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Handling Keyboard Hotkeys and Shortcuts across Multiple Languages
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
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991
Dec ’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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210
Apr ’25
`accessibilityUserInputLabels` is ignored on `UIBarButtonItem`
accessibilityUserInputLabels is working fine with any view I tried this on. Meaning that the control can be toggled with the provided alternative names when using Voice Control. When setting this property on any UIBarButtonItem though, it seems Voice Control ignores the alternative names provided by setting accessibilityUserInputLabels. For comparison, accessibilityLabel works perfectly when set on UIBarButtonItem. Is anyone facing the same issue? Using Xcode 16.0 (16A242) on iOS 18
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615
Aug ’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
AXIsProcessTrusted returns true, but AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue fails with .cannotComplete
This was working a few days ago, but it has since stopped and I can't figure out why. I've tried resetting TCC, double-checking my entitlements, restarting, deleting and rebuilding, and nothing works. My app is a sandboxed macOS SwiftUI LSUIElement app that, when invoked, checks to see if the frontmost process is Terminal, then tries to get the frontmost window’s title. func getFrontmostWindowTitle() throws -> String? { let trusted = AXIsProcessTrusted() print("getFrontmostWindowTitle AX trusted: \(trusted)") guard let app = NSWorkspace.shared.frontmostApplication else { return nil } let appElement = AXUIElementCreateApplication(app.processIdentifier) var focusedWindow: AnyObject? let status = AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(appElement, kAXFocusedWindowAttribute as CFString, &focusedWindow) guard status == .success, let window = focusedWindow else { if status == .cannotComplete { throw Errors.needAccessibilityPermission } return nil } var title: AnyObject? let titleStatus = AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(window as! AXUIElement, kAXTitleAttribute as CFString, &title) guard titleStatus == .success else { return nil } return title as? String } I recently renamed the app, but the Bundle ID has not yet changed. I have com.apple.security.accessibility set to YES in the Entitlements file (although i had to add it manually), and a NSAccessibilityUsageDescription string set in Info.plist. The first time I ran this, macOS nicely prompted for permission. Now it won't do that, even when I use AXIsProcessTrustedWithOptions() to try to force it. If I use tccutil to reset accessibility and apple events, it still doesn't prompt. If I drag my app from the build products folder to System Settings, it gets added to the system TCC DB (not the user DB). It shows an auth value of 2 for my app: % sudo sqlite3 "/Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db" "SELECT client,auth_value FROM access WHERE service='kTCCServiceAccessibility' OR service='kTCCServiceAppleEvents';" com.latencyzero.<redacted>|2 <redactd> I'm at a loss as to what went wrong. I proved out the concept earlier and it worked, and have since spent a lot of time enhancing and polishing the app, and now things aren't working and I'm starting to worry.
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1.1k
Jul ’25
Speak Selection broken with SwiftUI text
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?
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239
Jul ’25
VoiceOver doesn't work well for accessing PDFs/forms with tables
I have been working to remediate PDFs for a client. The documents/forms have many tables. When I correctly tag a table, using Foxit Editor Pro, it works beautifully on a PC reading it with NVDA. On Mac using VoiceOver the table isn't accessible. It doesn't matter if I try to read it in Adobe Acrobat, Foxit, or Preview. The reader often says the document is empty, omits column headers, and/or associates the wrong header with the column data. The documents have essentially the same coding behind them as for the web. Why is it they perform so well on a PC with NVDA, but so poorly with Mac VoiceOver? I am a Quality Assurance Specialist. I review websites apps, and documents for accessibility. Why can't I do my job using only my Mac system? As a Mac user, it frustrates me that I can't use my preferred system for checking documents to see if they are accessible because VoiceOver doesn't work well. I actually have to recommend to my clients and their customers that they need to use a PC with NVDA or Jaws for these documents to be able to get all the information. Unfortunately, most people aren't able to have, or maintain, both systems. Overall, Mac products are very high quality. This, and other issues with VoiceOver, seems to be a large gap in Apple's offerings and functionality. I would appreciate a human response to the original email I sent about this on 7/30/2025.
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137
Jul ’25
Programmatically Modifying Per Application or System Wide Color Filters using Cocoa/Swift in MacOS?
I'm looking into how to programmatically control color filters in the Accessibility settings under "System Settings" -> "Accessibility" -> "Color Filters"--in particular the "Intensity" and "Filter type" settings. As far as I have gathered, changing this setting can only be accomplished using the CoreGraphics APIs or Accessibility APIs (I've poked around GitHub, Stack Overflow, and queried some LLMs), but there doesn't seem to be a clear cut example for doing this using public facing APIs, without ripping off source code from another project wholesale or using private APIs. My goal is to overlay a color filter at either a per-application or system level to help with accessibility. If there's a way to overlay this capability on an application-by-application basis as a third-party developer, that would be the most ideal scenario. For example, modifying the look and feel/UX for Launchpad, Photos, etc, as a third-party developer without accessing the source code of the application that I'm modifying the look/feel for (with appropriate user consent of course).
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381
Jul ’25
VoiceOver doesn't work for AVRoutePickerView wrapped in UIViewRepresentable
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?
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400
Aug ’25
Ipad 7th generation
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?
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530
Feb ’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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532
Feb ’25
[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.
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397
Apr ’25
USB-C Cable for Galaxy Watch 7 not recognized by Macbook pro M4
I get it, "Why don't you just get an apple watch?" regardless, My Macbok Pro M4 doesn't recognize my charging cable in any of my USBC ports. The Cable works with any other power supply I plug it into, but the Macbook doesn't even register that a cable is connected. -- Running Sequioa Beta 15.4 thinking it may have been software related. No change. -- Settings> Privacy and Security> accessories> Changed between all available options. No change. -- Option + Apple Logo> system info> Thunderbolt/USB4> none of the ports show that the cable is connected. -- Any other USB-C Cable is recognized in any of the ports on the Macbook. Just not the cable for the Galaxy Watch. Again, the cable charges in ANY other USBc ports from ANY other device I connect it to. Am I missing something? Or is this an intended jab at Samsung from Apple? lol
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743
Mar ’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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468
Feb ’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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191
Apr ’25
AVPlayer Visual Accessibility Issues
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) } } }
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177
Apr ’25
Not able to receive silent pushes in background
I’ve developed the Pro Talkie app—a walkie-talkie solution designed to keep you connected with family and friends App Store: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/pro-talkie/id6742051063 Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.protalkie.app While the app works flawlessly on Android and in the foreground on iOS, I’m facing issues with establishing connections when the app is in the background or terminated on iOS. Specifically, I’ve attempted the following: Silent pushes and alert payloads: These are intended to wake the app in the background, but they often fail—notifications may not be received or can be delayed by 20–30 minutes, leading to a poor user experience. VoIP pushes: These reliably wake the app, but they trigger the incoming call UI, which isn’t suitable for a walkie-talkie app that should connect directly without displaying a call screen. I’ve enabled all the necessary background modes (audio, remote notifications, VoIP, background fetch, processing), but the challenge remains. How can I ensure a consistent background connection on iOS without triggering the call UI?
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455
Mar ’25