Dani Devesa

@dadederk.bsky.social

402 Followers 160 Following

#iOS @ Yoto. Developer of RetroRapid! & Xarra! Previously: Apple (contractor), Spotify, Skyscanner & BBC. #365DaysIOSAccessibility. http://accessibilityUpTo11.com

Screenshot of the RetroRapid! title screen in its retro LCD-style design. A red "Play" button sits below the logo, followed by a "Play with Friends" button with a person icon, the text "Friend races are free," and a "Leaderboard" button.
Collage of four screens showing Xarra running on iPhone, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and iPad. Each displays the "Welcome to Xarra" document, with the line "Xarra is your companion for turning text into natural-sounding audio" being read aloud and highlighted. The Vision Pro view shows Focus Mode active.
Screenshot of Xarra running in German on iPhone, showing the "Willkommen bei Xarra" (Welcome to Xarra) welcome screen. The first line reads "Hallo, ich bin Xarra" (Hello, I am Xarra), a nod to the famous line the Macintosh spoke at its 1984 unveiling. The word "Xarra" is highlighted in the text as it's read aloud.
Screenshot of App Store Connect sales report for 7 Jul 2026, showing 0 units, US$0.00 proceeds, US$0.00 sales, 3 updates, 0 in-app purchases, 0 app bundles, and 0 pre-orders.
Screenshot of the Ratings screen in App Store Connect showing RetroRapid!’s ratings breakdown: 53 five-star ratings, 1 four-star, 0 three-star, 0 two-star, and 1 one-star rating.
A hand holds up an iPhone displaying the Xarra app, with the ornate arched entrance gate to Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen visible behind it. The gate features detailed ironwork and a sign reading "TIVOLI" against a clear blue sky.
App Store accessibility section for What’s My Set?, showing a “Supported Features” card with eight features listed: VoiceOver, Voice Control, Larger Text, Dark Interface, Differentiate Without Colour Alone, Sufficient Contrast, Reduced Motion, and Audio Descriptions.
A retro pixel-art racing scene at sunset inspired by California and Silicon Valley. A green Formula 1-style race car drives down a long highway toward the horizon. On the left, a circular campus resembling Apple Park sits among palm trees, with a city skyline and bridge in the distance. On the right, a large Route 66-style road sign reads “3K Downloads” with an upward arrow. At the bottom, large pixel text says “Thank You!” with checkered flags on either side.
Speaker card for Daniel Devesa at iOSDevUK 2026. Photo of him wearing a flat cap, with his talk title "Accessibility, live on stage," conference dates 7–10 September, Aberystwyth University, the website, a QR code, and the iOSDevUK logo.
An iPad standing in landscape orientation on an airplane tray table, showing Xarra in dark mode. The sidebar displays a library of documents including "Everything but the Code", while the main area shows the book text with the current sentence highlighted.
An iPhone lying in landscape orientation on an airplane tray table, resting on a folded "Art of Fauna" jumper, displaying Xarra reading "Everything but the Code" hands-free, with a sentence highlighted in purple.
An iPhone held up in an airplane window seat showing Xarra reading "Everything but the Code" aloud, with the current sentence highlighted in purple. The aircraft wing is visible through the window above the clouds.
Screenshot of the App Store app shows the RetroRapid game as one of the apps featured in the list called Updated and Upgraded.
Hand-drawn wireframe sketches on an iPad (Procreate) exploring three Apple Watch UI concepts for Xarra, an audio app — showing layout variations of the same screen displaying excerpts from Apple's classic "The Crazy Ones' monologue: 'The misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes.'
The word “Accessibility” appears at the top in a heavy metal-inspired font. In the center, the international accessibility symbol is depicted as a cartoon figure holding and playing an electric guitar inside a large circle. At the bottom, the handwritten text reads “Rocks!”
Screenshot of A11y Weekly Issue #500, published May 18 2026. Under "News, resources, tools and tutorials", the first listed link is "Learning to develop more accessible iOS games (blog post - accessibilityupto11.com)".
