Discover accessibility features for Apple Education

At Apple, we believe that technology is most powerful when it empowers everyone. That's why for more than forty years, Apple has worked with educators to define the role of accessible technology in learning.

In 1978, Apple introduced personal computers to the classroom. Apple established the Office of Special Education Programs, the industry's first disability solutions group, in 1985. And in 1987, we partnered with disability advocacy groups to found the Alliance for Technology Access to share expertise and advance accessibility nationwide in the United States, and our commitment to work closely with advocacy groups globally continues to this day.

Today, Apple continues to support the diverse needs of every learner with powerful, built-in assistive features to create, communicate, personalize, build confidence, and achieve independence.

Learn more about Apple accessibility features

Engage all learners with Apple

With built-in speech, vision, mobility, hearing, and cognitive features, customized learning tools, and alternative communication methods, students can engage with content in ways that resonate with their unique learning styles.

Early learners

Apple devices help bring intentional, natural, and age-appropriate learning to life for early learners. To support emerging readers, Read & Speak features like Speak Screen and Speak Selection reads text aloud to students.¹ To help them stay focused and on track, Guided Access can limit a device to a single app.

Multilingual learners

To support multilingual learners, Apple devices provide features to customize language. Students can use Read & Speak to hear their writing out loud in eight distinct voices, with support for more than sixty languages and locales.¹ Live Captions display spoken words as text in real time, improving clarity and participation for learners.² Translate app lets students quickly and easily translate their voice and text between languages.³ When viewing a webpage or image that's in another language, Safari can translate the text.⁴

Accessibility features for your learning community

Apple devices are inclusive by design, with built-in accessibility features for vision, hearing, speech, mobility, and cognitive accessibility.

Vision

Vision features help students do more on their devices by adjusting what they see and how they interact, no matter their level of vision.

Read & Speak

Read & Speak is a collection of features designed to enhance a student's reading or writing experience with audio in over 80 distinct voices and more than 60 languages and locales.¹Use Speak Screen to have the entire screen read aloud, or use Speak Selection to have a specific range of text read. Accessibility Reader gives students new ways to customize long-form text and focus on content they want to read, with extensive options for font, color, and spacing, as well as support for Spoken Content.

Magnifier

Magnifier is a digital magnifying glass that zooms in on, detects, and describes physical objects. Format text within the camera's frame for easier reading, or speak text aloud, like words in a text book or on a whiteboard. Students who are blind or low vision can use Magnifier's Detection Mode to identify people, doors, furniture, and text within the frame.⁵

Display Settings & Text Size

Customize colors, text size, transparency, contrast, and more. Students can use Larger Text and Bold Text for simple font adjustments or quickly adjust text size from Control Center. Invert display colors and utilize Color Filters to improve contrast. To tone down bright colors, use Reduce White Point. Enable Reduce Transparency for solid backgrounds, and use Increase Contrast to increase foreground/background distinction. Settings can be assigned globally or on a per-app basis.

VoiceOver

VoiceOver describes what's onscreen—audibly, in braille, or both—enabling easy navigation via gestures, trackpad, keyboard, or a refreshable braille display. Students can type in braille directly on the touchscreen with Braille Screen Input and get descriptions of objects in the real world, such as people, doors, text, and furniture in indoor spaces with Live Recognition.⁶ VoiceOver also offers deep customization options to the built-in voice for speech feedback.⁷

Braille Access

Braille Access turns a device like iPad or Mac into a full-featured braille notetaker. Easily open any app or Braille Ready Format (BRF) files with a connected braille device and quickly take notes in braille format. 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 students and teachers transcribe conversations in real time directly on braille displays.²

Share accessibility settings

Quickly and temporarily share accessibility settings with another iPad while in the classroom. Easily toggle on features that support visual accommodations, like Increase Contrast or Reduce Motion. Or share Touch Accommodations to support a student's unique taps and touches on another device.

Hover settings

Hover Text makes it easier to view text on iPad or Mac. If a paragraph, caption, or footnote is too small to read, hover over it and press the activation key for a bigger, higher‑resolution version. Hover Color on Mac helps students who are color blind or have low vision decipher the color beneath their cursor by translating color pixels into simple-to-understand color names. With Hover Typing, students can display larger text when typing in a text field—in a customized font and text color.

