Accessibility - Vision

VoiceOver

Hear what’s happening on your screen.

VoiceOver is an industry‑leading screen reader that tells you exactly what’s happening on your device. VoiceOver can describe people, objects, text and graphs in greater detail than ever. Auditory descriptions of elements help you easily navigate your screen through a Bluetooth keyboard or simple gestures on a touchscreen or trackpad. And with unique rotor gestures that function like a dial on touchscreens and trackpads, you can make content such as websites a breeze to browse. VoiceOver is available in more than 60 languages and locales, with dozens of voices for you to choose from.¹

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV

VoiceOver is an industry‑leading screen reader that tells you exactly what’s happening on your device. VoiceOver can describe people, objects, text and graphs in greater detail than ever. Auditory descriptions of elements help you easily navigate your screen through a Bluetooth keyboard or simple gestures on a touchscreen or trackpad. And with unique rotor gestures that function like a dial on touchscreens and trackpads, you can make content such as websites a breeze to browse. VoiceOver is available in more than 60 languages and locales, with dozens of voices for you to choose from.¹

Set up VoiceOver on:

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Updates:

New languages and voices. VoiceOver is now available in more than 20 additional languages and locales, including Bengali (India), Bulgarian, Catalan, Malay, Spanish (Chile), Ukrainian and Vietnamese. Users can also select from dozens of new voices that are optimised for assistive features.

AssistiveTouch with VoiceOver. If you use VoiceOver with iPhone, you can now use AssistiveTouch for Apple Watch to modify VoiceOver settings on your iPhone.

Braille and keyboard support for VoiceOver on Apple Watch. VoiceOver users can pair compatible Bluetooth-enabled braille devices and keyboards with Apple Watch.

Text checker for VoiceOver. Discover common formatting issues such as repeated spaces, empty lines and misplaced capital letters in documents and email on your Mac, so you can make edits before sharing with others.

VoiceOver + braille

Customise your braille experience.

VoiceOver describes exactly what’s on your screen, even in braille. You can use a refreshable braille display connected via Bluetooth to your Apple device or enter braille directly on the touchscreen using Braille Screen Input. Braille is automatically converted to text in a caption panel on Mac so sighted people can follow along with VoiceOver descriptions. Refreshable braille displays and compatible Bluetooth-enabled braille keyboards can be used with Apple Watch.² And with more than 70 refreshable braille displays compatible with iOS and iPadOS, and more than 100 with macOS, you can find the right braille experience for you.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV

VoiceOver describes exactly what’s on your screen, even in braille. You can use a refreshable braille display connected via Bluetooth to your Apple device or enter braille directly on the touchscreen using Braille Screen Input. Braille is automatically converted to text in a caption panel on Mac so sighted people can follow along with VoiceOver descriptions. Refreshable braille displays and compatible Bluetooth-enabled braille keyboards can be used with Apple Watch.² And with more than 70 refreshable braille displays compatible with iOS and iPadOS, and more than 100 with macOS, you can find the right braille experience for you.

Set up VoiceOver + braille on:

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Updates:

Braille and keyboard support for VoiceOver on Apple Watch. VoiceOver users can pair compatible Bluetooth-enabled braille devices and keyboards with Apple Watch.

2D braille support. iOS and macOS now support new 2D braille displays.

Spoken Content

Go from written word to spoken word.

With Speak Screen, you can hear the content of your entire screen read aloud to you, while Speak Selection lets you select and hear a specific range of text. These features can even highlight words, sentences or both as they’re spoken in a customised colour and style. You can also control the pace of the reading more precisely during speech playback with Speech Controller. Or activate Typing Feedback to hear every letter you type. Spoken Content is available in more than 60 languages and locales, along with dozens of new voices optimised for assistive features.¹ And languages are automatically detected to switch seamlessly between voices, so your spoken content won’t feel impersonal at all.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac

With Speak Screen, you can hear the content of your entire screen read aloud to you, while Speak Selection lets you select and hear a specific range of text. These features can even highlight words, sentences or both as they’re spoken in a customised colour and style. You can also control the pace of the reading more precisely during speech playback with Speech Controller. Or activate Typing Feedback to hear every letter you type. Spoken Content is available in more than 60 languages and locales, along with dozens of new voices optimised for assistive features.¹ And languages are automatically detected to switch seamlessly between voices, so your spoken content won’t feel impersonal at all.

