Apple Intelligence brings AI-powered accessibility upgrades to iPhone, Mac, and Vision Pro

Apple announced a suite of accessibility updates leveraging Apple Intelligence that will arrive later this year across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Vision Pro. VoiceOver, the screen reader, gets a major upgrade: it now uses the device camera to provide full descriptions of a user's surroundings or scanned documents. Users can press the Action button to ask what's in the viewfinder and then ask follow-up questions in natural language. Similarly, Voice Control is shedding its dependence on memorized commands — users can simply say "tap the purple folder" or "tap the guide about best restaurants," and the device will interpret the request.

Captioning is also expanding. Personal videos recorded on iPhone, videos from friends, and streamed content will get on-device, AI-generated subtitles automatically, extending to Apple TV and Vision Pro. The Accessibility Reader improves handling of complex layouts (scientific articles with columns, images, tables) and adds on-demand summaries and translation. For mobility, Vision Pro can now steer a motorized wheelchair using eye tracking, developed with TOLT Technologies and LUCI — though this requires the Developer Strap and is intended for controlled environments. Other updates include Magnifier voice controls, Name Recognition in 50+ languages, a FaceTime API for sign language interpreters, and Sony Access Controller support across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.