Inclusion and accessibility are the answer. They’re why we’re here—and they’re a way for developers to support themselves by reaching new audiences. Let’s tune in to Apple’s latest WWDC sessions on the topic, as there are notes here both within Apple’s ecosystem and for reflection across platforms.
Accessibility was a big theme in Apple’s new Design System, the overhauled approach to macOS, iOS, watchOS, and visionOS. It’ll take time to sift through that, of course; most of what the keynote gave everybody was just “everything is made of glass” and “Spotlight is a lot more powerful.” I’ll leave the discussion of their transparency decisions aside. But let’s get started on the rest, as there’s some real potential.
I rail on about accessibility because there’s such a uniquely passionate connection to music and creative apps. Apple’s work in design can be a great model. That’s important if you’re developing for Apple platforms, which I know a lot of you are, but more broadly, they do strong design work, and in these videos, they’ve done a great job in getting the message across. So I’d say even if you’re focused on hardware or working on open-source OSes, it’s worth tuning in just to see how these teams talk about what they do.
Here’s what should be the jaw-dropper: 1 in 7 people has a disability. I think there’s a tendency to de-prioritize accessibility when resources get scarce or times get tough. But it’s clear that accessibility and inclusion could be what helps the industry grow.
I can’t say how important this is to all of us, potentially. Our tools are so vision-dependent; I’ve experienced some vision loss and have a history in my family, and you likely do, as well. Then consider how many folks found new health complications and long-term illness with the arrival of the COVID pandemic. It’s long past time to stop thinking of these groups as fringe or “niche” and more about how obstacles in our designs prevent people from using the tools we create.
Oh, and amid the WWDC deluge, I’m pretty sure CDM readers alone can up the view count on the Apple Developer channel. (More resources are of course on Apple’s site and linked in the YouTube description.)
This video focuses on principles of inclusive design generally, with a section on Apple’s Accessibility API:
This goes back to WWDC24, but I notice even as iOS music devs start to pay attention, they may not be evaluating Apple’s Accessibility Nutrition Labels to reach the right audiences, covered in a separate session from last year.
They also have a new session that’s a great way to cover VoiceOver and Voice Control
In the new hotness files, they get into accessibility with Swift, which is mind-bogglingly easier to cope with than the original Objective-C APIs were. Not to knock AI (okay maybe to knock AI), but this is another opportunity to slow down, code slowly and reflectively, and focus on how your code will be used. (Yeah, sorry, soapbox.) “Vintage” sessions on that, to catch up:
SwiftUI Accessibility: Beyond the basics
Catch up on accessibility in SwiftUI
Maybe it’s because I’ve been deep in researching software history lately, but I’d love to see some back-to-basics development efforts in music and creation that did some of that blank page, from-the-ground-up thinking about how apps should work. We certainly have enough Sprawling Pages of Knobs.
Watching these videos, though, I’m sure you’ll notice a lot of what’s missing in Apple’s examples, the things musical interaction might demand. So I’m throwing this out there partly as I’m curious how developers will respond.
Former BBC producer Colin Hughes already cuts to the chase with some more on what isn’t in the announcement, which is worth a read:
WWDC 2025: What disabled people want to see from Apple this year
I’m particularly interested in the hands-free request for Apple Watch, because I’d personally like to see that on more platforms, generally.
So, what do you think? Let us know. And meanwhile:
And an oldie: