Accessibility
Built‑in features that work the way you do. Make them yours, and make something wonderful.
Built‑in features that work the way you do. Make them yours, and make something wonderful.
Go big or go bold.
Read the fine print.
It works like a digital magnifying glass, using the camera on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to increase the size of anything you point it at — from a prescription bottle to a candlelit menu. And now with the power of the new LiDAR Scanner, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, 12.9‑inch iPad Pro (4th generation), and 11‑inch iPad Pro (2nd generation) can determine a person’s proximity to you. People Detection uses technology that measures how long it takes light to reflect back from objects, helping you do things like stand in line at a safe distance, better navigate a noisy area, or find an empty seat with ease.
Set up Magnifier on:
Set the text just right.
A single setting lets you make text larger and easier to read across apps in iOS — including Calendar, Contacts, Mail, Messages, Music, Notes, Settings, and even some third-party apps.
Set up Larger Text on:
Enlarge an area of your screen on the fly. And in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, you can get a picture-in-picture view, allowing you to see the zoomed area in a separate window while keeping the rest of the screen at its native size.
Set up Zoom on:
All it takes is a tap.
Switch the way you move.
Navigate what’s on your screen with as little as a tap. Use a variety of adaptive devices, like a switch, a joystick, a keyboard space bar, or even a single tap on the trackpad, to navigate sequentially through onscreen items and perform specific actions.
Set up Switch Control on:
Tap-tap here.
Cue
magic
here.
Adapt standard gestures like pinch, rotate, or swipe to make them more comfortable for you. Or make other actions, like changing volume, accessible with just a touch from the AssistiveTouch menu.
Set up AssistiveTouch on:
Hear. There. Everywhere.
Make a sound decision.
Customize your audio experience to your individual hearing needs. With your iPhone or iPad, you can amplify soft sounds or adjust certain frequencies to make media and phone calls sound more crisp and clear through your headphones.2
Match your levels to your location.
Apple has worked with top manufacturers to create hearing aids and sound processors designed specifically for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Apply your audiologist’s presets without having to rely on additional remotes, or adjust your own levels as you move from quiet environments to louder ones.
Set up Made for iPhone hearing aids on:
Front‑row sound.
All the way
from the back.
Use your Made for iPhone hearing aids or AirPods to help you hear more clearly.3 For quiet conversations, move your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch closer to the people who are speaking, and the built-in microphone amplifies what they’re saying.
Set up Live Listen on:
Create your own
center of attention.
Be captivated by content, not clutter.
Reduce the visual clutter and strip away ads, buttons, and navigation bars so you can just focus on the content you want. You can choose to use Safari Reader automatically on websites where it’s available.
Set up Safari Reader on:
If you learn or comprehend better when you can hear what you’re reading or writing, features like Speak Screen, Speak Selection, Typing Feedback, and Predictive Text can help by adding an auditory component to text.4
Set up Spoken Content on:
Screens that speak volumes.
Puts moments into words.
This screen reader describes exactly what’s happening on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or iPod touch, so you can navigate just by listening. And with on‑device intelligence in iOS, VoiceOver can describe images in full sentences and read aloud text in an image. In the Photos app, it can even describe the facial expressions of people in pictures.5
Set up VoiceOver on:
Descriptions that really make a scene.
Watch movies with detailed audio descriptions of everything happening in the scene — from a character’s expression to the mood of the shot. Audio Descriptions are available for all Apple TV+ original content.
Set up Audio Descriptions on:
This feature speaks for itself.
Choose a specific range of text that you want to hear, and have your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or iPod touch read it to you in over 40 languages and dialects.
Set up Speak Selection on:
Say anything. Do everything.
Let your voice call the shots.
Simple vocal commands let you quickly open and interact with built-in apps using iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.6 And you can navigate other apps through numbered labels alongside clickable items or by superimposing a grid to precisely select, zoom, and drag.
Set up Voice Control on:
Go deeper:
Move up two lines.Select sentence.CAPITALIZE THAT.
Write and edit text using natural voice commands to make texting, emailing, or drafting your memoir much more efficient.
Set up Dictation on:
There’s a shortcut
for that. Ask Siri.
Siri can do multiple things at once. Just say the word. Choose from a library of useful shortcuts or create your own multiaction commands.7
Set up Siri + Shortcuts on:
Go deeper:
Must-know is now can’t‑miss.
Look down for a heads‑up.
Get an alert for incoming phone and FaceTime calls, new texts, email messages, and calendar events through vibration on iPhone or a quick LED light flash on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. If you’re on a Mac, it can flash the screen when an app needs your attention.
Set up Sensory Alerts on:
Your conversation, front and center.
If you use sign language, FaceTime is an ideal way to communicate. The high-quality video and fast frame rate help you catch every gesture or expression — and when you join a Group FaceTime call, it will detect your signing to automatically make you prominent.8
Set up FaceTime on:
Accessibility starts here.
Learn tips, tricks, and how-tos for accessibility features straight from Apple Support on YouTube.
Watch now