Accessibility Features

Braille Access is an all-new experience that turns iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro into a full-featured braille notetaker that’s deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem. With a built-in app launcher, you can easily open any app by typing with a connected braille device. Quickly take notes in braille format and perform calculations using Nemeth Braille or UEB Math, two braille codes often used in classrooms for math and science. And an integrated form of Live Captions lets you transcribe conversations in real time directly on braille displays.⁶

You can also open Braille Ready Format (BRF) files directly from Braille Access, unlocking a wide range of books and files previously created on a braille note-taking device.

When you want to use iPhone, iPad, or Mac while a passenger in a moving vehicle, Vehicle Motion Cues can help reduce motion sickness.⁸ Using sensors built into your device, dots appear on your screen and move with the motion of the vehicle to reduce sensory conflict — a common cause of motion sickness. These dots are designed to remain on the sides of your screen to avoid interfering with any content. Vehicle Motion Cues can be turned on manually in Control Center or automatically on iPhone when it senses vehicle motion. You can also customize the color, size, number, and pattern of the animated onscreen dots.

Zoom is a screen magnifier that lets you enlarge the content you see on your device. Choose Full Screen Zoom to magnify the entire screen, or Window Zoom to magnify only part of the screen with a resizable lens.¹⁰ Follow Focus tracks your selections, the text insertion point, and your typing. Smart Typing magnifies the text area and keeps the keyboard unmagnified while typing. With Zoom Filters, you can apply Inverted, Grayscale, Grayscale Inverted, or Low Light to the magnified area.

Zoom also works with VoiceOver, so you can more clearly 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. And if you’re using Zoom on multiple displays with macOS, you can set a different zoom level for each display.

If you have low vision, visionOS is more accessible than ever thanks to the advanced camera system on Apple Vision Pro. Zoom can magnify everything in your view — including your surroundings — using the main camera.

Hover Text makes it easier to view text on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac or while you’re watching Apple TV content. If a paragraph, text box, caption, or footnote is too small to read, just hover over it with your pointer or Apple Pencil and press the activation key for a bigger, higher‑resolution version of your selection.¹¹ You can even choose the fonts and colors that work best for you. Hover Color on iPhone, iPad, or Mac helps those who are color-blind or have low vision decipher the color beneath their pointer by translating color pixels into simple-to-understand color names. With Hover Typing on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, you can see larger text when you’re typing in a text field — in your preferred font and text color, too.

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 in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Line- and word-spacing tools enhance how you read, perceive, and edit documents. For VoiceOver users, the layout rotor helps you automatically align selected elements so that your documents look and sound exactly the way you like. Use VoiceOver Audio Graph support to more clearly communicate data or improve how you read and edit documents with line- and word-spacing tools. The text checker tool can help you discover common formatting issues such as extra spaces or mistakenly capitalized letters, which makes proofreading documents, spreadsheets, and presentations even easier. With Apple Intelligence, you can transform how you communicate with Writing Tools that can proofread your text, rewrite different versions until the tone and wording are just right, and summarize selected text with a tap.¹²

Built-in layout options in Pages help you organize and customize the look of your documents. You can also make Pages documents more scannable by adding headings that screen readers can easily identify and navigate.

Audio Descriptions provide spoken narration of important visual content in movies and TV shows on many of your devices including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. Just check for the AD icon under the movie title on the Apple TV app or on the iTunes Store.

A shortcut is a quick way to get one or more tasks done with your apps using just a tap or by asking Siri. Shortcuts can automate a variety of things, like getting directions to the next event on your calendar or moving text from one app to another. You can use the Shortcuts app to add ready-made or custom shortcuts to your devices. It lets you combine multiple steps across multiple apps to create powerful task automations. Siri can also suggest simple, useful shortcuts based on your app usage. Once you create a shortcut, just activate Siri, then say the shortcut’s name to run it.