Set up Spoken Content on:

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Update:

New languages and voices. Spoken Content is now available in more than 20 additional languages and locales, including Bengali (India), Bulgarian, Catalan, Malay, Spanish (Chile), Ukrainian and Vietnamese. Spoken Content also offers dozens of new voices that are optimised for assistive features.

Magnifier

Use your camera to get a closer look.

Magnifier works like a digital magnifying glass. It uses the camera on your iPhone or iPad to increase the size of any physical object you point it at, like a menu or sign, so you can see all the details clearly on your screen. Use the flash to light the object, adjust filters to help you differentiate colours or freeze a specific frame to get a static close-up. With Split View on iPad, you can use Magnifier to increase the size of a physical object on one side of your screen and take notes or write an email on the other. Detection Mode in Magnifier combines the camera, LiDAR Scanner and on-device machine learning to offer intelligent tools like People Detection, Door Detection and Image Descriptions, which give you rich details of your surroundings.³ Use People Detection to determine a person’s proximity to you. Door Detection can help you navigate the last few steps to your destination by identifying doors, text and the presence of symbols such as a toilet symbol, a no smoking symbol or an accessible-entrance symbol.⁴ And Image Descriptions lets you hear more about items in the field of your camera.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad

Magnifier works like a digital magnifying glass. It uses the camera on your iPhone or iPad to increase the size of any physical object you point it at, like a menu or sign, so you can see all the details clearly on your screen. Use the flash to light the object, adjust filters to help you differentiate colours or freeze a specific frame to get a static close-up. With Split View on iPad, you can use Magnifier to increase the size of a physical object on one side of your screen and take notes or write an email on the other. Detection Mode in Magnifier combines the camera, LiDAR Scanner and on-device machine learning to offer intelligent tools like People Detection, Door Detection and Image Descriptions, which give you rich details of your surroundings.³ Use People Detection to determine a person’s proximity to you. Door Detection can help you navigate the last few steps to your destination by identifying doors, text and the presence of symbols such as a toilet symbol, a no smoking symbol or an accessible-entrance symbol.⁴ And Image Descriptions lets you hear more about items in the field of your camera.

Set up Magnifier on:

iPhone
iPad

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Updates:

Improvements to Detection Mode. Detection Mode now includes Door Detection and Image Descriptions, in addition to People Detection. Door Detection and Image Descriptions combine the camera with LiDAR and on-device machine learning to help you identify doors and their distance from you, as well as hear text in signage read out loud.

Magnifier activities. Magnifier activities help you save your preferred Magnifier controls, including camera, brightness, contrast, filters and more, for recurring tasks and situations. Just tap your saved activity to quickly revert back to your preferred Magnifier customisation for a given environment, task or time of day.

Display Settings

Find the right view for you.

Change your display to work the way you do, and apply these settings on an app‑by‑app basis in iOS and iPadOS. Choose from a range of colour filters to support your colour blindness, or turn on Invert Colours to instantly change the values and contrast in iOS, iPadOS and macOS. Increase the pointer size in macOS so it’s easier to find and use. You can also customise your mouse pointer to make it easier to spot as it moves or changes on your screen. Choose from common settings like button shapes, transparency levels and more. And when you’re all set, enable On/Off labels on your iPhone or Apple Watch to better distinguish what’s on and what’s not.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV

Change your display to work the way you do, and apply these settings on an app‑by‑app basis in iOS and iPadOS. Choose from a range of colour filters to support your colour blindness, or turn on Invert Colours to instantly change the values and contrast in iOS, iPadOS and macOS. Increase the pointer size in macOS so it’s easier to find and use. You can also customise your mouse pointer to make it easier to spot as it moves or changes on your screen. Choose from common settings like button shapes, transparency levels and more. And when you’re all set, enable On/Off labels on your iPhone or Apple Watch to better distinguish what’s on and what’s not.

