With the VoiceOver screen reader built in, Apple Watch is a powerful and accessible device for helping you be more active, healthy and connected. Just say the words and Siri can start a workout or playlist. And you can customise your screen with a range of display adjustments.
VoiceOver Hear what’s happening on your screen.
VoiceOver on Apple Watch
VoiceOver is a gesture-based screen reader that uses the speaker on Apple Watch. It tells you everything that’s happening on the screen and helps you navigate it without needing to see it. VoiceOver on Apple Watch is compatible with built-in apps and available in more than 35 languages. And when you turn on Taptic Time, a series of distinct taps from the Taptic Engine can discreetly tell you what time it is. Just double-tap the display to feel hours and minutes, or triple-tap with one finger to feel only minutes. You can choose from three taptic styles: digits, terse and Morse code.
VoiceOver on Apple Watch
Siri Streamline the things you do every day.
Siri watch face on Apple Watch
With Apple Watch Series 3 and Series 4, you can ask Siri to set a reminder, send a calendar invitation or give you audible, turn-by-turn directions.1 And with cellular, you can do all that when you’re away from your iPhone.2 The updated Siri watch face is an even better personal assistant, offering more predictive and proactive shortcuts throughout the day based on your routines, locations and when you use certain apps. Quickly pull up commute times with Maps, unlock your doors or start a workout, podcast or playlist — exactly when and where you need to. You can even create shortcuts that run several of these actions at once through simple, customised phrases like “Heading Home”, without having to go into each individual app.
Siri watch face on Apple Watch
Font Adjustment Bigger. Bolder. Easier to read.
Activate Larger Dynamic Type to increase the text size for a range of Apple Watch apps — including Mail, Messages and Settings — to make them easier to read. You can also choose Bold Text to make the text heavier across built-in apps.
Zoom Make the screen up to 15 times bigger.
It’s easy to zoom in on your content by using the Digital Crown to move across the screen by rows. With magnification up to 15 times the native size, Zoom helps you enjoy all that Apple Watch has to offer.
Greyscale Reduce colour. Step up clarity.
If it’s easier to see the screen without colour, Apple Watch lets you enable greyscale onscreen. Once you set the filter, the settings apply system‑wide, so you’ll see only shades of grey on the Home screen, in apps and elsewhere.
Extra-Large Watch Face Make the numbers your focus.
Apple Watch has many different faces that you can change and customise. One of them has numbers that take up the entire screen to make it easier to view the time.
Reduce Transparency Make everything stand out clearly.
For features like alerts and Siri1, you can increase the contrast on your Apple Watch screen by reducing the background transparency.
On/Off Labels Know right away whether a setting is on or off.
To make it easier to see whether a setting is on or off, you can have Apple Watch show an additional label on the on/off switch.
Reduce Motion Decrease the movement of onscreen elements.
When you turn on Reduce Motion, some screen elements — such as the movement of icons on the Home screen — will be simpler and more directly associated with your navigation gestures.
Resources
Support
Apple Accessibility Support
User Guides
Apple Watch User Guide (Tagged HTML)
Apple Watch User Guide (Apple Books)
External Resources
AppleVis.com
Join a community of Apple product users who are blind or have low vision.
Learn more about AppleVis.comVIPhone Discussion List
Connect with a community of people using VoiceOver and other Apple products.
Learn more about VIPhone Discussion ListMac-cessibility Network
Get information on the use of Apple products by people who are blind or have low vision.
Learn more about Mac-cessibility NetworkDeveloper Resources
Apple Accessibility for Developers
Resources to help developers make their apps more accessible.
Learn more about Apple Accessibility for Developers