The Shortcuts app Gallery features Shortcuts for Accessibility — a curated collection of ready-to-use tools that support a wide range of needs. Shortcuts for features like VoiceOver and AssistiveTouch let you quickly toggle them on and off. If you have short-term memory loss, you can use Remember This to log what happens throughout the day. The Hold That Thought shortcut prompts you to capture and recall information in a note so interruptions don’t derail your flow. Or run the In Case of Emergency shortcut to send your location to your chosen emergency contacts, share a message with custom instructions, and display a message of your choice onscreen for first responders to see. With intelligent actions in Shortcuts, you can summarize text, create images, or tap directly into Apple Intelligence models to provide responses that feed into your shortcut.

The Accessibility Assistant shortcut can help you find built-in accessibility features that work for you. Answer a series of questions about your needs, and the Accessibility Assistant will create a Notes document with a list of recommended accessibility features and relevant Apple Support links. You can share your custom note with a family member or friend.

This feature offers a new way for you to quickly and temporarily share your accessibility settings with another iPhone or iPad. It can be helpful when borrowing a friend’s device or using a public kiosk in a setting like a café. Easily share settings for features that support visual accommodations, like Increase Contrast or Reduce Motion. Or share Touch Accommodations to support your unique taps and touches on another device.

Accessibility Reader is a new systemwide reading experience designed to make text easier to read for people with a wide range of disabilities, from dyslexia to low vision. Accessibility Reader gives you new ways to customize long-form text and focus on content you want to read, with extensive options for font, color, and spacing, as well as built-in audio controls to read text out loud as you follow along. Accessibility Reader can be launched from any app and is built into the Magnifier app for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, so you can seamlessly interact with text in the real world, such as books or on dining menus.

AirPods Pro offer an end-to-end hearing health experience, giving you access to a Hearing Test, a clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature, and active Hearing Protection.¹⁴

Take a scientifically validated Hearing Test in the comfort of your home in about five minutes by pairing AirPods Pro with an iPhone or iPad.¹⁴ You’ll receive easy-to-understand results and insights into your hearing. The clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature can help those with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.¹⁴ It makes adjustments that improve the clarity of voices and sounds around you. You can customize settings — including amplification, balance, and tone — to your needs. AirPods Pro also provide active Hearing Protection across listening modes to help prevent exposure to loud environmental noise.¹⁵

If you are Deaf or hard of hearing or prefer reading text to help you understand and communicate more clearly, Live Captions can help. Live Captions offer real-time, on-device-generated transcriptions of conversations so you can follow along securely on your device.⁶ You can turn on Live Captions in your Phone calls, FaceTime calls, or any web content you’re browsing. They can even capture and caption live, in-person speech through the microphone in your device. You can customize the Live Captions window, adjusting the size, placement, fonts, and colors to suit your needs.¹⁶ Live Captions also work with Apple Vision Pro, so you can follow along with spoken dialogue in live conversations on FaceTime as well as audio from apps systemwide. During Live Listen sessions, you can view Live Captions on a paired Apple Watch or on a nearby iPhone or iPad signed into the same Apple Account.

Features are subject to change. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. See iOS and iPadOS, macOS, or watchOS for Live Captions availability.

Live Listen helps you have conversations in loud places by picking up audio from people who are speaking from a distance, such as in a lecture hall or across a dining table. Just turn on the feature and place your device near the people who are speaking. Audio is picked up by the device’s microphone and sent to your AirPods, Beats headphones, or Made for iPhone hearing devices, so you can hear what’s being said more clearly.¹⁷

Live Listen on Apple Watch works with a new set of features, including real-time Live Captions.⁶ When a Live Listen session is active on iPhone, you can view Live Captions of the conversation that iPhone picks up on a paired Apple Watch — or on a nearby iPhone or iPad signed into the same Apple Account — while listening along to the audio. Live Listen can be controlled from across the room with Apple Watch, so you don’t have to get up and interrupt a meeting or class to start or stop a session. Apple Watch, iPhone, or iPad can serve as a remote control to jump back a few seconds to capture something you may have missed or to stop Live Listen sessions.

Features are subject to change. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. See iOS and iPadOS, macOS, or watchOS for Live Captions availability.