App Store in-app event screenshot showing the GAAD Accessibility Achievement challenge for RetroRapid!, a retro kart racing game. The challenge badge is a gold medal featuring a kart racer surrounded by laurel wreaths and checkered flags. The description reads: "During Global Accessibility Awareness Day week, play a game with VoiceOver on. Your GAAD Achievement badge awaits!
Four iPhone screenshots showing a workflow in Xarra: a blog post with a Swift code block is imported via the iOS Share Extension, the code is parsed into an editable structured "Code Block" view with language and an AI-generated plain-language explanation, and the result appears as audio-friendly text in a transcript view with spoken word highlighting — demonstrating how Foundation Models convert technical code into listenable content.
Screenshot of Xarra in the Mac App Store on macOS. The app icon and title “Xarra!” appear at the top with the subtitle “Turn text into audio.” Preview images show synchronized transcript highlighting while listening. The app is listed for Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
Cream-background promo with title “Leaderboards that read faster” and supporting copy about clearer platform and speed. iPhone screenshot of the Leaderboards screen: “All Leaderboards” list with branded rows for iPhone High Score (rank 3/17 and friend avatars), blurred rows for iPad / Mac / Watch, and “iPhone High Score – Fast” showing Not ranked—with trophy/checkered artwork distinguishing Rapid vs Fast.
App Store–style layout with headline “Share scores and achievements” above an iPhone showing a dark photo-editor-style sharing UI (tools across the top, “Swipe up for filters” at the bottom). The shared inset is RetroRapid’s results card: pixel title “RetroRapid!”, road-and-checkered-flag art, Score 251, Best 529, Speed Rapid, line “Next friend ahead”, and a pink avatar beside “Andrew: 540”.
Pixel-art results panel inside the phone: checkered flags and road graphic, copy “Next round could be your best yet.”, Score 251, Best 529, Speed Rapid, “Next friend ahead” with pink avatar and “Andrew: 540”, and Play again / Finish buttons. Below the device, promo headline “Finish strong, see what’s next” and body text about spotting the friend just above you and first-time overtakes.
Marketing slide titled “New achievements to hunt” with body copy about varied challenges. iPhone shows Game Center’s achievement sheet: notification-style banner “VoiceOver Controls”, large gold racing badge with laurel and checkered flags, title “VoiceOver Controls”, description “You completed a run using VoiceOver controls.”, plus red Done and grey Other achievements buttons.
Promotional iPhone frame showing RetroRapid in pixel-art top-down racing: green road, rival cars, and a circular Game Center friend avatar marker floating above one car. HUD reads Score 227 with a x2 multiplier beside a helmet icon; and large red control pads below the gameplay area.
A glowing RetroRapid icon (retro pixelated racing car over pink background) with the text: Updated and Better Than Ever. RetroRapid! Updated May 12, 2026. Download on the App Store.
Apple Connect Notification shows that the macOS version of Xarra is now approved and pending developer release!
An article is being played in the Xarra app running on visionOS. The current line is highlighted, and so is the word being spoken. Focus Mode is enabled, making the current line much larger, filling the app window and feeling much more immersive.
Dani at iOSKonf in Skopje gestures confidently on a purple-lit stage beside a podium, with audience members visible in the background.
Hands holding an iPhone displaying RetroRapid mid-game, with a score of 19 visible on screen. In the background, the Stone Bridge and the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia are seen along the Vardar River in Skopje, under a clear blue sky with the North Macedonian flag visible on the museum dome.
Screenshot of Xarra running on macOS, showing three windows. The main one displays two tabs — one showing an article titled 'SwiftUI Not Accessible' being read aloud, with the word 'Accessible' highlighted as it plays. A reading list panel is visible on the left, alongside playback controls.