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Zoom

Enlarge your screen to your liking.

Zoom is a screen magnifier that lets you enlarge the content you see on your device. Choose full‑screen magnification or picture‑in‑picture view, which shows the magnified area in a separate window while the rest of your screen stays the same.⁵ Zoom also works with VoiceOver, so you can better see and hear what’s happening on your screen. Split screen zoom on Mac lets you see content up close and at a distance simultaneously. With two displays, you can keep one zoomed in while the other stays at a standard resolution for a customisable, multi-zoom setup.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV

Zoom is a screen magnifier that lets you enlarge the content you see on your device. Choose full‑screen magnification or picture‑in‑picture view, which shows the magnified area in a separate window while the rest of your screen stays the same.⁵ Zoom also works with VoiceOver, so you can better see and hear what’s happening on your screen. Split screen zoom on Mac lets you see content up close and at a distance simultaneously. With two displays, you can keep one zoomed in while the other stays at a standard resolution for a customisable, multi-zoom setup.

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Hover Text

Get a quick size boost of what you’re reading.

Hover Text makes it easier to view text on your iPad or Mac or while you’re watching Apple TV content. If a paragraph, text box, caption or headline is too small to read, just hover over it with your pointer and press the activation key for a bigger, high‑resolution version of your selection. You can even choose the fonts and colours that work best for you.

Available on:

iPad, Mac, Apple TV

Hover Text makes it easier to view text on your iPad or Mac or while you’re watching Apple TV content. If a paragraph, text box, caption or headline is too small to read, just hover over it with your pointer and press the activation key for a bigger, high‑resolution version of your selection. You can even choose the fonts and colours that work best for you.

Set up Hover Text on:

Updates:

Hover Text for iPad. Easily read input fields, menu items, button labels and other text on your iPad display.

Hover Text for Apple TV. Use Hover Text to zoom in on small text while watching content on Apple TV.

iWork

Create a workflow that works for you.

Pages, Numbers and Keynote include several features that can help you create documents, spreadsheets and presentations that are accessible for both you and your audiences. Add descriptions to images, audio or video so people using assistive technologies can better understand your presentations. Or make Pages documents more scannable by adding headings that screen readers can easily identify and navigate. A layout rotor for VoiceOver helps you automatically align selected elements so that your documents look and sound exactly the way you like. Use VoiceOver Audio Graph support to better communicate data, or improve how you read and edit documents with line- and word‑spacing tools. And the new text checker tool can help you discover common formatting issues such as extra spaces or mistakenly capitalised letters, which makes proofreading documents, spreadsheets and presentations even easier.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac

Pages, Numbers and Keynote include several features that can help you create documents, spreadsheets and presentations that are accessible for both you and your audiences. Add descriptions to images, audio or video so people using assistive technologies can better understand your presentations. Or make Pages documents more scannable by adding headings that screen readers can easily identify and navigate. A layout rotor for VoiceOver helps you automatically align selected elements so that your documents look and sound exactly the way you like. Use VoiceOver Audio Graph support to better communicate data, or improve how you read and edit documents with line- and word-spacing tools. And the new text checker tool can help you discover common formatting issues such as extra spaces or mistakenly capitalised letters, which makes proofreading documents, spreadsheets and presentations even easier.

Set up iWork on:

Update:

Text checker for iWork. Discover common formatting issues such as extra spaces or mistakenly capitalised letters, which makes proofreading documents, spreadsheets and presentations even easier.

Audio Descriptions

Hear the whole scene.

Watch movies with detailed audio descriptions of every scene on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV. Just check for the AD icon under the movie title on the Apple TV app or on the iTunes Store.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Windows PC, Smart TV

Watch movies with detailed audio descriptions of every scene on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV. Just check for the AD icon under the movie title on the Apple TV app or on the iTunes Store.

