Accessibility Focus (SwiftUI)

The @AccessibilityFocusState property wrapper (SwiftUI Release 3, iOS 15+) reads and moves the VoiceOver or Switch Control cursor, mirroring how @FocusState handles the keyboard. Use it to send the assistive cursor to an error, an alert, or the first field of a form.

Boolean Bindings

Declare an @AccessibilityFocusState boolean and bind it with .accessibilityFocused($flag). SwiftUI keeps the value in sync with the assistive cursor, and writing true moves the cursor to that view.

struct SignInView: View {
  @AccessibilityFocusState
  private var isEmailFocused: Bool

  @State private var email = ""

  var body: some View {
    Form {
      TextField("email", text: $email)
        .accessibilityFocused($isEmailFocused)
    }
    .onChange(of: isEmailFocused) { newValue in
      print(newValue)
    }
  }
}

By default the value aggregates every assistive technology on the device. Scope it with @AccessibilityFocusState(for: .switchControl) or .voiceOver when only one should drive it.

One Enum for Many Elements

Like @FocusState, the wrapper accepts any Hashable value. Model the focusable elements as an enum, bind each view with .accessibilityFocused($focus, equals: .case), and keep the property optional so the framework can set nil when focus leaves your views.

enum FocusableField: Hashable {
  case email
  case password
}

struct ContentView: View {
  @AccessibilityFocusState
  private var focus: FocusableField?
  @State private var email = ""
  @State private var password = ""

  var body: some View {
    Form {
      TextField("email", text: $email)
        .accessibilityFocused($focus, equals: .email)
      SecureField("password", text: $password)
        .accessibilityFocused($focus, equals: .password)
      Button("login", action: login)
    }
    .onAppear {
      DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.1) {
        focus = .email
      }
    }
  }
}

The article delays the initial focus = .email slightly after onAppear, so the hierarchy exists before the cursor moves. Assigning the enum value at any point moves VoiceOver or Switch Control to that element.