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

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Proposal: Using ARKit Body Tracking & LiDAR for Sign Language Education (Real-time Feedback)
Hi everyone, I’ve been analyzing the current state of Sign Language accessibility tools, and I noticed a significant gap in learning tools: we lack real-time feedback for students (e.g., "Is my hand position correct?"). Most current solutions rely on 2D video processing, which struggles with depth perception and occlusion (hand-over-hand or hand-over-face gestures), which are critical in Sign Language grammar. I'd like to propose/discuss an architecture leveraging the current LiDAR + Neural Engine capabilities found in iPhone devices to solve this. The Concept: Skeleton-based Normalization Instead of training ML models on raw video frames (which introduces noise from lighting, skin tone, and clothing), we could use ARKit's Body Tracking to abstract the input. Capture: Use ARKit/LiDAR to track the user's upper body and hand joints in 3D space. Data Normalization: Extract only the vector coordinates (X, Y, Z of joints). This creates a "clean" dataset, effectively normalizing the user regardless of physical appearance. Comparison: Feed these vectors into a CoreML model trained on "Reference Skeletons" (recorded by native signers). Feedback Loop: The app calculates the geometric distance between the user's pose and the reference pose to provide specific correction (e.g., "Raise your elbow 10 degrees"). Why this approach? Solves Occlusion: LiDAR handles depth much better than standard RGB cameras when hands cross the body. Privacy: We are processing coordinates, not video streams. Efficiency: Comparing vector sequences is computationally cheaper than video analysis, preserving battery life. Has anyone experimented with using ARKit Body Anchors specifically for comparing complex gesture sequences against a stored "correct" database? I believe this "Skeleton First" approach is the key to scalable Sign Language education apps. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
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Dec ’25
Assistive Access Bugs
Hi! I have noticed a few glitches as well as some overall unfortunate cons with the assistive access mode. Alarms, timers, stopwatch, etc. do not sound or alert. However, I have an infant monitor app and I do get that sound alert so I know it is possible.. do I need to download a separate alarm app for it to work? Cannot make FaceTime calls with favorite contacts. Find My iPhone cannot jump to the maps app. Camera cannot zoom in or out. Photos cannot be deleted, edited, or shared in a shared album in the photos app. Photos/videos cannot be sent in messages. Spotify cannot be accessed from the lock screen. Apps do not stay open if you lock the phone screen or leave it on too long without touching the screen (auto locks). There is no flashlight option. I downloaded an app to have this feature but without being touched the screen will lock which shuts off the flashlight feature in the app until I unlock the phone again.
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146
Mar ’25
Solo Developer User Feedback Avenues
I have a couple follow up questions after the "Accessibility technologies group lab". I know it was briefly mentioned that user feedback is an excellent way to grow inclusivity in the design an app and utilizing these forums were one for example. Is inviting folks here on the forum via test flight a reasonable approach to this for a solo developer? Are there other strategies, avenues, or examples to promote user feedback?
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Jun ’25
AirPlay connection to a large monitor
I created a desktop app for Mac using Xojo. The app has a controller in the main window and displays advertisements and notices on a connected external display. I'm currently connecting my iMac24 to a REGZA-55M550M via AirPlay, and displaying video from the iMac to the REGZA, but the connection occasionally drops out. Yesterday, the connection dropped about 3.5 hours after connecting. Of course, I have other apps running on the iMac, but I'm not using any operations that would put a strain on the network or memory. Does AirPlay connection to non-Apple products become unstable over long periods of time?
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658
Sep ’25
Unable to Grant Input Monitoring Permission via MDM
I am trying to grant Input Monitoring permission using MDM (Mobile Device Management), but I am facing issues. While I am able to deny the permission, I am unable to grant it. In some profile configurator tools, I noticed a note stating: "Allows the application to use CoreGraphics and HID APIs to listen to (receive) CGEvents and HID events from all processes. Access to these events cannot be given in a profile; it can only be denied." This seems to suggest that granting Input Monitoring permission via an MDM profile may not be possible. Has anyone successfully granted Input Monitoring permission using MDM, or is there an alternative way to achieve this on managed macOS devices?
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493
Feb ’25
IOS18 Crash
At present, in iOS, if using the in-house app, there may be crashes in the new iOS 18.3 and later versions, but it works normally on other phones and the certificate is not problematic. A total of 3 machines were found, and there was no pattern between the machines and the system, with different models and versions. We tested it on a machine that crashes, but the app downloaded from the store doesn't. If the same app is packaged and installed directly in the development tool, it will crash. Is this related to compatibility with the new version of IOS? Is there a solution? Do others also have relevant situations?
