v8.7.15

…l is closed (#30894)

Issue number: resolves #30679

---------

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issue. -->

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## What is the current behavior?
When a page contains a card modal with a `presentingElement`, resizing
the viewport (e.g., rotating from portrait to landscape) triggers the
card modal's "lean back" animation on the presenting element, even when
the modal has never been opened.

## What is the new behavior?
Viewport resize events no longer trigger the presenting element
animation when the modal is not presented. The animation only runs when
the modal is actually open.

## Does this introduce a breaking change?

- [ ] Yes
- [X] No

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## Other information

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screenshots of how the component looks before and after the change. -->

Current dev build:
```
8.7.16-dev.11767028735.16932cea
```

v8.7.16

---------

Co-authored-by: ionitron <hi@ionicframework.com>

…roll assist (#30896)

Issue number: resolves internal

---------

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issue. -->

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## What is the current behavior?
On iOS, when focusing an `ion-input` or `ion-textarea` that requires
scrolling into view (scroll assist), the placeholder text shifts to the
left and overlaps any content in the start slot (e.g., icons). This
occurs because the cloned input used during scroll assist is positioned
at the container's left edge rather than at the native input's actual
position. Additionally, when quickly switching between inputs before
scroll assist completes, focus jumps back to the original input.

## What is the new behavior?
The cloned input is now positioned at the same offset as the native
input, preventing the placeholder from shifting or overlapping start
slot content during scroll assist. This works correctly for both LTR and
RTL layouts. Also, scroll assist no longer steals focus back if the user
has moved focus to another element while scrolling was in progress.

## Does this introduce a breaking change?

- [ ] Yes
- [X] No

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## Other information

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Current dev build:
```
8.7.16-dev.11767042721.11309185
```

…unmount (#30906)

Issue number: resolves internal

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## What is the current behavior?
When `ion-tab-bar` is rapidly mounted and unmounted, a race condition in
connectedCallback can cause the keyboard controller to be created after
the component has been disconnected. This results in orphaned event
listeners (`keyboardWillShow`, `keyboardWillHide`) on the window object
that are never cleaned up, causing a memory leak.

## What is the new behavior?
The keyboard controller is now properly destroyed in all scenarios:
- If the component is disconnected while createKeyboardController is
pending, the promise is tracked and destroyed when it resolves
- If a new connectedCallback runs before the previous async completes,
the stale controller is destroyed

The promise tracking pattern ensures only the most recent async
operation assigns its result

## Does this introduce a breaking change?

- [ ] Yes
- [X] No

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## Other information

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Current dev build:
```
8.7.17-dev.11767895575.16ea7cef
```

I was unable to find a way to create tests that accurately identified if
this problem was occurring. Memory leaks are notoriously difficult to
created automated tests for. I ultimately removed my previous attempts
because I didn't want to give a false sense of security.

…30895)

Issue number: resolves internal

---------

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issue. -->

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etc). Submit multiple pull requests if needed. -->

## What is the current behavior?
When using `ion-input` with a label on Android, TalkBack treats the
visual label text as a separate focusable element. This causes the
initial focus to land on the label instead of the input field, creating
a confusing experience for screen reader users.

## What is the new behavior?
The label text wrapper is now hidden from the accessibility tree via
`aria-hidden="true"`, while the native input maintains proper labeling
through `aria-labelledby`. This ensures Android TalkBack focuses
directly on the input field while still announcing the label correctly.

## Does this introduce a breaking change?

- [ ] Yes
- [X] No

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1. Describe the impact and migration path for existing applications
below.
  2. Update the BREAKING.md file with the breaking change.
3. Add "BREAKING CHANGE: [...]" to the commit description when merging.
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## Other information

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Current dev build:
```
8.7.16-dev.11767032989.1ae720d0
```

…gs (#30915)

Ionitron keeps closing issues with `bug: external` as stale:
#27052 (comment)

This PRs adds `bug: external` as an exempt label when closing issues as
stale.

Co-authored-by: Brandy Smith <6577830+brandyscarney@users.noreply.github.com>