Accessibility for Apple tvOS
You can make an Apple tvOS app accessible, so that when the VoiceOver feature is enabled, the screen contents are read aloud.
This topic provides information specific to Apple tvOS. Start with Accessibility to learn how accessibility works in You.i React Native.
To learn more about VoiceOver on tvOS, see Use VoiceOver on Apple TV.
Gesture support
The VoiceOver rotor is a touch control that lets you choose options by rotating two fingers on the Touch surface of the Siri Remote. See Apple’s VoiceOver Guide for more information.
Only two rotor mechanisms are supported for tvOS: DirectTouch and Follow Focus. Depending on what rotor mechanism the user has selected, you’ll get different results.
With Follow Focus, when you swipe to move focus, the focus moves by one item, but with DirectTouch, swiping moves focus across multiple items. For more details, see VoiceOver on your Apple TV.
| Type | Command | Gesture | Rotor Mechanism |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navigation
|
Move to Next Item | One-finger swipe-right | Follow Focus or Direct Touch |
| Move to Previous Item | One-finger swipe-left | Follow Focus or Direct Touch | |
| Move to Next Item Using Rotor Settings | One-finger swipe-down | Follow Focus or Direct Touch | |
| Move to Previous Item Using Rotor Settings | One-finger swipe-up | Follow Focus or Direct Touch | |
| Output | Read Whole Screen | Select button long-press | Follow Focus or Direct Touch |
| Interaction
|
Select Previous Rotor Setting | Two-finger rotate-counterclockwise | Follow Focus or Direct Touch |
| Select Next Rotor Setting | Two-finger rotate-clockwise | Follow Focus or Direct Touch |
You.i React Native does not currently support the VoiceOver Speak Hints feature.
VoiceOver settings supported
| Setting | Option |
|---|---|
| Verbosity | Media description |
| Voice | |
| Pronunciations
|
Phrase - type out how the phrase should be pronounced |
| Language | |
| Ignore case (on/off) | |
| Speech Rate | |
| Use Pitch | |
| Audio Channels |
Best practices
Annotate your app code to include appropriate labels or hints using accessibilityHints or accessibilityLabel.
The following table provides recommended guidelines for the app code on the gestures and appropriate actions related to those gestures:
| Gestures | Recommended Actions for Video Player Controls |
|---|---|
| Swipe Up | Navigate between Video Player UI controls on tvOS |
| Swipe Down | Navigate between Video Player UI controls on tvOS |
| Tap on Scrubber | Select current position. Use one-finger swipe-up or swipe-down to adjust the value |
| Tap on Any Button | Select Play/Pause/Fast Forward 15 seconds/Rewind Video 15 seconds |
| Tap on Video | Select Video |
| Double Tap on Video | Toggle Video Player controls |
Known issues
- The gesture for pausing and resuming speaking on tvOS (two-finger single tap) isn’t currently supported.
- When testing accessibility functions with the Siri Remote, be aware of an issue that occurs when using a real remote with tvOS Simulator: no events are fired for
SiriRemoteClickUp,SiriRemoteClickDown,SiriRemoteClickLeft, orSiriRemoteClickRight. This issue does not occur when using the simulated remote. See also Working with the Input Module.