Hi! I'm working on an application where I'd like VoiceOver to give each element of a tab bar the "Tab" trait. I'm testing this using the Accessibility Inspector. Essentially, I'd like to replicate the behavior of how Safari identifies each of its tabs as a "Tab" (I've attached a photo below). How exactly is this accomplished? I've tried using the .isTabBar trait to designate the child objects as "Tabs", but this doesn't seem to be working and I've struggled to find documentation about this. For additional context, these child items are Buttons, and I would like to have the .isButton trait essentially replaced by something like an .isTab trait. Not sure if this is actually possible or not, but curious how the Accessibility Inspector recognizes this in Safari.

I need to direct text-to-speech generated audio from my app simultaneously to a bluetooth speaker device AND to the internal iPad speaker. The app uses AVSpeechSynthesizer and several third party speech engines. How best to do this? I noticed the outputChannels property on AVSpeechSynthesizer...are there any examples of how to use this?

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.

Hi Apple Developer Community, I'm developing an eye-tracking application using ARKit's ARFaceTrackingConfiguration and ARFaceAnchor.blendShapes for gaze detection using Xcode. I'm experiencing several calibration and accuracy issues and would appreciate insights from the community. Current Implementation Using ARFaceAnchor.blendShapes (.eyeLookUpLeft, .eyeLookDownLeft, .eyeLookInLeft, .eyeLookOutLeft, etc.) Implementing custom sensitivity curves and smoothing algorithms Applying baseline correction and coordinate mapping Using quadratic regression for calibration point mapping Issues I'm Facing 1. Calibration Mismatch Red dot position doesn't align with where I'm actually looking Significant offset between intended gaze point and actual cursor position Calibration seems to drift or become inaccurate over time 2. Extreme Eye Movement Requirements Need to make exaggerated eye movements to reach screen edges/corners Natural eye movements don't translate to proportional cursor movement Difficulty reaching certain screen regions even with calibration 3. Sensitivity and Stability Issues Cursor jitters or jumps around when looking at center Too much sensitivity to micro-movements Inconsistent behavior between calibration and normal operation 4. I also noticed that tracking on calibration screen as well as tracking on reading screen works better as expected when head movement is there, but I do not want much head movement. I want tracking with normal eye movement while reading an Ebook. Primary Question: Word-Level Eye Tracking Feasibility Is word-level eye tracking (tracking gaze as users read through individual words in an ebook) technically feasible with current iPhone/iPad hardware? I understand that Apple's built-in eye tracking is primarily an accessibility feature for UI navigation. However, I'm wondering if the TrueDepth camera and ARKit's eye tracking capabilities are sufficient for: Tracking natural reading patterns (left-to-right, line-by-line progression) Detecting which specific words a user is looking at Maintaining accuracy for sustained reading sessions (15-30 minutes) Working reliably across different users and lighting conditions Questions for the Community Hardware Limitations: Are iPhone/iPad TrueDepth cameras capable of the precision needed for word-level tracking, or is this beyond current hardware capabilities? Calibration Best Practices: What calibration strategies have worked best for accurate gaze mapping? How many calibration points are typically needed? Reading-Specific Challenges: Are there particular challenges when tracking reading behavior vs. general gaze tracking? Alternative Approaches: Are there better approaches than ARKit blend shapes for this use case? Current Setup Devices: iPhone 14 Pro iOS Version: iOS 18.3 ARKit Version: Latest available Any insights, experiences, or technical guidance would be greatly appreciated. I'm particularly interested in hearing from developers who have worked on similar eye tracking applications or have experience with the limitations and capabilities of ARKit's eye tracking features. Thank you for your time and expertise!

Since UITextView does not support the zoom function, the zoom function of UITextView with addSubview is used in UIScrollView. However, when I use the link here, the text behind it is missing. Ex) https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/login\nApple Developer Login -> The text “Apple Developer Login” does not appear. If anyone has experienced the same problem as me or knows a solution, please leave a comment. Note) It is working normally in iOS16, but the text behind the link disappears in iOS18. The text is not visible, but you can copy it and paste it to retrieve the missing text.

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?

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?

