Announcements

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August 2024 Release

2024-08-14

Improved Scan and Issue Details Screens

We’ve updated the scan and issue detail screens in the axe DevTools Mobile Dashboard to make them easier to use and to set the stage for future enhancements.

We’ve released a new version of the Xcode project with our SDK (rule engine) embedded within the project. You can now simply download a new Xcode project to get the latest version of the Xcode project and the underlying rule engine without requiring any manual steps within Xcode to update the rule engine.

We made updates to increase accuracy in the following rules: Color Contrast, Touch Target Size, Inaccessible Action, Label in Name, Focusable Text, Screen Title, and Nested Elements Name.

Check out the release notes for the full details of this release.

May 2024 Release

2024-05-15

New Appium rules and functionality

We've added four new rules to the Appium plugin and introduced support for testing Android apps built with Jetpack Compose. We've also added the option to set a scan name and tags before you initiate an accessibility scan.

Check out the release notes for the full details of this release.

April 2024 Release

2024-04-17

Usage tracking, axe Universal format, and more

We've made it easier to enable tracking for your team's usage of axe DevTools Mobile. In the axe Account Portal's global settings, set "Usage Service" to "Enable" and enter your URL and Organization ID. You no longer need to add anything to the code.

You can now export scans from the axe DevTools Mobile Dashboard in the axe universal JSON format—a standard format used by all axe products.

We've promoted the Inactive Accessible View and Focusable Text rules out of experimental status in the Android SDK.

Check out the release notes for the full details of this release.

February 2024 Release

2024-02-14

New Appium Plugin

We're excited to announce an improved solution for using Appium to perform accessibility testing on your mobile apps. Previously, axe DevTools Mobile supported Appium testing with native iOS or Android apps and it required you to embed axe code into your app. We now offer an Appium plugin enabling you to test any app – native or cross-platform. You can use any Appium client for your test scripts, and you don't need to embed any Deque code in your app. It's easy to install and get started. Get started with Appium

  • The initial release of the plugin covers five rules based on WCAG standards. We will be enhancing our ruleset over the coming months. Appium Rules
  • If you’re already using our original Appium capabilities to get the mobile accessibility testing you need, you can keep using it for now. We will be transitioning to the new Appium plugin in the future once the ruleset is complete. Stay tuned for more updates.

Check out the release notes for the full details of this release.

October 2023 Release

2023-10-18

Support for WCAG 2.2, axe DevTools Mobile now only scans visible views, Associated Text rule for iOS promoted out of experimental status

WCAG 2.2 was officially released on October 5. Our "Touch Target Spacing" rule has been promoted out of Experimental status. This rule conforms to WCAG 2.2 2.5.8 AA and ensures targets meet a minimum size or have sufficient spacing around them. This is important for people with physical impairments who cannot click small buttons that are close together. Learn more about the WCAG 2.2. release. View documentation for the Touch Target Spacing rule for iOS and the Touch Target Spacing rule for Android.

Axe DevTools Mobile will now run faster and improve accessibility results by only scanning views that are visible to the user at the time of the scan. Previously, the tool scanned all views, even those which were off-screen or hidden by other views. By only scanning what's visible to the user, the results more accurately reflect the user experience of someone with a disability or someone using assistive technology. Also, computer vision rules, such as color contrast, do not run on views which are offscreen. By only scanning views within the bounds of the screen, you can rest assured that any scanned views are benefiting from the full ruleset. Read the release notes for more information about what this means for your team.

The Associated Text rule has been promoted out of experimental status. This rule ensures that a control gets its accessible name from a nearby label available for assistive technologies such as VoiceOver and Voice Control.

Check out the release notes for the full details of this release.

August 2023 Release

2023-08-16

Introducing axe DevTools Mobile Analyzer, Supports Dynamic Type Rule added for XCUI, and UI Automator support added for Android!

Use the new axe DevTools Mobile Analyzer to test iOS or Android apps built with any technology without access to the source code. Test both native and cross-platform apps, such as SwiftUI and UIKit in iOS, Jetpack Compose and XML in Android, React Native, Flutter, Xamarin and Ionic. axe DevTools Mobile Analyzer replaces the embedded Floating Action Button for user-initiated (manual) accessibility testing. To make the switch, remove the embedded code for the Floating Action Button from your app, and follow the docs to get started with the new axe DevTools Mobile Analyzer.

  • Views built with SwiftUI can now be tested via user-initiated (manual) testing. (Previously only automated testing was available for SwiftUI.)

  • Apps using Jetpack Compose views will now run the full rule set via either user-initiated (manual) or automated testing. (Previously Android apps using Jetpack Compose had a smaller ruleset.)

The Supports Dynamic Type rule is now available in the XCUI framework.

We now support the UI Automator testing framework for automated testing on Android.

Check out the release notes for the full details of all the great updates.

April 2023 Release

2023-04-19

React Native and Tablet Support, Pagination, WCAG 2.2 Target Size Rule!

React Native support is here! With automated accessibility testing support in the iOS and Android frameworks, and support within the free axe Accessibility Linter VSCode extension and axe DevTools Linter (formally known as the axe Linter Server)! These two tools go hand in hand, so your team can catch accessibility bugs as early in the development process as possible for React Native apps. With WCAG 2.2 on the horizon, we have implemented rules on both iOS and Android to test for the proposed Level AA success criterion 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum). For more information on the requirements that the Touch Target Spacing rules test for, please see the remediation guides for iOS and Android.

The axe DevTools Mobile Dashboard now supports pagination for faster load times and easier management of scans. We are committed to continually improving the user experience and appreciate all the feedback to make our product better with each release.

Additional axe DevTools Mobile Updates:

axeDevToolsUIKit

  • iPadOS Support
  • Colliding View Rule updated to use a trained computer vision algorithm
  • Ability to set the scan name while saving locally
  • Login Screen API allows connection to a private instance
  • The scan's URL is printed to the logs upon successful upload to the server

axeDevToolsXCUI

  • iPadOS Support
  • an optimized automation build
  • Color Contrast Rule
  • Screen Orientation Rule
  • Ability to set the scan name while saving locally
  • The scan's URL is printed to the logs upon successful upload to the server

axe-devtools-android

  • Color Contrast Rule updated to use a trained computer vision algorithm
  • Compose Button Rule (previously Compose Icon Button Name and Compose Text Button Name)
  • Added optimized automation build features: add custom rules and scan dialogs
  • Compose support for Ignore Rules
  • New API to reset ignored rules for both XML and Compose

Check out the release notes for the full details of all the great updates.

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