Swift Charts Accessibility, Fallback, and Resources

Table of Contents

• Accessibility
  • Meaningful Labels
  • Custom Audio Graphs
• Composite Example
• Fallback Strategies
  • Version Breakdown
• WWDC Sessions
• Summary Checklist

Accessibility

Swift Charts provides built-in accessibility support. VoiceOver users get three rotor actions automatically:

• Describe Chart — overview of axes and data series
• Audio Graph — sonification where pitch represents data values
• Chart Detail — interactive mode for exploring individual data points

Meaningful Labels

Always use clear, descriptive strings in .value(_, _) calls. These labels are read by VoiceOver and used in the Audio Graph.

// Good — descriptive labels
LineMark(
    x: .value("Date", entry.date),
    y: .value("Daily Steps", entry.count)
)

// Bad — generic labels
LineMark(
    x: .value("X", entry.date),
    y: .value("Y", entry.count)
)

Custom Audio Graphs

For advanced accessibility, conform your chart view to AXChartDescriptorRepresentable and implement makeChartDescriptor(). Attach it with .accessibilityChartDescriptor(self).

struct StepsChart: View, AXChartDescriptorRepresentable {
    let steps: [DailySteps]

    var body: some View {
        Chart(steps) { day in
            LineMark(x: .value("Date", day.date), y: .value("Steps", day.count))
        }
        .accessibilityChartDescriptor(self)
    }

    func makeChartDescriptor() -> AXChartDescriptor {
        guard let first = steps.first, let last = steps.last else {
            return AXChartDescriptor(title: "Daily Step Count", summary: nil,
                xAxis: AXNumericDataAxisDescriptor(title: "Date", range: 0...1, gridlinePositions: []) { "\($0)" },
                yAxis: AXNumericDataAxisDescriptor(title: "Steps", range: 0...1, gridlinePositions: []) { "\($0)" },
                additionalAxes: [], series: [])
        }
        let xAxis = AXDateDataAxisDescriptor(
            title: "Date", range: first.date...last.date, gridlinePositions: [])
        let yAxis = AXNumericDataAxisDescriptor(
            title: "Steps", range: 0...Double(steps.map(\.count).max() ?? 0),
            gridlinePositions: []) { "\(Int($0)) steps" }
        let series = AXDataSeriesDescriptor(
            name: "Daily Steps", isContinuous: true,
            dataPoints: steps.map { .init(x: $0.date, y: Double($0.count)) })
        return AXChartDescriptor(title: "Daily Step Count", summary: nil,
            xAxis: xAxis, yAxis: yAxis, additionalAxes: [], series: [series])
    }
}

Composite Example

A scrollable bar chart with range selection combining multiple iOS 17+ APIs:

@State private var selectedRange: ClosedRange<Int>?

Chart(weeklyRevenue) { week in
    BarMark(x: .value("Week", week.index), y: .value("Revenue", week.revenue))
        .foregroundStyle(by: .value("Region", week.region))
}
.chartScrollableAxes(.horizontal)
.chartXVisibleDomain(length: 8)
.chartXSelection(range: $selectedRange)
.chartXAxis {
    AxisMarks(values: .stride(by: 1)) {
        AxisGridLine()
        AxisValueLabel { Text("W\($0.as(Int.self) ?? 0)") }
    }
}

Fallback Strategies

Gate advanced APIs with #available and provide a fallback chart without the gated features. Because chart modifiers like .chartXSelection change the return type, you must duplicate the entire Chart — you cannot conditionally apply the modifier:

Version Breakdown

• iOS 16+: Chart, custom axes, scales, BarMark, LineMark, AreaMark, PointMark, RectangleMark, RuleMark, ChartProxy, chartOverlay, chartBackground
• iOS 17+: SectorMark, chartXSelection, chartYSelection, chartAngleSelection, chartScrollableAxes, visible-domain scrolling APIs, chartGesture
• iOS 18+: AreaPlot, BarPlot, LinePlot, PointPlot, RectanglePlot, RulePlot, SectorPlot, function plotting
• iOS 26+: Chart3D, SurfacePlot, Z-axis marks, 3D camera and pose APIs

WWDC Sessions

• Hello Swift Charts (WWDC 2022) — introduction to the framework
• Swift Charts: Raise the bar (WWDC 2022) — marks, composition, customization
• Design an effective chart (WWDC 2022) — chart design principles
• Design app experiences with charts (WWDC 2022) — integrating charts into app UX
• Explore pie charts and interactivity in Swift Charts (WWDC 2023) — SectorMark, selection, scrolling
• Swift Charts: Vectorized and function plots (WWDC 2024) — LinePlot, AreaPlot, function plotting
• Bring Swift Charts to the third dimension (WWDC 2025) — Chart3D, SurfacePlot, 3D marks

Summary Checklist

• import Charts is present in files using chart types
• Deployment target matches the APIs used (Chart on iOS 16+, selection and SectorMark on iOS 17+, plot types on iOS 18+, Chart3D on iOS 26+)
• Chart data models use Identifiable (or Chart(data, id:) is provided)
• All chart families are represented with the correct mark type
• Axes use AxisMarks when default ticks are too dense or unclear
• chartXScale or chartYScale is set when fixed domains matter
• Chart-wide modifiers are applied to Chart, not individual marks
• foregroundStyle(by:) used for categorical series (not manual per-mark colors)
• Single-value selection uses chartXSelection(value:) or chartYSelection(value:)
• Range selection uses chartXSelection(range:) or chartYSelection(range:)
• SectorMark selection uses chartAngleSelection(value:)
• iOS 17+, iOS 18+, and iOS 26+ APIs are guarded with #available
• .value() labels are descriptive for VoiceOver and Audio Graph accessibility