Apple has worked with top manufacturers to create hearing aids, cochlear implants, and sound processors designed specifically for Apple devices. These advanced hearing devices provide outstanding sound quality, offer many helpful features, and are as easy to set up and use as any other Bluetooth device. Instantly apply your audiologist’s environmental presets as you go outdoors or enter noisy locations, like restaurants, without having to rely on additional remotes. When using Made for iPhone hearing devices, you can also have Siri announce notifications from your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro.

Music Haptics is a way for those who are Deaf or hard of hearing to experience music. It syncs the iPhone Taptic Engine — which creates your device’s vibrations — with the rhythm of songs so you can enjoy music with taps, textures, and refined haptics.¹⁸ Customize Music Haptics to experience haptics for vocals and accompaniment or for vocals only. You can also adjust the overall intensity of the taps, textures, and vibrations. Music Haptics works with millions of songs across Apple Music, Apple Music Classical, Shazam, and compatible third-party apps when your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi or cellular.

Sound Recognition listens for certain sounds and uses on‑device intelligence to notify you when they are detected. This feature recognizes 15 different sounds — or you can train your device to listen for your name, as well as electronic sounds that are unique to your environment, like the beeping of appliances in your kitchen, specific types of alarms, or doorbells.¹⁹ On HomePod, Sound Recognition can also detect the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm. Sound Recognition supports CarPlay, too. Your iPhone will listen for and detect sirens and horns and even the sound of a crying baby. You’ll receive a notification — onscreen in your car if you’re using CarPlay — when a particular sound is detected.²⁰

FaceTime is a great way to stay connected to family and friends, especially if you prefer to communicate without speaking or if you rely on facial expressions, gestures, or sign language. With high-quality video and a fast frame rate, FaceTime ensures that you never miss a moment. With Sign Language Prominence for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, FaceTime detects when you’re using sign language in Group FaceTime calls and automatically highlights your tile to make you prominent in the conversation.²¹ You can also use simple hand gestures to add a reaction that fills the camera frame with 3D augmented reality effects like hearts or confetti.²²

Staying connected is even easier with Live Captions in FaceTime, which can caption speech in one-on-one and Group FaceTime calls with speaker attribution, so you can easily track who is speaking during group calls.⁶ And on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, Live Speech integrates seamlessly with FaceTime — just type your responses and your device speaks them out loud to others on the call. Or quickly chime in with your favorite saved phrases during animated conversations. You can choose from dozens of system voices or use a Personal Voice that you create.²³

Features are subject to change. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. See iOS and iPadOS, macOS, or watchOS for Live Captions availability.

Your device can alert you in a way you’ll notice. Choose visual or vibrating alerts for incoming Phone and FaceTime calls, new text messages, new and sent mail, and calendar events. With iPhone and iPad, you can set your screen, the LED light, or both to flash for incoming calls. Or have your iPhone display a photo of the caller. If you’re on your Mac, have it flash its screen when an app needs your attention. You can also turn on haptics to play when Face ID successfully unlocks, authorizes Apple Pay, or verifies a purchase.

Apple Watch lets you adjust the strength of the taps and vibrations that it uses for alerts and notifications. You can even add an extra haptic tap that pre-announces your other haptic alerts. Turn on Crown Haptics to get haptic feedback when you turn the Digital Crown to scroll. The Taptic Time feature gives those who are blind or have low vision another way to tell time without anyone else hearing it.

Background Sounds are ambient sounds that can help minimize distractions and increase your sense of focus and calm, which can help users with tinnitus. Choose from balanced, bright, and dark noise and ocean, rain, and other soundscapes to continuously play in the background and avoid interruptions from environmental noise. These sounds can also mix into or duck under other audio and system sounds that are playing through your device.