Zoom

Zoom is a screen magnifier that enlarges the content on a device to enhance readability. Choose Full Screen Zoom to magnify the entire screen or Window Zoom to magnify only a portion of the screen with a resizable lens.⁸ Apply filters such as Inverted, Grayscale, Grayscale Inverted, or Low Light to the magnified area. Students can track text selections, the text insertion point, and typing with Follow Focus. And Smart Typing magnifies the text area while keeping the keyboard unmagnified during typing.

Learn more about Apple vision features

Hearing

Hearing features can help students who are Deaf, hard of hearing, or are experiencing hearing loss stay connected and support their hearing health.

Hearing Health

AirPods Pro offer an end-to-end hearing health experience, giving students and teachers 18 years or older access to a Hearing Test, a clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature, and active Hearing Protection. The clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature can help those with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss get more from the classroom.⁹ It allows for customizable adjustments to improve the clarity of voices and sounds. AirPods Pro also provide active Hearing Protection to help prevent exposure to loud environmental noise.¹⁰

Live Captions

Live Captions can help students who are Deaf or hard of hearing, or who prefer reading text, understand and communicate more clearly. Get real-time captions of live conversations with teachers and students along with and audio from classroom apps. Live Captions supports Phone calls, FaceTime calls, or any web content, securely on device.² Customize the Live Captions window so that the size, placement, fonts, and colors suit each individual's needs.¹¹

Live Listen

Live Listen is an assistive listening feature that helps students have conversations in loud places, such as a school cafeteria, or hear at the front of a classroom near a teacher.¹² Students can turn on the feature and move their device toward the people they're talking with. Audio is picked up by the device's microphone and sent to their AirPods, Beats headphones, or Made for iPhone hearing devices, so they can hear what's being said more clearly. Live Listen also displays Live Captions of what's being said on another paired device so students can follow along even if a device microphone is across the room.

Sound & Name Recognition

Sound Recognition listens for certain sounds, such as a fire alarm or school bell, and uses on‑device intelligence to notify students when they are detected. Name Recognition is a new way for students who are deaf or hard of hearing to know when their name is being called.¹³

Background Sounds

Background Sounds are ambient sounds that can help students minimize distractions and increase their sense of focus and calm. It can also help those with tinnitus. Choose from balanced, bright, and dark noise and ocean, rain, and stream sounds to continuously play in the background and mask excess environmental or external noise. These sounds can also mix into or duck under other audio and system sounds.

Learn more about Apple hearing features

Speech

Speech features can help students share their voice or communicate by text if they have a speech disability, such as atypical speech, are nonspeaking, or prefer to communicate without speaking.

Live Speech

Live Speech takes typed words and speaks them out loud. Students can choose from dozens of system voices or use a customized Personal Voice that they create. Use Live Speech to stay connected during Phone and FaceTime calls as well as in-person conversations. Save commonly used phrases to easily respond during daily interactions and conversations. For example, create a Classroom category to group phrases a student or teacher frequently uses, like "Can you please repeat the question?" or "Is there anything you need help with?"

Personal Voice

If a student is at risk of voice loss or has a condition that can progressively impact their voice, Personal Voice is a simple and secure way to create a voice that sounds like them.¹⁴ They can read through a series of 10 randomized phrases to record audio that can be used to generate a voice that sounds similar to their own.¹⁵ Personal Voice integrates seamlessly with Live Speech, so students can type what they want to say and have their iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch speak it aloud in their Personal Voice.

Learn more about Apple speech features

Mobility

Discover features that make it easy to modify touch input, create custom gestures, or control devices in the ways that work best for every student.

AssistiveTouch

AssistiveTouch helps students adapt their touchscreen to fit their physical needs. If certain gestures, like pinch or two-finger tap, don't work for a student, they can swap them with a gesture that does or create a touch that's all their own. Customize the layout of the AssistiveTouch menu or connect a Bluetooth device to control an onscreen pointer for navigation. When AssistiveTouch is turned on, students can also use dwell, sound actions, or custom gestures to control their device in the way that works best for them. And now with Virtual Trackpad on iPad, students and teachers can control their device using a small region of the screen as a resizable trackpad.