Screen recording of Xarra. The user taps the + icon and selects Gutenberg Library. A screen appears with a list of titles and a search option. The user scrolls down and selects Alice in Wonderland. A detail screen opens showing metadata for the title. The user taps an import button in the top right corner and the title gets processed in the Home screen. The user opens the book and a view appears with the first lines of the text. The user then explores an info screen showing additional metadata, including AI-generated artwork. Finally, they go back, select the first chapter from the chapter view, and start playing.
A collage of screenshots from a recorded talk at try! Swift Tokyo 2026 (April 13–14). The speaker, Klemens, presents on stage in front of purple try! Swift Tokyo branding. The slides show group photos from various developer conferences, a grid of iOS app icons, tweets about apps including RetroRapid, and Japanese-language caption text describing lessons learned from attending many events, the value of indie developer communities, and crediting collaborators for app features and code.
Screenshot of Xarra 1.1's new Voice Management screen on iPhone. At the top, a Fallback Voice section lets you pick a default voice, currently set to Serena (Premium) - United Kingdom. Below, a Voices by Language section shows individual voice selections per language: English is set to Serena (Premium) - United Kingdom, Spanish to Marisol (Premium) - Spanish (Spain), and Catalan to Montse - Catalan (Spain). At the bottom, a Tip section links to "How to install high quality Voices?" with instructions to download enhanced voices via iOS Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices.
Screenshot of three 5-star App Store reviews for RetroRapid. First review titled "I love this game" from the United States (March 27, 2026): "I am really a fan of this nice accessible game that I can just pick up and play! Finally, something that also works with the Apple Watch!" Second review titled "So much fun!" from the United States (February 25, 2026): "This game is so much fun to play! The simplicity and accessibility is unmatched! Highly recommend to anyone." Third review titled "Accesible y entretenido" from Spain (March 13, 2026), translated as "Accessible and fun": "A simply accessible and simply fun game. Highly recommended."
A gold medal with a red ribbon. The medal features a trophy and laurel wreath with the number 1000, and a golden banner beneath reads “+1000 Downloads!”. Golden sparkles surround the design.
A glowing gold medal on a black background, featuring a pixelated retro Formula 1 car viewed from the front engraved in its centre, surrounded by a golden laurel wreath. Two crossed chequered flags sit at the bottom, and a red and chequered ribbon hangs from the top. Golden sparkles surround the whole design.
Screenshot showing Xarra featured as the Indie App of the Week. At the top, the heading reads "Indie App of the Week" followed by the app name "Xarra" in bold. Below is the cover banner for issue #101 of the Create with Swift Weekly Newsletter, with a purple-to-pink gradient background and a subtle pattern of rounded envelope shapes. At the bottom, an App Store link card for Xarra by Daniel Devesa Derksen-Staats is shown, with the app icon depicting an illustrated person with stylised letter forms overlaid in blue tones.
Xarra icon unveils from the darkness. It is an illustration of character with blue hair listening with eyes closed, surrounded by pages, the a and b letters and sound waves.
The video shows the App Store app, changes to the Games tab, scrolls down to Updated and Upgraded, taps that section, and starts scrolling down, eventually it finds RetroRapid and opens the game's page.
A hand holding an iPhone displaying Xarra, with the app's illustrated character icon shown large on screen and 'Welcome to Xarra' playing. In the background, the River Thames shimmers under a bright blue London sky.
App icon for Xarra: a illustrated woman with blue hair and closed eyes, set against a light blue background, surrounded by floating document pages and the letters "a" and "b" in dark blue.
Screenshot of the Xarra! App Store listing. The subtitle: Turn text into audio. It says: coming soon, expected 26 Mar 2026. It has a button with a checkmark indicating that it has been pre-ordered, and it discloses that it offers In-App Purchases. The icon shows an illustrated woman with blue hair surrounded by letters and document pages.
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the Apple Intelligence-powered code explanation feature. A Swift code block is displayed alongside an AI-generated plain-language explanation of what the code does. The header reads "Powered by Apple Intelligence – Explain code in an audio-friendly format, summarize text, auto-tag audio documents, and generate unique artwork".
