Apple to Introduce Magnifier for Mac and Other Accessibility Features Later This Year

Apple revealed today some new accessibility features coming to iOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS later this year. The new additions include Magnifier for Mac, Braille Access, Accessibility Reader, and Live Captions support on the Apple Watch.

These new accessibility features will take advantage of Apple Silicon and “advances in on-device machine learning and artificial intelligence,” Apple said today. The announcements come just a month ahead of Apple’s WWDC25 developer conference, where Apple is expected to reveal iOS 19, iPadOS 19, watchOS 12, and macOS 16.

“Building on 40 years of accessibility innovation at Apple, we are dedicated to pushing forward with new accessibility features for all of our products,” said Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s senior director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives. “Powered by the Apple ecosystem, these features work seamlessly together to bring users new ways to engage with the things they care about most.”

Here are the main new accessibility features Apple detailed today:

Magnifier app for Mac: This new app will work with USB cameras and the Continuity Camera feature on iPhone, allowing Mac users to zoom in on their surroundings or read documents using Desk View. The app will also support multiple customized views and let users adjust brightness, contrast, color filters, and perspective.

Accessibility Reader: This new systemwide reading mode for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro will let users with dyslexia or low vision customize the font, color, and spacing of text to make it easier to read. The feature will also integrate with the aforementioned Magnifier app for Mac.

Braille Access:  This new Braille experience on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro will allow the visually-impaired to open any app by typing with Braille Screen Input or a connected braille device, quickly take notes in braille format, and perform calculations using Nemeth Braille, a braille code often used in classrooms for math and science.

Live Captions support on Apple Watch: When the Live Listen feature is active on an iPhone, Apple Watch users will be able to see live captions of what their iPhone hears while listening along to the audio that can be streamed in real time to AirPods, Made for iPhone hearing aids, or Beats headphones. Live Captions are also adding support for English (India, Australia, UK, Singapore), Mandarin Chinese (Mainland China), Cantonese (Mainland China, Hong Kong), Spanish (Latin America, Spain), French (France, Canada), Japanese, German (Germany), and Korean.

App Store Accessibility Nutrition Labels: App Store product pages will get a new section highlighting accessibility features (VoiceOver, Voice Control, Larger Text, captions, and more) within apps and games.

Better Zoom experience on Apple Vision Pro: The mixed reality headset will allow users to magnify everything in view using the main camera. When VoiceOver is enabled, the Live Recognition feature will also be able to describe what users see in their surroundings.

Apple’s list of upcoming accessibility features also includes support for Large Text and updates to Sound Recognition in CarPlay, the ability to share Accessibility Settings with another iPhone or iPad, and Vehicle Motion Cues to reduce motion sickness while using a Mac in a moving vehicle.

“At Apple, accessibility is part of our DNA. Making technology for everyone is a priority for all of us, and we’re proud of the innovations we’re sharing this year,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook today.

In addition to these new accessibility features, iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 are expected to bring a substantial design refresh with redesigned icons, menus, apps, windows, and system buttons. A new feature that syncs login details for public Wi-Fi networks across Apple devices has also been detailed by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman yesterday.