message is shown in a label that is hidden by default. For our VoiceOver users, I want to move the focus to the error message label so that VoiceOver reads out the error message.
I'm trying to achieve this using UIAccessibility.post, but try as I might, it does not work. To better understand the problem, I created a very simple App which shows a button and a label (always visible), and on pressing the button, I post an accessibility notification:
UIAccessibility.post(notification: .layoutChanged, argument: label)
What I expect to happen is for the focus to move from the button to the label. What happens instead is the focus stays with the button and VoiceOver reads out the button's label again. So it seems to process the notification, but ignore the argument.
Am I misunderstanding how accessibility notifications work or is this simply broken at the moment? I am testing this withy my iPhone with the current iOS version 18.2.1
By the way, using the more modern variant leads to the same result:
AccessibilityNotification.LayoutChanged(label).post()
We currently have an odd issue with VoiceOver spelling a word letter by letter while the same word is spoken as a whole for other items.
The app is in German.
I have a View in SwiftUI whose button traits are removed, then a label "Start Tab 1 von 5" is added. "Tab is spoken as a whole word here, all fine.
If I change the label to "Tab-Schaltfläche" or for example "SimplyGo Tab 3 von 5", then "Tab" is spoken as "T A B", letter by letter. is there a way to force VoiceOver to speak it as a whole?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
I'm working on a ble connected device that use ancs and system clock to receive alarm notification events for earing impaired people. It used to work until iPhone 13 with latest iOS 18.x. Starting with iPhone 14 onward (iOS 18.x), system clock alarm notification is not sent anymore.
Is There any reason for this to happening?.
Is anyone aware of this behaviour?
Any suggestion would be really appreciated.
Cheers
Hi,
I am writing in the hope to receive some clarification about the rationale of the Audit type sufficientElementDescription - in context with Accessibility Audit API.
Please see my test below:
And another example in context with Xcode, where the strings visible in the UI are also set as accessible labels of their respective elements.
Thanks for your help!
How can I fix the truncated text issue reported by the Apple Accessibility Inspector? I created a sample view controller with the system font set to its maximum size, and the label appears to be truncated.
private let testLabel: UILabel = {
let label = UILabel()
label.text = "Apple A11y Tes"
label.textAlignment = .center
label.numberOfLines = 1
label.adjustsFontForContentSizeCategory = true
label.font = .preferredFont(forTextStyle: .headline)
label.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
return label
}()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
setupUI()
}
private func setupUI() {
view.addSubview(testLabel)
NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
testLabel.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.centerXAnchor),
testLabel.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.centerYAnchor),
testLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualTo: view.leadingAnchor, constant: 25),
testLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo: view.trailingAnchor, constant: -25)
])
}
}
What is the expected result here?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
Hello everyone,
I’d like to report an issue I’ve encountered when using a Bluetooth mouse together with AssistiveTouch on iPhone running iOS 16.5.
This has also been reported via Feedback Assistant with
Feedback ID: FB17806167
Description:
When using a Bluetooth mouse together with AssistiveTouch on iPhone (iOS), the pointer behaves incorrectly in landscape orientation.
Specifically:
The pointer cannot move past the center of the screen
Horizontal and vertical (X/Y) movements appear to be swapped or misaligned
Natural movement of the pointer is not possible
It seems as if the internal coordinate mapping remains locked in portrait orientation, even when the device is physically rotated to landscape.
This issue occurs system-wide, regardless of the current app. It is observable in Settings, on the Home screen, and in third-party apps.
Steps to Reproduce:
Enable AssistiveTouch
Connect a Bluetooth mouse to the iPhone
Rotate the device to landscape orientation
Try moving the mouse pointer across the screen
→ Notice that:
Pointer cannot move past the center
Horizontal/vertical input is interpreted incorrectly (as if still in portrait)
Expected Behavior:
The mouse pointer should move across the entire screen correctly, regardless of device orientation.
Actual Behavior:
In landscape orientation, the pointer is either restricted to part of the screen or misaligned.
It behaves as if the device is still in portrait.
Horizontal mouse movement causes vertical pointer movement, and vice versa
User experience feels broken and unintuitive
Feature Suggestion:
Please improve the synchronization between physical device orientation and AssistiveTouch pointer mapping on iOS.
I also suggest exposing AssistiveTouch orientation control via a public API, so developers can help maintain consistent pointer behavior.
Thanks in advance for any insights or suggestions.
Best regards,
Jannis
I cannot pair my PHONAK hearing aids after I upgraded to iOS 18.3
under hearing devices, it just keeps on switching will not find anything. I’ve undelete them and reinstall them four times. Uninstalled the app. Under Bluetooth, it finds it and has it. But under hearing devices where I can control everything it will not. Once I add the hearing aids, my phone goes completely silent. I do not know if anyone calls or texts me
I'm developing a macOS app using NSView and trying to make my content navigable via VoiceOver. I'm expecting the built-in rotor category "Content Chooser" (accessed via VO + U) to list my accessible elements — just like how it shows message items in the Mail app. However, in my app, this rotor appears empty, even though:
My views return proper accessibilityChildren() or accessibilityContents() with valid NSAccessibilityElements
Each child has correct AXRole, AXLabel, etc.