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127
Jun ’25
pairedUUIDsDidChangeNotification never fires, even with MFi hearing aids paired
Hi everyone — I’m implementing the new Hearing Device Support API described here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/accessibility/hearing-device-support I have MFi hearing aids paired and visible under Settings → Accessibility → Hearing Devices, and I’ve added the com.apple.developer.hearing.aid.app entitlement (and also tested with Wireless Accessory Configuration: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/entitlements/com.apple.external-accessory.wireless-configuration ). com.apple.developer.hearing.aid.app xxxxx but the app won't even compile with this entitlement Problem NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(...) for pairedUUIDsDidChangeNotification never fires — not on app launch, not after pairing/unpairing, and not after reconnecting the hearing aids. Because the notification never triggers, calls like: HearingDeviceSession.shared.pairedDevices always return an empty list. What I expected According to the docs, the notification should be posted whenever paired device UUIDs change, and the session should expose those devices — but nothing happens. Questions Does the hearing.aid.app entitlement require special approval from Apple beyond adding it to the entitlements file? Is there a way to verify that iOS is actually honoring this entitlement? Has anyone successfully received this notification on a real device? Any help or confirmation would be greatly appreciated.
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570
Dec ’25
VoiceOver Text Recognition Announcing Hidden Labels
I have a UIImageView as the background of a custom UIView subclass. The image itself does not contain any text. On top of this image view, I have added two UILabels. To improve accessibility, I converted the entire view into a single accessibility element and set a proper accessibilityLabel. Additionally, I disabled accessibility for the UIImageView and the labels by setting isAccessibilityElement = false. However, when VoiceOver's Accessibility Recognition's Text Recognition feature is enabled, VoiceOver still detects and announces the text inside the UILabels at the end after reading my custom accessibility properties. This text should not be announced. It seems that VoiceOver treats the UILabel content as part of the UIImageView. Additionally, when using the Explore Image rotor action, the entire subview is recognized as a single image. Is this the expected behavior? If so, is there a way to disable VoiceOver’s text recognition for this view while keeping custom accessibility intact? class BackgroundLabelView: UIView { private let backgroundImageView = UIImageView() private let backgroundImageView2 = UIImageView() private let titleLabel = UILabel() private let subtitleLabel = UILabel() override init(frame: CGRect) { super.init(frame: frame) setupView() } required init?(coder: NSCoder) { super.init(coder: coder) setupView() configureAceesibility() } private func configureAceesibility() { backgroundImageView.isAccessibilityElement = false backgroundImageView2.isAccessibilityElement = false titleLabel.isAccessibilityElement = false subtitleLabel.isAccessibilityElement = false isAccessibilityElement = true accessibilityTraits = .button } func configure(backgroundImage: UIImage?, title: String, subtitle: String) { backgroundImageView.image = backgroundImage titleLabel.text = title subtitleLabel.text = subtitle accessibilityLabel = "Holiday Offer ," + title + "," + subtitle } private func setupView() { backgroundImageView2.contentMode = .scaleAspectFill backgroundImageView2.clipsToBounds = true backgroundImageView2.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false backgroundImageView2.image = UIImage(resource: .bannerfestival) addSubview(backgroundImageView2) backgroundImageView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit backgroundImageView.clipsToBounds = true backgroundImageView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false addSubview(backgroundImageView) titleLabel.font = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 18, weight: .bold) titleLabel.textColor = .white titleLabel.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false titleLabel.numberOfLines = 0 addSubview(titleLabel) subtitleLabel.font = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 14, weight: .regular) subtitleLabel.textColor = .white.withAlphaComponent(0.8) subtitleLabel.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false subtitleLabel.numberOfLines = 0 addSubview(subtitleLabel) NSLayoutConstraint.activate([ backgroundImageView2.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor), backgroundImageView2.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: trailingAnchor), backgroundImageView2.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 200), backgroundImageView.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerYAnchor), backgroundImageView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: topAnchor), backgroundImageView.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualTo: leadingAnchor), backgroundImageView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: trailingAnchor), backgroundImageView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: bottomAnchor), titleLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor, constant: 16), titleLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo: centerXAnchor), titleLabel.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerYAnchor, constant: -4), subtitleLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor, constant: 16), subtitleLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo: centerXAnchor), subtitleLabel.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerYAnchor, constant: 4) ]) } override func layoutSubviews() { super.layoutSubviews() backgroundImageView.layer.cornerRadius = layer.cornerRadius } }
