Apple Reveals Upcoming Intelligent Accessibility Upgrades Across Its Platforms, Including Eye-Controlled Wheelchair Support

Today, Apple revealed several new upcoming accessibility features, along with upgrades to Voice Control, VoiceOver, Magnifier, Accessibility Reader, and more. This is an expected move by Apple, as they usually announce upcoming accessibility features before the Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), which falls on May 21st this year. Last year, Apple announced features such as Accessibility Nutrition Labels on the App Store, Magnifier on the Mac, support for Braille devices, Live Captions on Apple Watch, and more.

Here are the new features coming later this year, as described in Apple’s Newsroom announcement:

• VoiceOver: The Image Explorer in VoiceOver uses Apple Intelligence to give more detailed descriptions of images systemwide, including what’s in photographs, scanned bills, personal records, and other visual content. With updates to Live Recognition, VoiceOver users can press the Action button on iPhone to quickly ask a question about what’s in the camera viewfinder and get a detailed response. Users can also ask follow-up questions in their own words to get more visual information.
  
• Magnifier: Magnifier uses Apple Intelligence to bring the same assistive exploration and visual description to a high-contrast interface designed for users who have low vision. Magnifier also works with the Action button so users can quickly ask questions and get answers. And users can control the app itself with spoken requests, such as “zoom in” or “turn on flashlight.”

  

• Voice Control: With Apple Intelligence, Voice Control becomes more intuitive than ever, using natural language to help users with a range of physical disabilities navigate iPhone and iPad entirely by voice. With a new flexible input, users can describe onscreen buttons and controls with natural language instead of memorizing exact labels or numbers. The option to “say what you see” is great for navigating any app, including those with visual layouts such as Apple Maps or Files, using intuitive language like “tap the guide about best restaurants” or “tap the purple folder.”
  
• Accessibility Reader: Accessibility Reader is a customized reading experience for users with a wide range of disabilities, from dyslexia to low vision, and with Apple Intelligence, the reading experience is more accessible than ever. Accessibility Reader works on more complex source material like scientific articles, handling text with multiple columns, images, and tables. On-demand summaries provide readers the option to get an overview of the article before diving into the details. And with new built-in translation, users can read text in their native language while retaining custom formatting, font, and colors.

  

• Generated Subtitles for Video: With new generated subtitles, videos can display transcriptions of spoken audio automatically when captions or subtitles are not already provided, including in clips recorded on iPhone, received from friends and family, or streamed online. With on-device speech recognition, subtitles are generated privately and appear automatically for uncaptioned videos on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro.

  

• Wheelchair Control using Apple Vision Pro with Eye Tracking: For some people who use power wheelchairs, driving with a joystick is not an option, and alternative drive controls can be an essential part of independent movement. Leveraging the precision eye-tracking system on Apple Vision Pro, a new power wheelchair control feature offers users a responsive input method for compatible alternative drive systems. With Vision Pro, eye tracking doesn’t require frequent recalibration and works in a variety of lighting conditions.⁵ The feature launches with Tolt and LUCI alternative drive systems in the U.S., with accessory support for both Bluetooth and wired connections,⁶ and Apple will continue to work with developers to expand support for more wheelchair drive systems.

• Vehicle Motion Cues: come to visionOS, which can help reduce motion sickness for people who use Apple Vision Pro as a passenger in a moving vehicle. Vision Pro will also support face gestures for performing taps and system actions, plus a new way to select elements with one’s eyes while using Dwell Control.

• Touch Accommodations: provide a new way to personalize setup in iOS and iPadOS.

• Made for iPhone hearing aids: pair and hand off between Apple devices more reliably, with an improved setup experience in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS.

• Larger Text: support is coming to tvOS, so viewers who have low vision can increase onscreen text size to be easier to read.
• Name Recognition, which can notify users who are deaf or hard of hearing if someone says their name, works across more than 50 languages globally.
• For sign language interpretation app developers, a new API supports users in adding a human interpreter to an ongoing FaceTime video call.
• Those with difficulty interacting with traditional controllers can now connect the Sony Access controller as a game controller with iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Users can configure the thumbstick, nine built-in buttons, and up to four additional external buttons or specialty switches to personalize layout. They can also combine two controllers for a deeply personalized gaming experience.

Additionally, Apple is launching the Hiwaka Grip and Stand with support for MagSafe attachment in three colours: Blue, Orange, and Stone for $54.95

According to Pat Dolan, founder of GeoALS, a member of Team Gleason’s patient advisory board, with ALS, “The option to control my power wheelchair on my own is gold to me…With this new feature, Apple is developing life-enhancing technology for the people who need it most.”

Blair Casey, CEO of Team Gleason, said, “Over the past decade, we’ve seen eye-driven wheelchair systems evolve in incredible ways…Leveraging Apple Vision Pro’s eye-tracking capabilities in this way is a huge step forward. Team Gleason is proud to support this initiative and excited to see the benefits it can bring to people who use power wheelchairs.”

These features are likely to be included in the beta versions of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, visionOS 27, and more, first betas of which are set to be released on June 8th after the WWDC keynote.

As we progress through the betas, they will likely also improve these accessibility features for them to be ready for rollout in September 2026 to the public alongside the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro series.

Which accessibility feature has helped you the most over the years? Let us know down in the comments or write to us on @appleosophy! Be sure to download the Appleosophy App from the App Store or visit our website to stay updated with the latest Apple news!