The window is key and visible
VoiceOver navigation works for the elements
I've also tried:
Using both accessibilityChildren() and accessibilityContents() in container views
Setting roles like .group, .staticText, .button, etc.
Avoiding hidden elements
Ensuring all elements are visible and labeled
Still, "Content Chooser" rotor is empty.
What exact conditions must be met for an element to appear in the "Content Chooser" rotor in a macOS app?
Any Apple-specific guidance, hidden requirements, or sample code would be appreciated.
[macOS 15.4] Game Controller Background Input Capture Broken - Accessibility App No Longer Functions
Our application,
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gamecontroller-mapper/id6737088417
which maps game controller inputs to keyboard/mouse events system-wide, has stopped functioning properly after the macOS 15.4 update. Specifically, the app can no longer capture game controller inputs when running in the background, severely impacting its core functionality.
Environment
macOS version: 15.4
Previous working versions: All versions prior to 15.4
App type: Background utility with accessibility permissions
Hardware: All game controller brands compatible with macOS
Detailed Description
Before macOS 15.4
Our application correctly captured game controller inputs from any brand connected to Mac and successfully translated them to keyboard/mouse events system-wide. Users could control any application (e.g., scrolling through documents in Preview using controller buttons) while our app ran in the background with the accessibility permissions granted.
After macOS 15.4
The application only works when it has active focus (is in the foreground). When any other application gains focus, our app completely stops receiving or detecting any input events from the game controller while running in the background. For instance, pressing the 'down' button on the controller while another app is active results in no event being registered within our application.
We've tried updating the app to work in accessory mode (in the menubar), but the issue persists.
Steps to Reproduce
Install our application on macOS 15.3 or earlier
Grant accessibility permissions when prompted
Connect a compatible game controller (e.g., Xbox or other controller)
Open another application (e.g., Preview with a PDF document)
Press buttons on the controller to navigate the document without touching the keyboard
Expected result on 15.3: Controller inputs are translated to keyboard events, even when our app is in the background
Upgrade to macOS 15.4
Repeat steps 2-5
Actual result on 15.4: Controller inputs are only translated to keyboard events when our application has focus
Technical Implementation
Our app uses:
CGEvent.tapCreate() to create a global event tap
CGEvent for simulating keyboard and mouse events
GCController.extendedGamepad?.valueChangedHandler for detecting controller inputs
Proper NSAccessibilityUsageDescription and appropriate entitlements
GCController.shouldMonitorBackgroundEvents = true to ensure controller events continue when the app is inactive
Possible Relation to Recent Changes
We noticed in the macOS 15.4 Release Notes:
Game Controller - Resolved Issues:
Fixed: Game controllers might stop responding when accessibility features, such as Voice Over, are enabled. (141497799)
We suspect this fix might have introduced a regression or intentional limitation affecting applications like ours that rely on background event simulation with game controller input.
Impact
This change severely impacts:
Applications designed to use game controllers as assistive input devices for users who may have difficulty using traditional keyboard and mouse inputs
Applications for media control, presentation navigation, and other similar use cases
Users who rely on our application for accessibility purposes
Questions
Is this an intentional security change or an unintended side effect of the controller fix mentioned in the release notes?
Are there any new APIs or alternative approaches we should implement to restore functionality?
If this is a system bug, when can we expect a fix?
We would greatly appreciate any guidance on how to restore our application's functionality. Thank you for your assistance.
AVPlayer has 3 visual accessibility issues with videos out of the box:
The contrast fails for the current time in the video
The contrast fails for the remaining time in the video
The hit area is too small for the time slider. The WCAG AA requirement is a minimum hit size of 24 x 24. The height of the hit area of the offending region is 8.
Is there a known fix for any of these?
This can be reproduced with this code in an app playground:
import SwiftUI
import AVKit
import UIKit
struct ContentView: View {
private let video = URL(string: "https://server15700.contentdm.oclc.org/dmwebservices/index.php?q=dmGetStreamingFile/p15700coll2/15.mp4/byte/json")!