You can also personalize Background Sounds with equalizer settings. Adjust the pitch of any given sound to increase your comfort. Or minimize distractions around sounds, like the chatter of a noisy train terminal. Additional settings give you the option to set a timer for your selected sound, or you can control Background Sounds with personal automation in the Shortcuts app.²⁴

Use your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch to make and receive RTT calls.²⁵ Standard texting involves composing an entire message and tapping Send, but RTT provides instant transmission of a message as it is being composed. Live Captions can be used with RTT to automatically display captions during Phone calls. RTT integrates with Live Translation so you can get captions for translated calls in the Phone app.²⁶ It also works with Call Screening, which automatically answers unknown callers without interrupting you. Once the caller shares their name and reason for calling, your phone rings and you can decide if you want to pick up.²⁷ RTT can also be used with a TTY (teletypewriter) device. Transcripts for RTT calls are saved in your call history.²⁸

Closed captions are a text transcription displayed onscreen in sync with a video’s dialogue and action. In addition to transcribing speech in a scene, they capture nonverbal communication, music, and sound effects. Supported in apps like the Apple TV app, closed captions are available in more than 40 languages for movies, TV shows, videos, and podcasts — just look for the CC icon. Customize captions with different styles and fonts, including styles that are larger and outlined for better legibility.

With the Noise app, you can have notifications alert you when your Apple Watch identifies sound levels in your environment that could affect your hearing. Apple Watch periodically measures the sound levels throughout the day while you’re wearing your watch. This uses the microphone but does not record or save any sounds. If the average sound level over three minutes reaches or exceeds a chosen decibel threshold, your Apple Watch can notify you.

When you configure the Noise app on Apple Watch and connect compatible headphones, Control Center notifies you if the sounds playing through the headphones reach unsafe levels.³¹ And all your information is stored in the Health app on iPhone for easy access to your data whenever you need it.

Use voice or text to have Siri help you complete the tasks you do every day — or just answer questions you’re curious about.³² Ask or use Type to Siri to find definitions, set reminders, turn features on or off, and more. If you need to streamline a series of actions or tasks, you can use Siri to run custom shortcuts through the Shortcuts app. Run your shortcut by saying “Hey Siri” or “Siri” and then the name of the shortcut you created.³³ Made for iPhone hearing devices can use Siri to announce notifications for iPhone and iPad. And if you’re using Safari Reader and want to hear text read out loud, just say “Siri, read this” when you’re browsing a Reader-compatible site. If you have a speech disability, Siri can listen for atypical speech. You can also customize the speed at which Siri speaks to suit your needs and preferences.

Communicating with Siri is even more natural thanks to richer language understanding from Apple Intelligence. If you change your mind mid-sentence, Siri can follow right along. For example, you might say “Siri, set an alarm — wait no, sorry, I meant a timer for 5 minutes — actually, let’s make that 10.” Siri Pause Time lets you adjust the amount of time Siri waits before responding, so you can speak comfortably at your own pace without worrying about being interrupted. And once you activate Siri, you can make multiple requests back to back without needing to say “Siri” repeatedly.³⁴

With Apple Intelligence, Siri can assist you in ways that are unique to you and can help reduce your cognitive load.¹² Deeper product knowledge across thousands of topics enables Siri to give you step-by-step directions on how to do something on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Siri also maintains context so you can refer to something you mentioned in a previous request. For example, if you created a Calendar event, you can ask “What will the weather be like there?”

Features are subject to change. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. See iOS and iPadOS or macOS for feature availability.

If you are unable to speak, have a speech disability, or prefer to communicate without your voice, you can use Live Speech to type what you want to say and have your device speak it out loud.³⁵ Live Speech can help you generate real-time responses to stay connected during Phone and FaceTime calls as well as in-person conversations. You can also save commonly used phrases to help you easily respond during daily interactions and conversations. For example, you can create a Coffee Shop category to group phrases you frequently use, such as “I’d like to order a tea” or “May I have cream and sugar with that?” Live Speech even allows the audio from apps to be audible in voice and video calls, which can be helpful if you use apps that assist with speaking and communication. You can choose from dozens of system voices or use a Personal Voice that you create.²³

Features are subject to change. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. See iOS and iPadOS, macOS, or watchOS for feature availability.

If you are at risk of voice loss or have a condition that can progressively impact your voice, Personal Voice can help. It’s a simple and secure way to create a voice that sounds like you.²³ Read through a series of 10 randomized phrases to record audio that can be used to generate a voice that sounds similar to your own.³⁶ Using advances in on-device machine learning and artificial intelligence, Personal Voice is faster, easier, and more powerful, so you can create a smoother, more natural-sounding voice in less than a minute. If you have difficulty pronouncing or reading full sentences, you can even create your Personal Voice using short, three-word phrases.