Head Tracking

Head Tracking uses the camera on a iPad or Mac to follow a student's head movements to control an onscreen pointer and tracks their facial movements to perform actions.¹⁶ Use Dwell Control to navigate through different apps and interact with controls by keeping the onscreen pointer fixed on them for a selected amount of time. Specific facial gestures like raising an eyebrow or smiling can be used to perform actions.

Eye Tracking

Eye Tracking uses the front-facing camera to control an iPad without the need for additional hardware or accessories.¹⁷ Students can use Dwell Control to interact with controls by keeping their eyes on them for a selected amount of time. For faster keyboard typing, students can use a shorter keyboard dwell time. An individual can use solely their eyes to access additional functions such as physical buttons, swipes, and other gestures. Eye Tracking integrates with Switch Control on iPhone and iPad, so students have the option to use a switch or dwell to make selections.

Voice Control

Students can navigate their device using just their voice.¹⁸ Commands like click, swipe, and tap make it easy to interact with classroom apps. Precisely select, drag, and zoom by showing numbers alongside clickable items or by superimposing a grid on the screen. With Voice Control spelling mode, students can dictate names, addresses, and even custom spellings letter by letter.¹⁹ It's a seamless way to make corrections, format changes, and transition between text dictation and commands.

Switch Control

Use adaptive switch hardware, game controllers, or sounds like a click, a pop, or an "ee" sound to control devices. Create custom panels and keyboards, system-wide or app by app on iPad and Mac. With Platform Switching, a student can use a single device to navigate other devices synced to an Apple Account.²⁰ That way, they can control a Mac directly from an iPhone or iPad without having to set up switches on each new device.

Learn more about Apple mobility features

Cognitive

Cognitive features empower students to learn, maintain focus, and stay connected with tools to enhance comprehension, attention, or communication.

Accessibility Reader

Accessibility Reader is a new systemwide reading experience designed to make text easier to read for all learners, including students with a wide range of disabilities, from dyslexia to low vision. Accessibility Reader gives students the ability to customize long-form text and focus on content they want to read, with extensive options for font, color, and spacing, as well as support for other Read & Speak features. Students can launch Accessibility Reader from any app. It's also built into the Magnifier app on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, so they can seamlessly interact with text in the real world.

Assistive Access

Assistive Access helps trusted supporters set up iPad for students with cognitive disabilities, making it easier to tailor the device to reduce cognitive load and match each student's unique needs and preferences. With a simplified interface featuring high-contrast buttons, large text labels, and visual alternatives to text, Assistive Access provides customized experiences for core apps like Calls (which combines Phone and FaceTime), Messages, Camera, Photos, and Music—creating a supportive and focused environment for learning and communication.

Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence supports learning by aiding in effective written communication, improving reading comprehension, memory and recollection, and more. Students can communicate across languages with Live Translation.²¹ Visual intelligence builds on Apple Intelligence so students can search, take action on, or ask questions about what they're looking at onscreen or in the classroom. Writing Tools help students proofread text and rewrite different versions until the tone and wording are just right.²² Students can record audio in Notes—like a class lecture—and use Apple Intelligence to generate a summary of the transcript, helping them quickly review key points. And students can condense information with message and notification summaries.

Shortcuts

A Shortcut is a quick way to automate one or more tasks across apps with a single tap or by asking Siri. Using the Shortcuts app, students can create or add ready-made custom automations that combine multiple steps across various apps. Siri can suggest shortcuts based on their usage, and students can run any custom shortcut just by speaking its name to Siri. The app's Gallery also features Shortcuts for Accessibility, a curated collection designed to support diverse needs.