@State private var player: AVPlayer?
var body: some View {
VStack {
VideoPlayerView(player: player)
.frame(maxWidth: .infinity, maxHeight: 200)
}
.task {
player = try? await loadPlayer(video: video)
}
}
}
private struct VideoPlayerView: UIViewControllerRepresentable {
let player: AVPlayer?
func makeUIViewController(context: Context) -> AVPlayerViewController {
let controller = AVPlayerViewController()
controller.player = player
controller.modalPresentationStyle = .overFullScreen
return controller
}
func updateUIViewController(_ uiViewController: AVPlayerViewController, context: Context) {
uiViewController.player = player
}
}
private func loadPlayer(video: URL) async throws -> AVPlayer {
let videoAsset = AVURLAsset(url: video)
let videoPlusSubtitles = AVMutableComposition()
try await videoPlusSubtitles.add(videoAsset, withMediaType: .video)
try await videoPlusSubtitles.add(videoAsset, withMediaType: .audio)
return await AVPlayer(playerItem: AVPlayerItem(asset: videoPlusSubtitles))
}
private extension AVMutableComposition {
func add(_ asset: AVAsset, withMediaType mediaType: AVMediaType) async throws {
let duration = try await asset.load(.duration)
try await asset.loadTracks(withMediaType: mediaType).first.map { track in
let newTrack = self.addMutableTrack(withMediaType: mediaType, preferredTrackID: kCMPersistentTrackID_Invalid)
let range = CMTimeRangeMake(start: .zero, duration: duration)
try newTrack?.insertTimeRange(range, of: track, at: .zero)
}
}
}
If I use NSAlert the buttons look like this:
The Cancel button has a gray background. We got complaints about the bad contrast and people pointed out that the alerts from System Settings look like this:
Here the Cancel button has a white background. Unfortunately I did not find out how to make the buttons in my own alerts look like those in System Settings. Setting the button's bezel color to white did not work. Any help would be highly appreciated. Thanks.
Best regards,
Marc
I updated with 18.3 beta, but lost video and audio option with that update, I tried to restore with itune in windows 11, got struck between. Forcefully turned off ipad, after two tries got off.... Off like blinked out screen... Not tried all tricks to on, can't on....please tell a solution. Used all your advices in internet. It was 90% charged, working superbly. So far no risk... Please help me. No charging icon, no sign of life. How can On?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
if you are on the tik tok website on safari, you are able to view a video that originally brought you to the website the from the search log, but if you want to click on another video listed on the website, it claims you need to use the app to go farther, and upon proceeding it just brings you to the App Store regardless if you have the app already or not , and you are unable to view the video displayed on the website without searching for it separately on the app.
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
Hello community,
We're designing an app that can optionally be controlled by a stylus with a mesh tip. In this case, the mesh tip we're using is 5 mm in diameter. It seems that mesh tip contact detection is unstable in this size, although it works better with a larger diameter.
Is it possible to access a setting in iOS that lets you define the minimum contact area needed to detect a contact on the screen? This would enable us to use this 5 mm stylus.
Best regards,
Edwin
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
i downloaded ios 18.2 and siri returned to the old ios 17 siri.iIt wont respons.i have to click the button many times to respond and when it does it goes away.also genmoji isnt downloading
i have iphone 15 pro max
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
Hi,
I've wrapped AVRoutePickerView in SwiftUI using pretty much the code given here, with a few changes:
func makeUIView(context: Context) -> UIView {
let routePickerView = AVRoutePickerView()
// Configure the button's color.
//routePickerView.delegate = context.coordinator
//routePickerView.backgroundColor = .secondarySystemBackground
routePickerView.tintColor = .accent
routePickerView.activeTintColor = .accent
// Indicate whether your app prefers video content.
routePickerView.prioritizesVideoDevices = false
return routePickerView
}
I commented out routePickerView.delegate = context.coordinator because it doesn't compile; context.coordinator is of type Void and I'm not sure how to fix that. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the issue.
Anyway, this works fine without VoiceOver; if I tap the button, I get the AirPlay popover. But in VoiceOver, if I select the button and double-tap, nothing happens… it just reads the button's accessibilityLabel again. How can I get the AirPlay popover to show in VoiceOver?
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?
Topic:
Accessibility & Inclusion
SubTopic:
General
Tags:
Game Controller
Accessibility
Focus
visionOS
I made a (very simple) custom tab bar in SwiftUI. It's simply an HStack containing two buttons. These buttons control the selection of a paged TabView. This works well, but in VoiceOver they don't behave like the bottom tab bar or e.g. a segmented picker. Specifically, VoiceOver does not say something like "tab one of two" when the first button is focused.
According to my research, in UIKit this can be accomplished by giving the container view the accessibility trait tabBar, hiding it as an accessibility element and give it the accessibility container type semanticGroup.
In SwiftUI, there is also the trait isTabBar, but that does not seem to have any impact for VoiceOver. I don't see an equivalent of semanticGroup in SwiftUI. I tried accessibilityElement(children: .contain) but that also does not seem to have any impact.
So, is there any way in SwiftUI to make a button behave like a tab-button in VoiceOver? And how is SwiftUI's isTabBar accessibility trait supposed to be used?
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
}