Ahead of WWDC, Apple Invites Some Developers to Attend Virtual Accessibility Session

Apple is inviting some developers to a special Accessibility session designed to teach them how iOS apps can take advantage of accessibility features built into the operating system, according to an email shared by developer Steve Troughton-Smith.

appleaccessibilitywebinar
The event, set to be held on April 23, will be an online session that takes place live, with developers able to ask questions and sign up for individual consultations. This is the first time Apple has held an online event where developers are able to interact with engineers.

It appears that Apple may be using the session as a test run for WWDC, which is set to be a digital-only event this year. Apple plans to offer an online keynote and online sessions, which will likely be similar to the Accessibility session.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

Apple Says Installing iOS 26 Might Impact Battery Life

Monday September 15, 2025 10:56 am PDT by
In the iOS 26 release notes, Apple is warning iPhone users that installing the new software might have a temporary impact on battery life, which is normal. A new support document explains that major iOS updates require background setup like indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps. Further, Apple says that new features could require more resources,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 Get iOS 26 Features With New Firmware Update

Monday September 15, 2025 10:50 am PDT by
Apple today released updated firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4, introducing support for the new AirPods features that are included in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe. The firmware has a build number of 8A356, and it replaces the current 7E93 firmware. With Apple's new software updates, the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 support better audio quality for phone calls and...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4: Here Are 5 New Features to Expect on Your iPhone

Tuesday September 16, 2025 11:17 am PDT by
iOS 26 was finally released on Monday, but the software train never stops, and the first developer beta of iOS 26.1 will likely be released soon. iOS 18.1 was an anomaly, as the first developer beta of that version was released in late July last year, to allow for early testing of Apple Intelligence features. The first betas of iOS 15.1, iOS 16.1, and iOS 17.1 were all released in the second ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design Draws Criticism From Users

Wednesday September 17, 2025 2:56 pm PDT by
It's been two days since iOS 26 was released, and Apple's new Liquid Glass design is even more divisive than expected. Any major design change can create controversy as people get used to the new look, but the MacRumors forums, Reddit, Apple Support Communities, and social media sites seem to feature more criticism than praise as people discuss the update. Complaints There are a long...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Reportedly Plans to Launch These 10 Products in 'Coming Months'

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19. As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
iOS 26 Glass Feature

iOS 26: The Top 100 New Features and Changes

Tuesday September 16, 2025 12:26 pm PDT by
Apple released iOS 26 on September 15, and it's now available for all iPhone users with a compatible device. There are a lot of changes and features to learn about, so if you want a quick, easy-to-read list that outlines what's new, we've got you covered. Design Liquid Glass design that reflects light and refracts what's underneath. It's system wide, with dynamic tab bars and toolbars...
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: All the New iPhone Lock Screen Customizations

Tuesday September 16, 2025 5:56 am PDT by
Apple has now made iOS 26 available to download on compatible iPhone models, and if you just installed the new software, Apple has made some changes and feature additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that you may want to check out. To download iOS 26 on your iPhone, go to Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update, then let your device check Apple's servers for the latest software. Wait for the...

Top Rated Comments

VictorTango777 Avatar
71 months ago
It appears that Apple is trying to score political points by moving settings from application preferences and burying them in Accessibility on both iOS and MacOS, in order to inflate the number of settings in Accessibility. Apple wants to say "Look at us, we have this Accessibility thing with all these settings" when many of those settings should be located in more appropriate places. Examples:

On a Mac laptop, you go to System Preferences > Mouse and you can change scrolling speed. If you go to System Preferences > Trackpad, there is no scrolling speed. Instead, it is buried somewhere in Accessibility preferences.

In System Preferences > Mouse, there is no option to adjust pointer size. Instead, that setting is buried somewhere in Accessibility preferences.

To turn off spring loaded folders in the Finder, you don't go to Finder Preferences. Instead, that setting is buried somewhere in Accessibility preferences.

On iPhone and iPad if you go to Settings >Display & Brightness, there is no setting to control auto brightness. Instead, you have to go to Accessibility.

On iPhones and iPads that have Touch ID, you can configure whether you can wake and unlock the device without having to first press and release home button and then put your finger on the Touch ID. You can just press the home button to wake the device and activate Touch ID without having to release the button. But instead of having this option in Settings > Touch ID, it is buried in Accessibility.

Moving settings from the application and burying them in Accessibility is not helpful at all. It just causes more irritation because people now have to look in two places to find things: the application preferences and Accessibility. Now the Accessibility preferences have become as convoluted as iTunes and this helps no one.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdelaune Avatar
71 months ago
If this was a trial for WWDC then I'm glad they did it. Was meant to start at 9am...

"We apologize for the inconvenience, but there is a worldwide Webex outage that’s preventing us from starting today’s event on time. We are delaying the event to 10:00 AM BST while we work on resolving the issue."
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)