Personal Voice is created on your device to keep your information private and secure. You can also save an encrypted copy of your voice to iCloud to use on your other devices. Personal Voice seamlessly integrates with Live Speech, so you can type what you want to say and have your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or Apple Vision Pro speak it aloud in the voice you created. It also works with third-party apps that you allow, such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) apps.

Features are subject to change. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. See iOS and iPadOS or macOS for feature availability.

Use Vocal Shortcuts to teach your device to perform an action when you speak a word or another sound of your choosing. If you have moderate to severe atypical speech, you can use unique pronunciations and utterances to activate shortcuts and complete complex tasks. Use a custom phrase to run automations at home like turning off the lights and locking your all your doors at once. Up to 50 commands can be saved on your device. Vocal Shortcuts uses on-device machine learning to recognize your speech patterns. This occurs entirely and securely on your device and isn’t shared with Apple.

Switch Control makes it easy and efficient to control your device with a variety of adaptive switch hardware, wireless game controllers, or even simple sounds like a click, a pop, or an “ee.” Use item, point, and manual scanning to navigate sequentially through onscreen keyboards, menus, and the Dock. Create your own custom panels and keyboards systemwide or app by app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. Switch Control works with QuickPath when typing on iPhone and Apple Vision Pro. Alternative pointer actions let you use keyboard shortcuts, assistive switches, or facial expressions to perform mouse actions such as left, right, or double click or other custom actions to suit your needs. With Use Other Devices for Switch Control, you can use a single device to remotely control any other Apple devices you have synced with your Apple Account on the same Wi-Fi network. That way you can control your Mac or Apple TV directly from your iPhone or iPad without having to set up your switches on each new device.³⁷ You can also create and switch between different user profiles or settings for time-specific needs. Change settings based on your location, time of day, energy levels, and more.

With Apple Watch mirroring, you can use assistive features like Switch Control to fully control your Apple Watch from your iPhone.³⁸ And gaming is even easier with Switch Control — the same switch or sound actions you use to navigate and control your iPhone and iPad can be turned into a game controller.³⁹

Navigate your device using just your voice. Commands like click, swipe, and tap help you easily interact with your favorite apps. You can precisely select, drag, and zoom by showing numbers alongside clickable items or by superimposing a grid on the screen. Voice Control also offers a more efficient way to write and edit. With Voice Control spelling mode, you can dictate names, addresses, and even custom spellings letter by letter.⁴⁰ It’s a seamless way to make corrections, format changes, and transition between text dictation and commands.⁴¹ If you create and save custom vocabulary for Voice Control, it will autopopulate across all your devices. And if you are new to Voice Control on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the feature includes an onboarding experience with education support to help you learn the ins and outs quickly and easily. Voice Control is compatible with CarPlay, so you can control the built-in car display with voice commands, too. For software developers with limited mobility, you can use Swift mode to dictate code in Xcode.

Features are subject to change. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. See iOS and iPadOS or macOS for feature availability.

There are many ways to navigate and control your devices without using your hands or fingers. Head Tracking uses the camera on your device to follow the movement of your head to control a pointer on your screen, and it tracks your facial movements to perform actions.⁴² Use Dwell Control to navigate through different apps and interact with controls by keeping your head fixed on them for a selected amount of time. You can also perform actions with specific facial gestures like raising your eyebrows, opening your mouth, or smiling. Head Tracking integrates with AssistiveTouch so you can access additional functions such as physical buttons and swipes. You can even customize how the Head Tracking pointer responds to your head’s movement so you can “snap to items” on the screen, making it easier for you to quickly make selections.

Pointer Control on Mac lets you use different methods, like head movements, to control your pointer and mouse or trackpad button. You can set options to specify the way the pointer moves, how fast it moves, which switches to use for head pointer actions, and which camera to use.