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Accessibility Shortcut

Keep your apps close and your settings closer.

Easily add, organise and customise shortcuts for the tools and settings you use the most in Control Centre or System Settings. The Accessibility Shortcut, which offers the option to triple-click the side button, Digital Crown or power button, lets you quickly access frequently used accessibility features on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac. Add Magnifier, Text Size and Sound Recognition to Control Centre so they’re always handy. And even add Hearing to quickly access Live Listen and Headphone Accommodations, all without leaving the app you’re using.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch

Easily add, organise and customise shortcuts for the tools and settings you use the most in Control Centre or System Settings. The Accessibility Shortcut, which offers the option to triple-click the side button, Digital Crown or power button, lets you quickly access frequently used accessibility features on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac. Add Magnifier, Text Size and Sound Recognition to Control Centre so they’re always handy. And even add Hearing to quickly access Live Listen and Headphone Accommodations, all without leaving the app you’re using.

Set up Accessibility Shortcut on:

Reduce Motion

Simplify onscreen movements.

When you turn on Reduce Motion, you can decrease the movement of onscreen elements. Some screen actions, such as moving between apps or launching apps, become visually simpler for motion sensitivity or to lessen strain on the eyes. Apply the Reduce Motion setting for only the apps you want.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV

When you turn on Reduce Motion, you can decrease the movement of onscreen elements. Some screen actions, such as moving between apps or launching apps, become visually simpler for motion sensitivity or to lessen strain on the eyes. Apply the Reduce Motion setting for only the apps you want.

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Dictation

Everything you say goes.

Dictation lets you type by speaking — and it works in more than 60 languages. To turn your speech into text, just tap the microphone button on the onscreen keyboard in any text field, or activate Dictation through the Accessibility settings in System Settings on your Mac. While dictating, you can move fluidly between voice and touch, so you can type with your keyboard, move your cursor, all without needing to stop Dictation.⁶ Dictation automatically punctuates your text with full stops, commas and question marks as you speak.⁷ And you can easily insert emoji into messages using only your voice.⁸

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV

Dictation lets you type by speaking — and it works in more than 60 languages. To turn your speech into text, just tap the microphone button on the onscreen keyboard in any text field, or activate Dictation through the Accessibility settings in System Settings on your Mac. While dictating, you can move fluidly between voice and touch, so you can type with your keyboard, move your cursor, all without needing to stop Dictation.⁶ Dictation automatically punctuates your text with full stops, commas and question marks as you speak.⁷ And you can easily insert emoji into messages using only your voice.⁸

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Commands for dictating text on Mac

Dark Mode

Make everything easier on the eyes.

Dark Mode transforms every element on your screen into a dark colour scheme to make reading easier. Toolbars and menus recede into the background as your content takes centre screen. Light text against darker backdrops in apps like Mail, Safari and Calendar makes text easier to read in low light.⁹

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV

Dark Mode transforms every element on your screen into a dark colour scheme to make reading easier. Toolbars and menus recede into the background as your content takes centre screen. Light text against darker backdrops in apps like Mail, Safari and Calendar makes text easier to read in low light.⁹

Set up Dark Mode on:

Vision

VoiceOver

Hear what’s happening on your screen.

VoiceOver + braille

Customise your braille experience.

Spoken Content

Go from written word to spoken word.

Magnifier

Use your camera to get a closer look.

Text Size

Apps can adapt to larger, bolder type.

Display Settings

Find the right view for you.

Zoom

Enlarge your screen to your liking.

Hover Text

Get a quick size boost of what you’re reading.

iWork

Create a workflow that works for you.

Audio Descriptions

Hear the whole scene.

Accessibility Shortcut

Keep your apps close and your settings closer.

Reduce Motion

Simplify onscreen movements.

Dictation

Everything you say goes.

Dark Mode

Make everything easier on the eyes.

Get more out of your features.

Additional Resources

Hadley

AppleVis.com

Braille User Guides

Make  yours. showing Speak Selection feature.

Discover more about Apple accessibility features.