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the reading view at a very large Dynamic Type size, with the word "accessibility" highlighted in a dark purple box as it is read aloud. Playback controls are visible at the bottom. The header reads "Accessibility / Dynamic Type – Accessibility and Dynamic Type front and center".
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the library view with a list of saved Audio Documents, including articles from mobilea11y.com and Smashing Magazine, each showing a progress bar and percentage read. The header reads "Library – Keep your reading library with you everywhere".
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the Voice Settings panel. Options include "Respect Assistive Technology Settings", "Custom Voice and Language Detection" (toggled on), and a Default Voice set to "Serena (Premium)". A tip explains how to download additional voices via iOS Settings. The header reads "Voice Settings – Choose from system voices in many languages".
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the playback controls panel. Buttons for skipping back 5 lines, play/pause, and skipping forward 5 lines are visible, along with a speed control set to 1.0x and a scrubber showing "Line 59 of 237". The header reads "Playback Controls – Customize speed and voice to fit your style".
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the Chapters navigation panel. A list of chapters and sections is displayed, including titles like "Goals Vs. Systems", "What Is Your Actual Goal?", and sections on Design Systems, Community Building, and Education. The header reads "Chapters – Jump easily between sections and chapters".
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the Share extension in action. An article from mobilea11y.com has just been saved, with a confirmation sheet displaying a purple checkmark and the message "Saved to Xarra!" and an "Open in Xarra" button. The header reads "Share Extension – Save articles and documents from any app".
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the import options menu. A popup displays three choices: Plain Text, Document, and URL. Behind it, a list of saved articles is visible. The header reads "Import Options (+) – Import text from links, files, or clipboard".
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the transcript and highlighting feature. A sentence is highlighted in a purple box as it plays, with an individual word highlighted in a darker purple within it. Playback controls are visible at the bottom. The footer reads "Transcript + Highlighting – Listen as each line is highlighted in sync".
App Store screenshot for Xarra! showing the app's main reading view. A sentence is highlighted in a purple box as it is being read aloud, with the surrounding text visible below. The header reads "Hello! Turn text into audio you can follow along with".
Screenshot of the Xarra! App Store listing. The subtitle: Turn text into audio. It says: coming soon, expected 26 Mar 2026. It offers a Get button and it discloses that it offers In-App Purchases. The icon shows an illustrated woman with blue hair surrounded by letters and document pages.
Screenshot of helm-app.com showing the "Loved by Many" section — a grid of App Store icons from apps built by developers that love using Helm. RetroRapid!'s icon, a retro-style arcade racing game, appears in the top row.
Glowing RetroRapid icon consisting of a pixelated retro racing car in a pink squircle. There is also a Download on the App Store badge.
A hand holds a RetroRapid! sticker. A pink rounded-square icon featuring a pixel-art racing car, in front of Battersea Power Station at night. The iconic illuminated chimneys rise into a dark sky behind it.
App Store page for Xarra, showing the app icon, an illustrated character with blue hair surrounded by letters and documents, with the subtitle "Turn text into audio." Listed as Coming Soon, expected 26 April 2026. Below, a screenshot of the app shows a document called "Welcome to Xarra" with the current line highlighted during playback.
A hand holds a large stack of squircle-shaped RetroRapid! stickers still in their plastic packaging, with the pink app icon featuring a retro greyscale pixelated Formula 1 car visible on top. A brick building and cloudy blue sky are visible through a window in the background.
Screenshot of RetroRapid, a retro-style top-down racing game, running on macOS. The player's pixel art Formula 1 car is centered at the bottom of the track, with three opponent cars ahead. A checkered finish line is visible in the middle of the track. The score reads 99 with 3 lives remaining. A "Hey Ho! Speed increasing!" message appears at the bottom of the screen.
A person plays the retro racing game RetroRapid! on an iPhone using an Xbox Adaptive Controller with two large buttons.