Appt News (Accessible Mobile Apps) - Issue #73

Hey y'all,

The newsletter is changing names! Same content, new name: Appt News.

Appt.org | A guide for making apps accessible | Appt

Appt.org empowers developers and organizations to build accessible apps for everyone by offering current stats on the use of accessibility features, code documentation for iOS, Android and other platforms, guidelines, tips and how-to’s.

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We'll continue to publish once a month with news from the mobile accessibility space, and we're always open to suggestions if you find (or write) a great article to share. Just send an email to hello@robinkanatzar.com.

Now, time for the news!

For iOS Devs...

Liquid Glass

Liquid glass has been all the rage lately, but how does this affect users who need better visual contrast? This article and video show a few quick settings to reduce the transparency of liquid glass: Increase Contrast, Reduce Transparency, and Bold Text. The video shows you how to set up a shortcut with your action button so you can easily check your app for how it appears with and without liquid glass.

How to Turn Off Liquid Glass in iOS 26

Learn how to turn off Liquid Glass in iOS 26 to improve visibility and readability. Step-by-step guide for a clearer iPhone interface.

Geeky GadgetsRoland Hutchinson

Accessibility Nutrition Labels

Are you ready for the App Store nutrition labels? Make your app stand out on the app store by showing how accessible it is. For inspiration, you can check out the nutrition label on the app store for the Art of Fauna: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/art-of-fauna-cozy-puzzles/id1630468596

You can re-watch the announcement from WWDC this year about Accessibility Nutrition Labels here: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/224/

And you can learn a bit about how to prepare in this article:

Time to Prepare for Apple’s Accessibility Nutrition Labels

Apple paves the way for mandated app inclusivity at the point of publication with Accessibility Nutrition Labels.

Access ArmadaAccess Armada

For Android Devs...

Dark Theme Expanded

If you haven't already set up dark mode for your app, users now have a way to force it into dark mode from the system settings. See the the section "Dark theme’s new expanded option" in the article below:

Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1 is here

Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1 release delivers enhanced user experience, richer app capabilities, and new features for increased developer productivity.

Android Developers Blog

Material 3 Expressive

Just like liquid glass, Android is getting an update with transparency and blurs that pose a problem for visual accessibility. You can read about the design upgrade in this article:

Material 3 Expressive deep dive: All you need to know about Android’s big design upgrade

Google is redefining Android’s look with Material 3 Expressive, delivering a vibrant, fluid, and more emotionally engaging experience.

Android AuthorityAdamya Sharma

And you can read here how Google promises an update to let users deactivated the blurred backgrounds for accessibility:

Android’s big redesign is full of blur, but Google will soon let you easily turn it off

Android’s big Material 3 Expressive redesign brings a ton of background blur through the UI, but Google is adding an option to disable it.

Android AuthorityMishaal Rahman

In Other News...

I've personally been playing around with a new tool called Abra Desktop which can scan your app for accessibility issues. Stay tuned for an article where I review it in more detail, but you can find out more about Abra and what they do here:

That's all for today's article! Hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to send feedback and article suggestions for next month to hello@robinkanatzar.com.

Cheers,

Robin

Appt

The Appt® platform is an initiative of the Appt Foundation, a non-profit organisation. Our mission is to make apps accessible for everyone. We try to achieve this by sharing free content and open-source code.

Appt.org | A guide for making apps accessible | Appt

Appt.org empowers developers and organizations to build accessible apps for everyone by offering current stats on the use of accessibility features, code documentation for iOS, Android and other platforms, guidelines, tips and how-to’s.

Logo Appt

You can download the free accessibility handbook here:

App accessibility handbook | Appt

Our handbook is designed to make it straightforward to learn about app accessibility.

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Join the Slack Group

Use this link to join the Appt Slack workspace for mobile accessibility. Ask technical questions, share resources, get advice from other developers, and most importantly connect with developers who share your passion for a11y.