[camilopires]

Summary:

Following the discussion in react-native-community/discussions-and-proposals#1026, this adds one snapshot for accessibility settings that change how an app should draw its own controls. It replaces the one-flag-per-setting PRs #59178, #59179 and #59180.

React Native apps mostly draw their own switches and buttons with Pressable and View, so the system can't adapt them to these settings as it does UISwitch and system buttons. The app has to read the setting itself.

type AccessibilityPreferences = {
  prefersSwitchLabels: boolean;       // iOS On/Off Labels
  prefersNonColorIndicators: boolean; // iOS Differentiate Without Color
};
AccessibilityInfo.getPreferences(): Promise<AccessibilityPreferences>;
AccessibilityInfo.addEventListener('preferencesChanged', (preferences) => …);

• Field names say what the user needs, not which platform setting it is. prefersCrossFadeTransitions already does this. A platform with no such setting reports false, so apps don't need platform checks. A future setting becomes a new field, not a new method and event.
• preferencesChanged carries the whole new snapshot, and fires only when a field changes.
• On Android, neither setting exists. getPreferences() resolves both fields to false without a native call, and preferencesChanged doesn't subscribe, like the other iOS-only events.

Switch Control uses the existing getRecommendedTimeoutMillis(originalTimeout) rather than a new flag or method. Until now it read Android's "Time to take action" setting and returned originalTimeout unchanged on iOS. On iOS it now returns three times originalTimeout while Switch Control is running. Moving between elements one switch press at a time is slow, so a 4-second toast is often gone before you reach it. Apple publishes no recommended figure, so 3× is a judgement call, and I'm happy to change it. This also replaces the separate getRecommendedTimeout I suggested on #1026, since the method already exists.

Scope: Show Borders (#59177) has already landed as isShowBordersEnabled(), and the Android contrast level (#59181) is in review, so neither is folded into the snapshot here. #59176 (Bold Text on Android) is separate. It also edits AccessibilityInfo.js, so whichever lands second needs a small rebase.

Changelog:

[IOS] [ADDED] - AccessibilityInfo.getPreferences() and preferencesChanged (On/Off Labels and Differentiate Without Color)
[IOS] [CHANGED] - AccessibilityInfo.getRecommendedTimeoutMillis() returns a longer timeout while Switch Control is running

Test Plan:

• yarn jest packages/react-native/Libraries/Components/AccessibilityInfo: 49 tests pass. They cover getPreferences on both platforms (including an older iOS binary without the native method), the iOS timeout with and without the native method, and the event wiring.
• yarn flow-check: 0 errors
• yarn lint: passes
• yarn build-types --validate: API snapshot up to date
• yarn test-generated-typescript and yarn test-typescript-legacy: pass
• yarn format-check-cpp, and Prettier on the changed JS and TS: pass
• New RCTAccessibilityManagerTests in RNTesterUnitTests: 5 tests pass. They replace the system setting readers, post the real UIKit notifications, and call getCurrentPreferences and getRecommendedTimeoutMillis. They check the startup snapshot, that each setting's change sends the whole snapshot, that a notification without a change sends nothing, and the timeout with Switch Control on and off. Removing the On/Off Labels observer makes its test fail.
• RNTester builds for the iOS simulator with CocoaPods, using Xcode 27.1.

On an iPhone 18 Pro simulator running iOS 27.0, I switched each setting in the Settings app with a throwaway XCUITest (not part of this PR). Then I read RNTester's Accessibility → "display options" rows. RNTester stayed running, so the "Last preferencesChanged" row could only update through the event.

Step	Last preferencesChanged	getPreferences() afterwards
Before	none	switch labels off, non-color indicators off
On/Off Labels on	switch labels on, non-color indicators off
On/Off Labels off	switch labels off, non-color indicators off	switch labels off, non-color indicators off
Differentiate Without Colour on	switch labels off, non-color indicators on
Differentiate Without Colour off	switch labels off, non-color indicators off	switch labels off, non-color indicators off

The recommended-timeout row read "4000 ms" with Switch Control off. The row reads the value again whenever RNTester becomes active, because Switch Control has no change event.

Android: RNTester on an API 36 emulator shows "Preferences: switch labels off, non-color indicators off.", "Last preferencesChanged: none." and "Recommended timeout for 4000 ms: 4000 ms.", with no errors.

Not verified: the timeout with Switch Control running. The iOS simulator has no Switch Control, so it needs a physical device. The policy itself is unit-tested. I didn't run a SwiftPM build either, because this PR doesn't change linking or Package.swift.

[github-actions]

Warning

JavaScript API change detected

This PR commits an update to ReactNativeApi.d.ts, indicating a change to React Native's public JavaScript API.

• Please include a clear changelog message.
• This change will be subject to additional review.

This change was flagged as: POTENTIALLY_BREAKING

[cipolleschi]

there are several conflicts in this PR. Can you rebase on top of main please?