Watch repo UI not clear what exactly is being watched

[zuhairmahd]

Using iOS with voiceover, a user can open a repo and tap the watch button to specify what notifications they want to receive:

1. Tap the button and make a selection. Voiceover only announces the status after you turn on or off a notification under custom.
   Exit the notification UI and launch it again. Voiceover does not announce which notification is selected or not.

Thanks.

[VictorMoni]

Thanks for raising this! What you’re describing sounds like a VoiceOver accessibility/state bug in the Watch options sheet in the iOS app: the current choice isn’t exposed to VoiceOver, and changes aren’t being announced.

Expected

When the Watch options open, VoiceOver should announce the currently selected option (e.g., “All activity — selected”).

When you choose a different option, VoiceOver should immediately announce the change (e.g., “Selected: Releases only”) and the chosen row should have the Selected trait.

If you close and reopen the sheet, VoiceOver should still announce the current selection.

Actual

VoiceOver only announces state after toggling something under Custom.

Closing and reopening the Watch UI, VoiceOver does not announce which option is selected.

Helpful details for the team

Could you share:

iOS version and device model

GitHub iOS app version (Profile → Settings → About)

Whether the issue happens with all repos or specific ones

Screen language/VoiceOver rotor language

(Optional) a short screen recording with VoiceOver speech turned on

You can also send this via Profile → Settings → Report a bug so the mobile team gets diagnostics.

Workarounds (for now)

Set the watch level on the web: open the repo → Watch → choose your option. The setting carries over to mobile.

If you must use Custom on iOS, toggles do correctly announce On/Off; you can use those until the main selection state is fixed.

Suggested fix (for the iOS team)

On the Watch button and in the options list, expose the state via accessibility:

**Label/Value: **The button’s accessibilityValue should reflect the current mode (e.g., “All activity”, “Releases only”, “Participating & @mentions”, “Ignoring”, or “Custom”).

Selection Trait: In the sheet, mark the active row with .accessibilityAddTraits(.isSelected) (SwiftUI) or UIAccessibilityTraits.selected (UIKit).

Announcements: After a selection change, post UIAccessibility.post(notification: .announcement, argument: "Selected: <option>"). If the sheet layout changes, consider .layoutChanged to keep focus stable.

Custom submenu: Use proper Toggle/Switch semantics so VoiceOver announces On/Off, and give the “Custom” parent an accessibilityValue summarizing the enabled items (e.g., “3 of 6 types enabled”).

Accessibility acceptance criteria:

1. Current selection is announced on open.

2. Selection changes are announced immediately.

3. Only one option has the Selected trait at a time.

4. State persists and is announced on reopen.

Happy to provide more details or help test a fix

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐

[cehfisher]

Hello @zuhairmahd - great news, the accessibility engineers were able to reproduce this bug and create a fix. Could you please re-test it on your side. Thanks!

[zuhairmahd]

Hi. Yes, I can confirm that the issue has been resolved. Thanks for the resolution.