If you have reduced mobility or need to interact with your device without using your hands, you can navigate iPhone and iPad with just your eyes. Use the front-facing camera to set up and calibrate Eye Tracking in seconds, with Face Guidance to help you with optimal positioning. And thanks to on-device machine learning, all data used to set up and control this feature is kept securely on your device and isn’t shared with Apple. Eye Tracking works with iOS and iPadOS apps and doesn’t require additional hardware or accessories.⁴³

To help you navigate through different apps, you can use Dwell Control, which enables you to interact with controls by keeping your eyes on them for a selected amount of time. And Eye Tracking lets you access additional functions such as physical buttons, swipes or even type using only your eyes. For faster keyboard typing, you can use a shorter keyboard dwell time or even “slide to type” with QuickPath on iPhone and Apple Vision Pro. Eye Tracking integrates with Switch Control on iPhone and iPad, so you have the option to use a switch or dwell to make selections. iPad also supports third-party eye trackers.

Adjust how the screen responds to your touch with Touch Accommodations. Control how long you touch before it’s recognized or whether repeat touches are ignored. With Tap Assistance, if you accidentally perform a swipe gesture, your device can determine whether your initial touch location or your final touch is read as your intended tap location. Enable Final Touch Location to put your finger down anywhere on the screen and move to the point where you want to tap before the timer is finished. When you use iPhone with one hand in portrait orientation, you can use Reachability to lower the top half of the screen so it’s within easy reach of your thumb.

You can adjust accessibility settings for the side button on an iPhone with Face ID. Choose the speed required to double-click or triple-click the button. Or use AssistiveTouch or Switch Control to confirm payments with Face ID instead of double-clicking the side button. You can also modify accessibility settings for Camera Control on iPhone. Change the pressure required to lightly press the Camera Control or the speed required to lightly double-press it. Or adjust the gesture you use to access controls like Zoom or Depth.

If you use Magic Keyboard or another physical keyboard with your devices, you can adjust the sensitivity of keys and make it easier to press combinations of keys. Turn on Full Keyboard Access on Mac to navigate and control your Mac with only the keyboard. You can also change the appearance of the cursor — make the Full Keyboard Access cursor wider, or choose a color and increase contrast so it’s easier to spot on the screen.

With Key Repeat, you can set how long you must press and hold a key before it starts repeating and how fast it repeats once it starts. Or you can prevent the key from repeating at all. Slow Keys lets you adjust the amount of time between when a key is pressed and when it is activated, so your device processes only the keystrokes you mean to make. Sticky Keys enables you to enter key combinations sequentially rather than simultaneously. Or use Mouse Keys to control your pointer with a numeric keypad on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. You can also create custom shortcuts for commonly used words or phrases, and your iPhone, iPad, and Mac will type them for you.

The customizable, onscreen Accessibility Keyboard lets you navigate and type in macOS without using a physical keyboard. With Panel Editor, you can add custom panels to the Accessibility Keyboard panel collection to help streamline common tasks and actions for different apps on your Mac. You can also use the panels on another Mac, or share them with other Switch Control or Accessibility Keyboard users. Accessibility Keyboard even supports improved typing with auto-capitalization and better word suggestions, as well as head‑tracking hardware so you can move the pointer and select or drag onscreen items. And it has Dwell support, so all of macOS can be used without ever needing to click a mouse or trackpad button.

Assistive Access makes it easy for people with cognitive disabilities to tailor their iPhone and iPad to lighten their cognitive load and suit their specific needs and preferences. Designed with feedback from individuals with cognitive disabilities and their trusted supporters, Assistive Access offers a distinctive interface with high-contrast buttons, large text labels, and visual alternatives to text. It also has tools to help individuals and their supporters adjust the experience in specific apps.

Assistive Access includes customized experiences for Phone and FaceTime (which have been combined into a single Calls app), Messages, Camera, Photos, Music, Magnifier, and the Apple TV app for iPhone and iPad. For those who prefer communicating visually, Messages includes an emoji-only keyboard and the option to record a video message. Choose a more visual, grid-based layout for your Home Screen and apps, or a row-based layout if you prefer text. Assistive Access also supports third-party apps, including augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) apps.

