01 Oct 2025

Appt News - Issue #74

Hey y'all,

In this edition, we have a special guest bringing you the latest in accessibility news! Rob Whitaker is an iOS engineer and native accessibility expert. You may know him from his blog or his book "Developing Inclusive Mobile Apps: Building Accessible Apps for iOS and Android" or even from his conference talks about accessibility. Without further ado, let's get to the the news from Rob!

News by Rob Whitaker

September is traditionally a big month for Apple platforms, and September 2025 will likely be remembered as one of the most consequential. Apple users will see the introduction of a major new design language across all platforms - one that will define how we use those platforms for years to come. Design-wise, this is arguably the biggest change since iOS 7 some 12 years ago. Anyone who has worked in mobile accessibility for some time will remember the negative impact that release had for people with visual impairments.

It's always tricky to separate the natural “I don’t like change” reactions from the very serious “this has a material impact on my ability to use my device” concerns that arise in the first weeks of a major redesign. But I’d be surprised if many people with visual impairments don’t struggle with the new design which - at least to my non-designer eyes - seems focused more on visual flair than on function and usability.

I aim to stay positive, and I can see two positives with Liquid Glass. First, the design is undeniably striking and modern; it has playful touches that make interactions a joy to use. Second, the complexity of adopting the design, combined with the way it forces apps to strip away much of their own branding, will mean the majority of third-party apps will adopt the new design slowly, if at all, causing a natural learning ramp for users (even if it also increases inconsistency across apps on the platform.)

However, these positives feel like thin gruel when set against Liquid Glass's undermining of Apple's own Human Interface Guidelines.

The precedents set by Liquid Glass will inevitably be copied by designers across the industry, which will lead to a chilling effect on accessibility efforts. I deeply empathise with all those reading this who will hear the fateful words ‘...but this is how Apple does it’ more and more in the months to come.

WCAG 3.0 Editors’ Draft

This month, W3C announced the publication of an editors’ draft of WCAG 3.0 - a major milestone towards publishing the next major version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. While it's important this draft isn't yet used to assess the accessibility of any software, this is a crucial time to provide feedback. If you see any considerations that are missing, or anything that is unclear or impractical, file an issue on Github.

You Don't Need Animations

As someone with motion sensitivity, I think about interface animation perhaps more than most. This thoughtful blog sets out when to consider not using an animation but - importantly - also where animation is an essential part of conveying structure and function to users.

Testing the Accessibility of Your App

Videos from this year's AppDevCon have been trickling online over the summer. This quick introduction to accessibility testing mobile apps, from our friends at Abra is a great starting point for anyone who's beginning to get to grips with what the European Accessibility Act means for mobile app testing or development.

https://appdevcon.nl/session/testing-the-accessibility-of-your-app/

The Strongest Argument for Smart Glasses is Accessibility

I have been excited for the accessibility potential of smart glasses ever since the ill-fated Google Glass. The possibilities for those with visual, hearing, cognitive, and physical impairments seem hugely promising. This is an assistive technology that’s still in its infancy, and I’m confident as this technology increasingly reaches consumers we can expect to see both exciting innovations and new challenges.

For iOS Devs...

New Accessibility Features for iOS 26

While the work of Apple’s human interface design team risks denting the company’s hard-earned reputation as an accessibility leader amongst big-tech, the accessibility engineering folks continue to focus on the needs of users with disabilities and deliver meaningful innovations - such as the improved Braille experience on iPhone. These features were announced earlier in the year and are now available to the public, so they’re worth a recap.

Possibly the most consequential change is the introduction of Accessibility Nutrition Labels, which you can read more about in Robin's last email.

For an insight into how an active development team is adapting Liquid Glass to their apps while maintaining accessibility standards check out this talk from the BBC’s Andy Ronskley.

For Android Devs...

What’s New in TalkBack Version 16.1

TalkBack 16.1 was launched by Google this month. As a 'point release’, there are no major new features, but it does bring a raft of tweaks to delays and Braille input that will be hugely powerful.

Wear OS Accessibility Considerations

Eevis Panula takes a look at accessibility considerations on wearable devices. Tiny screens limit the available space for displaying content and for motor input far more than a mobile device, but this also makes considering both carefully even more important.

That's all for today's edition! Hope you enjoyed it.

Big thank you to Rob for guest writing this month!

Feel free to send feedback and article suggestions for next month to hello@robinkanatzar.com, and follow Rob Whitaker on Mastodon or LinkedIn.

Cheers,

Robin

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Appt Foundation

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.