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142
Apr ’25
iOS18.3.1+ widget: Local color picture load widget crashes
Environment:xcode 16.2 WidgetKit: Image(uiImage: UIImage(named: "jp_jump")!).resizable().scaledToFit().frame(width: 58, height: 16).padding(EdgeInsets(top: 0, leading: 16, bottom: 0, trailing: 0)) ”jp_jump“: Local color picture load widget crashes info: Thread 4: EXC_RESOURCE (RESOURCE_TYPE_MEMORY: high watermark memory limit exceeded) (limit=30 MB)
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Mar ’25
App Store Connect – “Unable to Handle This Request” Error
Hello, I'm currently unable to access App Store Connect. When I try to open https://appstoreconnect.apple.com, I receive the following error message: “appstoreconnect.apple.com is currently unable to handle this request.” I’ve tried the following steps, but the issue persists: Cleared browser cache and cookies Tried different browsers (Safari, Chrome) Attempted from multiple devices and networks Is this a known issue or is there any workaround available? Would appreciate any help or update on the current status. Thank you,
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161
Jun ’25
Using WebSocket for BCI Click Input in VisionOS - FocusState vs. System-Level Limitations
Hi everyone, My team and I are developing an accessibility-focused VisionOS app (MindTap) as part of a university project, aiming to support individuals with Locked-In Syndrome using Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) signals to trigger interactions (e.g., tapping) within the Apple Vision Pro environment. Problem 1: Simulating Eye Tracking in Simulator We are testing onHover with Send pointer to the device under I/O > Input in the simulator, and while it mostly works (a bit laggy), we found that onHover won't function on the actual Vision Pro hardware. From what I understand, we should be using FocusState for proper gaze interaction, but testing this requires the physical device. Is there any workaround or official Apple-recommended way to simulate Focus-based gaze detection without a real Vision Pro? Problem 2: WebSocket-triggered "Click" doesn't work outside the app We successfully use WebSocket to send a custom signal (a "1" from the brain signal device) to trigger an action inside our app. However, when the user opens a third-party app like Apple News, the WebSocket-triggered "click" no longer works. We suspect this is due to sandbox restrictions or lack of system-level permissions. Is it possible in anyway to: Trigger interaction events outside the app using custom input (like BCI via Websocket)? Access system-wide click/tap simulation APIs from within VisionOS apps Integrate this with accessibility services (like Voice Control or AssistiveTouch) We'd appreciate any official guidance or tips from others building similar accessibility apps with alternative input methods in VisionOS. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!
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157
Apr ’25
AccessibilityHint for UIAlertAction
Hi, I am setting an accessibilityLabel and accessibilityHint property of a UIAlertAction. However, VoiceOver is only reading the label out. Usually, the label is read out, followed by a short pause and then the hint. Is this a known issue, where hints do not work for this element? I can append the hint to the label, but interested to know if there's something I'm doing wrong. Regards.
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340
Mar ’25
How to force VoiceOver to read decimal point even when there are 6 or more decimal digits?
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?
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296
Jun ’25
Allow Mobile Data switching
there is no possibility to sett the allow mobile Data switch I have the latest update but still does not work and I realised it when I went to another country and I could not sett my Mobile data and when I came back still I could not.
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797
Sep ’25
Is it possible to animate the accessibility frame on iOS and macOS?
Say I have a UI element that moves on the screen. Is it possible to update its accessibility frame as it moves while VoiceOver is focused on it? From my tests, VoiceOver ignores UIAccessibilityLayoutChangedNotification if it's sent repeatedly in a short period of time on iOS, while sending NSAccessibilityLayoutChangedNotification on macOS triggers VoiceOver to reannounce the focused element repeatedly.
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256
Jul ’25
External Keyboard + Voiceover focus not working with .searchable + List
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) } } } }
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100
Jun ’25
VoiceOver does not focus App Store subscription modal when shown via AppStore.showManageSubscriptions(in:)
Description When calling AppStore.showManageSubscriptions(in:), the system modal for managing subscriptions appears visually. However, it is not automatically focused by VoiceOver, and in some cases, VoiceOver still allows interaction with elements in the underlying view controller, such as buttons and labels. This creates confusion and violates accessibility expectations. Steps to Reproduce 1. In a UIKit app, present the system subscription sheet via AppStore.showManageSubscriptions(in:). 2. Ensure VoiceOver is enabled on the device. 3. Observe the focus behavior when the modal appears. 4. Try swiping right/left — VoiceOver continues to announce items in the presenting view controller. Expected Result The modal should automatically take VoiceOver focus, and all elements behind it should be non-accessible until dismissed. Actual Result VoiceOver continues to focus and interact with elements behind the presented modal. Notes • Tested on iOS 18.5 • Reproducible on device • Using Swift/UIKit (not SwiftUI)
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208
Jul ’25