Accessibility on watchOS

A discipline skill for the three assistive technologies that ship on Apple Watch — VoiceOver, AssistiveTouch (watchOS 8+), and Double Tap (watchOS 11+) — plus Dynamic Type at the large accessibility sizes introduced in watchOS 8. Use the broader axiom-accessibility skills for cross-platform fundamentals; this skill covers the watchOS-specific additions.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• You're auditing a watchOS app for VoiceOver, AssistiveTouch, or Double Tap support
• You're implementing Dynamic Type on watch faces, watch UI, complications, or notifications
• You're making a custom watch control (counter, scrubber, picker) VoiceOver-adjustable
• AssistiveTouch cursor frames are clipping icons or missing tappable elements
• You're supporting watchOS 8's large accessibility text sizes
• You need to debug why an element isn't focusable via AssistiveTouch
• Your complications and dynamic notifications need spoken-form accessibility labels

Example Prompts

Questions you can ask Claude that will draw from this skill:

• "How do I make a custom stepper VoiceOver-adjustable on watchOS?"
• "AssistiveTouch isn't focusing the text inside my tappable VStack — why?"
• "How should I bind Double Tap to my workout's Start button?"
• "What needs to change in my watch UI to support accessibility5 text size?"
• "My complication reads 'Wed Mar 9' to VoiceOver — how do I get a spoken form?"
• "Why is the AssistiveTouch cursor clipping my ellipsis icon?"

What This Skill Provides

• Three assistive technologies overview — Distinct input models and SwiftUI surface for VoiceOver, AssistiveTouch, and Double Tap; design assumes any combination may be enabled
• Three Dynamic Type rules — Use a text style instead of Font.system(size:); allow text to wrap (don't cap lineLimit(1)); switch to a vertical layout when @Environment(\.sizeCategory) >= .extraExtraLarge
• Complication and notification coverage — Spoken-form labels for abbreviations, labels on complication images, override SF Symbol default labels, accessibility on dynamic notifications
• VoiceOver patterns — Let NavigationLink combine row children, put context in the label (not just the value), add explicit accessibilityLabel to symbol-only buttons
• Custom adjustable control recipe — Collapse multi-button steppers into one element with accessibilityElement() + accessibilityLabel + accessibilityValue + accessibilityAdjustableAction
• AssistiveTouch support — Focusable-element rules (the "tappable VStack with non-interactive Text" trap), accessibilityRespondsToUserInteraction(true), 44×44pt cursor frames via contentShape, action menu population from accessibilityAction
• Double Tap discipline — Bind with handGestureShortcut(.primaryAction), exactly one primary action per screen, Double Tap is an accelerator (never the only path)
• Testing checklist — Eight concrete verification steps covering VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, custom controls, AssistiveTouch cursor, Double Tap, complications, and notifications
• Common mistakes table — Eleven specific mistake-symptom-fix triples drawn from real watchOS audits

Related

• axiom-accessibility — Cross-platform VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, contrast, and WCAG fundamentals; this skill adds the watchOS layer
• UX Flow Audit — Accessibility Dead Ends category complements this skill from the flow-reachability angle
• Design for watchOS — watchOS 10 navigation model and Always-On design considerations
• Smart Stack and Complications — Complication surfaces that need spoken-form accessibility labels
• Controls and Live Activities — Control surfaces and the Double Tap primary action binding