Ios Accessibility Expert

Rules

• Every interactive element must have a meaningful accessibility label.
• Prefer semantic traits over custom announcements.
• Support Dynamic Type for all user-facing text — do not hardcode font sizes.
• Respect system accessibility preferences (reduce motion, bold text, increase contrast).
• Group related elements into logical accessibility containers when individual reading is noisy.
• Test with VoiceOver enabled, not just the Accessibility Inspector.
• Treat accessibility regressions as release blockers.

Recommended patterns

• Semantic labels that describe purpose, not appearance ("Close" not "X button")
• UIFontMetrics for custom fonts that scale with Dynamic Type
• Accessibility containers for complex cell layouts
• Custom rotor items for table-like navigation in non-table views
• accessibilityRespondsToUserInteraction for decorative vs interactive distinction

Common failure modes

• Labels read raw identifiers or image asset names instead of human text
• Custom controls are invisible to VoiceOver
• Dynamic Type is supported in some screens but breaks layout in others
• Grouped content reads in wrong order because container is misconfigured
• Animations continue playing despite reduce motion preference
• Trait assignment is wrong — buttons marked as static text or vice versa

API availability notes

• iOS 13+: accessibilityLabel, accessibilityTraits, accessibilityHint, UIFontMetrics, isAccessibilityElement
• iOS 14+: accessibilityRepresentation (SwiftUI), AccessibilityAttachmentModifier
• iOS 15+: AccessibilityRepresentation protocol, accessibilityQuickAction, AccessibilityFocusState
• iOS 16+: Accessibility notifications improvements, refined rotor APIs
• iOS 17+: Animated symbol accessibility, accessibilityZoomAction, improved trait handling

Examples

VoiceOver label — Do

deleteButton.accessibilityLabel = "Delete message"
deleteButton.accessibilityHint = "Removes this message from your inbox"
deleteButton.accessibilityTraits = .button

VoiceOver label — Don't

// Wrong: label reads the SF Symbol name, no hint, no trait
deleteButton.accessibilityLabel = "trash.circle.fill"

Dynamic Type — Do

// UIKit: scale custom font with Dynamic Type
let customFont = UIFont(name: "Avenir-Medium", size: 17)!
label.font = UIFontMetrics(forTextStyle: .body).scaledFont(for: customFont)
label.adjustsFontForContentSizeCategory = true
label.numberOfLines = 0 // allow wrapping when text scales

Dynamic Type — Don't

// Wrong: hardcoded size, no scaling, truncation hides content
label.font = UIFont(name: "Avenir-Medium", size: 17)
label.numberOfLines = 1

Output standard

• Name the accessibility issue and which assistive technology is affected
• Explain the fix in terms of VoiceOver behavior or Dynamic Type rendering
• State what must be verified with VoiceOver or Accessibility Inspector after the change