Dictation enables you to talk where you would type — and it’s available in more than 60 languages and locales. If you have strong verbal skills but your spelling or typing could use an assist, just go to any text field and tap the microphone button on the onscreen keyboard to start dictating. Or simply look at the microphone button in a search field and start speaking to dictate text on Apple Vision Pro. And you can activate Dictation through Keyboard settings on your Mac to turn your speech into text. Fluidly switch between voice and touch so you can continue to interact with your onscreen keyboard to move the cursor or insert QuickType suggestions.⁴⁷ Punctuation like commas, periods, and question marks are automatically added to your text as you speak.⁴⁸ You can even insert emoji into messages using just your voice.⁴⁹

Features are subject to change. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. See iOS and iPadOS, macOS, or watchOS for feature availability.

There are many ways Apple Intelligence can help enhance your communication, reading comprehension, memory and recollection, and more. All while protecting your privacy.

Communicate across languages with Live Translation. You can have texts automatically translated in Messages,⁵⁰ display live translated captions in FaceTime, and get spoken translations for calls in the Phone app.²⁶ Visual intelligence builds on Apple Intelligence so you can search, take action on, or ask questions about what you’re looking at, whether you’re out and about, or simply using your iPhone. Access visual intelligence for your surroundings using Camera Control or the Action button, and for on-screen content by pressing the same buttons you use to take a screenshot.

Apple Intelligence also enhances how you express yourself. Genmoji and Image Playground help you create images to express yourself visually, like in conversations with family and friends. And Writing Tools help you proofread your text, rewrite different versions until the tone and wording are just right, and summarize text with a tap. Writing Tools are available nearly everywhere you write, including third-party apps.¹²

With notification summaries, you can quickly catch up on updates across your apps. Priority notifications appear at the top of the stack on your Lock Screen, letting you know what to pay attention to at a glance. Apple Intelligence can also help you get through your inbox faster. Priority messages in Mail elevate time-sensitive messages to the top of your inbox, and you can tap to see a summary to get the gist of a lengthy email exchange. Brief summaries appear in the email preview and in the conversation list in Messages, so you know the key information before you even open the thread. You can quickly respond in Mail and Messages with Smart Reply, which offers response options based on your conversation.

Apple Intelligence also enables more powerful shortcuts to accelerate your workflows. Summarize text, create images, or tap directly into Apple Intelligence models to provide responses that feed into your shortcut. In the Notes and Phone apps, you can even capture audio recordings and transcripts and then get a summary of your transcripts for easy reference later.

Sometimes navigating the web can be sensory overload. Safari Reader shows a web page article in one page, formatted for easy reading and presented without navigation or other distractions. Adjust the font, font size, and background color to personalize your viewing experience. You can also have text read aloud while you are using Safari Reader. For compatible sites in Safari that offer Reader view, simply tap Listen to Page in the Page Settings menu or say “Siri, read this.” You can also get the gist of an article with a high-level summary and table of contents.⁵¹

If you’re a parent, teacher, caregiver, or just need support focusing, Guided Access can help by temporarily restricting your device to a single app and allowing you to control which app features are available. You can set a time limit and customize which features, hardware buttons, and areas of the screen are available. You can even restrict access to the keyboard, disable touch input on certain areas of the screen on iPhone or iPad, and disable all areas of view on Apple Vision Pro where an accidental gesture might cause a distraction.

With Focus, it’s even easier to home in on what’s most important to you. Activate different Focus areas like Do Not Disturb, Work, or Sleep to silence device notifications that may disturb or distract you in the moment. Reduce Interruptions understands the content of your notifications and shows you the ones that might need immediate attention, like a text about picking up your child from daycare later today.⁵² A streamlined setup for Focus enables you to select the apps or people you want to receive notifications from by either allowing or silencing them.

You can connect your Lock Screen to your Focus of choice so the look and feel of your iPhone matches how you want to use it at that time — simply swipe to the corresponding Lock Screen to activate a Focus. And Focus filters help you set boundaries in Apple apps like Calendar and Messages, as well as third-party apps, by hiding distracting content. Choose a set of Tab Groups to show up in Safari while in the Work Focus, or hide your work calendar altogether when you’re using the Personal Focus. You can even set a Focus area to turn on at a certain time or location or when you’re using a specific app.