Please update Accessibility OS Settings for VoiceOver in iPhone iOS and iPadOS to include frames on the Rotor, and to make web navigation and component gestures easier to find and assign. Please add content to the iPhone and iPad Apple User Guide to use VoiceOver in web navigation with touch gestures. Specifically... iframes. There is no clear guidance in Apple documentation for VoiceOver users in iPhone or iPadOS to access iframes with touch gestures. A common belief as written on AppleVis, other blogs, and internet searches is that iframes in Safari or a webView in an app are only available with explore by touch. If explore by touch is the only option for some interactions, that needs to be included in Apple User Guides. If not, details on equivalent touch gestures for VO that have keyboard interactions in Mac need to be clear for users. VoiceOver for Mac includes a default keyboard interaction of VO-Command-F in its extensive User Guide (https://support.apple.com/guide/voiceover/by-images-or-frames-mchlp2740/mac). A user can include a rotor option for web navigation for iframes. VoiceOver for iPhone and iPad does not include a default swipe gesture assigned to frames. An option is not available for the Rotor. While there is iPhone User Guide guidance that gestures can be customized (https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/customize-gestures-and-keyboard-shortcuts-iph59a8e6fd2/18.0/ios/18.0), it is not clear that for adding this gesture, "Move to the next frame" is tucked into the advanced navigation commands for VoiceOver Accessibility Settings in the OS. At least in my phone, the word "frame" was not searchable despite the All Commands screen using a search bar.

I have a Twitter account that I registered with Apple id and I still don't know the PIN and I'm having a problem with it knowing the PIN I need help privaterelay.appleid.com

who else has this error?

Hello So if you use the Bulgarian keyboard, you get these characters: явертъуиопюасдфгхйклшщзьцжбнмч This isn’t really right for Bulgaria, because т should look like m, and д should look like g, and other characters should look like rotated or mirrored Latin characters. E.g., г should look like a backwards s. Compare the Bulgaria Wikipedia page in Bulgarian: https://bg.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F with the Bulgaria Wikipedia page in Russian: https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F Notice that the letters are different. Anyhow, the ios Bulgarian font is just Russian Cyrillic, and that seems like an unintended bug rather than an intentional stylistic choice, basically.

Hello! I was faced with unexpected behavior of hardware keyboard focus in UITests. A clear description of the problem When running UITests on the iOS Simulator with both "Full Keyboard Access" and "Connect Hardware Keyboard" options enabled, there is a noticeable delay between keyboard actions for focus managing (like pressing Tab or arrow keys). The delay seems to increase with repeated input and suggests that events are being queued instead of processed immediately. I will describe why I have such an assumption later. A step-by-step set of instructions to reproduce the problem Launch the iOS Simulator. Enable both "Full Keyboard Access" and "Connect Hardware Keyboard" in the Simulator settings. Run a UITest on a target application (ideally an endless or long-running test). Once the app is launched, press the Tab key several times. Observe the delay in focus movement. Optionally, press the Tab or arrow keys rapidly, then stop the UITest. After stopping, you’ll see a burst of rapid focus changes. What results you expected We expected keyboard actions (like Tab) to be handled immediately and the UI focus to update smoothly during UITests. What results you saw There was a 4–10 (end more) second delay between pressing keys and seeing a response. All stacked keyboard events (used for managing focus) are performed all at once after stopping the UITest. The version of Xcode you are using Xcode: Version 16.3 (16E140) Simulator: iPhone 16 Pro (iOS 18.4 and 18.1) Simulator: iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) (iPadOS 17.5)

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’d love to see Apple implement a Bionic Reading feature as a system-wide accessibility option. This type of reading aid highlights the first part of each word in bold to help guide the eyes and improve comprehension. It’s been shown to be especially helpful for people with ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurodivergent needs. Having a toggle in Settings > Accessibility would be life-changing. Ideally, it could be: • Enabled system-wide, or per-app • Allow customization of how much of the word is bolded • Available in Safari, Messages, Books, News, etc.

I have a TextField and entered for example "sg?!". At the TextField I set the modifier speechAlwaysIncludesPunctuation(). But when I activate VoiceOver the content of TextField is reading. The special characters don't read out. How can I fix this?

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.

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?

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?

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?

Allow the user to add their own tags to the default emoji tags. For instance, this emoji, for me, is nonna: 🤌🏻. My efficiency would improve immensely if I could search for it as the “Nonna” emoji, rather than searching for nonna, remembering it doesn’t exist, trying the search for other things it might be called, realising I don’t know what it is, then having to scroll through all the hand emojis twice to find it. 🤌🏻🤞🏼👌