BUG Android+Talkback with simple combobox

[jdeyla]

Hi,
we have tested this example
https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/combobox/examples/combobox-select-only/
with many Android (12, 13, 14) devices + Chrome + Talkback and the example does not work:

it is not possible to make any choice (strange because listbox and options should be supported by chrome+takback)

[css-meeting-bot]

The ARIA Authoring Practices (APG) Task Force just discussed BUG Android+Talkback with simple combobox · Issue #2855 · w3c/aria-practices.

The full IRC log of that discussion

<jugglinmike> Subtopic: BUG Android+Talkback with simple combobox · Issue #2855 · w3c/aria-practices
<jugglinmike> github: https://github.com//issues/2855
<jugglinmike> Jem: I have an Android device that I can use to verify this report
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: Then we'll assign it to you for triage purposes. If you can verify it, then you can add a "bug" label, and we'll meet again to assign someone for a fix
<jugglinmike> Jem: Sounds good

[a11ydoer]

@mcking65 I tested with talkback. It anounces "favorite fruit"and "list box" with 13 items. However, any options can not be selected as @jdeyla reported. I tested with android version 13 and chrome browser.

[TrevorRice]

We've noticed the same with a select-only combobox of our own following a similar approach to APG's. Here are a couple of potentially related issues:

• https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/274660397
• https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1425494#c4

[KaiWongTDOC]

Hi, this is still an issue as of June 13, 2025 and impacting many combo boxes across websites.

Description: Cannot expand into the combo box in mobile web chrome browser using android mobile device.

Expected Result: User should be able to navigate into the Expanded list when using screen reader

Actual Result: User cannot navigate into the Expanded List when using screen reader

Device(s)/OS: Samsung Galaxy

Browser(s): Chrome 130, Safari 17.4.1, Mobile Chrome, Mobile Safari

Screen Reader(s): Talkback, Voiceover

[css-meeting-bot]

The ARIA Authoring Practices (APG) Task Force just discussed Issue 2855: Select only combobox not working on Android.

The full IRC log of that discussion

<jugglinmike> Topic: Issue 2855: Select only combobox not working on Android
<jugglinmike> github: https://github.com//issues/2855
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: A long time ago, when we put the select-only combobox out there, people noticed that it wasn't working well on Android
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: Jem validated the bug
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: We didn't know if it was an APG problem or a TalkBack problem or a Chrome problem
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: People recently reminded us that it doesn't work on Android
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: If we can make it work, I think we should. But if we can't make it work, I think we should start bugging the people who maintain the software whic is at fault
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: We know the bug is reproducible. We don't know if the open issues being mentioned here are the root cause
<jugglinmike> Jem: There is a comment from April of this year on one of these external reports. They write about how this may be a delay problem
<Jem> https://issues.chromium.org/issues/40260928#comment5
<jugglinmike> Jem: They included a screen recording of the bug being expressed in Chrome
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: I want to get to the bottom of whether or not this is something caused by our code
<jugglinmike> Jem: They're saying that Google Maps has a significant delay. They're actually talking about two different examples: Google Maps and APG
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: Are these problems present only when TalkBack is running, or do they happen without TalkBack running?
<jugglinmike> Jem: I think it's when TalkBack is running...
<jugglinmike> jongund: If it's a bug, it probably have something to do with aria-activedescendent. Is it possible that this would work if we didn't use aria-activedescendent?
<jugglinmike> s/have/has/
<Jem> This is the content from the chrome bug report, filed by Adrian Roselli.
<Jem> "Using the APG listbox with states at https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/combobox/examples/combobox-autocomplete-both/, each time I moved through the options, there is a visual stutter where the TalkBack focus seems to move to an item much further in the options, then causes the listbox to scroll to the top, and then jump back to the selection. The video annotates these throughout."
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: I don't know if we would want to make another example just for that purpose. If someone wanted to test it out to verify whether that is the root cause, that would at least be helpful to the Android and/or TalkBack developers
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: I could be helpful to make a code pen to test out that theory that you could attach to the Google bug
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: but that's just your hypothesis right now, correct?
<jugglinmike> jongund: Correct
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: I don't think we would want to re-write the APG example for that reason
<jugglinmike> jongund: Agreed
<jugglinmike> Jem: This sounds like a TalkBack problem. There's another comment (this one from 2023) that suggests this
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: so the next step? It seems like a problem to have this really important pattern not to work on mobile
<jugglinmike> jongund: I can build a codepen, but I can't test it because I don't have any Android devices
<jugglinmike> Jem: I have an Android device for testing
<jugglinmike> Matt_King: It sounds like we're getting a plan of action. We have one hypothesis to test which will require two people: jongund will make the test, and another person with an Android device (perhaps Jem) can verify

[KaiWongTDOC]

Any update?