Safari Reader

Sometimes navigating the web can be sensory overload. Safari Reader presents a webpage article in one page, formatted for easy reading and presented without distractions. Adjust the font, font size, and background color to personalize the viewing experience. With Safari Reader, students can read a supported site's text aloud or get the gist of an article with a high-level summary and table of contents.²³

Learn more about Apple cognitive features

Additional resources for your learning community

Apple offers a wide variety of educational content, customer support options, communities, instructional programs, and other resources for students and teachers alike.

Speak Screen and Speak Selection supports Arabic (World), Bangla (India), Basque, Bhojpuri (India), Bulgarian, Cantonese (Hong Kong), Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch (Belgium, Netherlands), English (Australia, India, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, UK, U.S.), Farsi, Finnish, French (Belgium, Canada, France), Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Korean, Lithuanian, Malay, Mandarin (China mainland, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan), Marathi, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Shanghainese (China mainland), Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Spain), Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Valencian, and Vietnamese.
Live Captions are available on iPhone 11 and later, iPad models with A12 Bionic and later, and Mac computers with Apple silicon. Live Captions are available for calls and media. Live Captions aren't available in all languages, countries, or regions. Accuracy of Live Captions may vary and should not be relied on in high-risk or emergency situations.
Translate App supports Arabic (World), Dutch (Belgium, Netherlands), English (UK, U.S.), French (France), German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin (China mainland, Taiwan), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Spain), Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Safari Web Page Translation supports Arabic (World), Chinese (Simplified, Traditional) Dutch, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Detectors for doors, people, and furniture in Detection Mode require devices with the LiDAR Scanner. The LiDAR Scanner is available only on iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPad Pro (M4), iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (4th generation and later), and iPad Pro 11‑inch (2nd generation and later). Detection Mode with Action button is supported by iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16e, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. Text Detection and Point and Speak can read signs and labels in Arabic, Cantonese (Simplified, Traditional), English (Australia, India, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, UK, U.S.), French (Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese (Simplified, Traditional), Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal), Russian, Spanish (Mexico, Spain), and Ukrainian (Ukraine). Detection Mode should not be relied on in circumstances where you may be harmed or injured or in high-risk or emergency situations.
Live Recognition should not be relied on in circumstances where you could be harmed or injured, in high-risk situations, or for navigation.
VoiceOver supports Arabic (World), Bangla (India), Basque, Bhojpuri (India), Bulgarian, Cantonese (Hong Kong), Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch (Belgium, Netherlands), English (Australia, India, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, UK, U.S.), Farsi, Finnish, French (Belgium, Canada, France), Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Korean, Lithuanian, Malay, Mandarin (China mainland, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan), Marathi, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Shanghainese (China mainland), Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Spain), Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Valencian, and Vietnamese.
Picture-in-picture view is not available on Apple Watch.
The Hearing Aid feature has received FDA authorization. The Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features are supported on AirPods Pro 2 and later with the latest firmware paired with a compatible iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 and later and are intended for people 18 years or older. The Hearing Aid feature is also supported on a compatible Mac with macOS Sequoia and later. It is intended for people with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. Hearing Health features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages. View complete list.
The Hearing Protection feature works with AirPods Pro 2 and later with the latest firmware when paired with a compatible iPhone, iPad, or Mac with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS Sequoia and later. This feature is not available in all regions or all languages. View complete list. See support.apple.com/120850 for total attenuation and more information. The Hearing Protection feature is not suitable for protection against extremely loud impulse sounds, such as gunfire, fireworks, or jackhammers, or against sustained sounds louder than 110 dBA.
Customization options are not available for Live Captions in FaceTime.
Live Listen requires compatible Made for iPhone hearing devices and supports iPhone 4s and later, iPad Pro, iPad (4th generation and later), iPad Air, and iPad mini. To use Live Listen with AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, or Powerbeats Pro, the iOS or iPadOS device requires iOS 14.3 or later or iPadOS 14.3 or later.
Sound Recognition should not be relied on in circumstances where you may be harmed or injured, in high-risk or emergency situations, or for navigation.
You can use Personal Voice only to create a voice on your device that sounds like you using your own voice for your personal, noncommercial use.
Personal Voice is available in English (US), Mandarin Chinese (China mainland), and Spanish (Mexico). Available on iPhone 15 Pro models, iPhone 16 models or later, iPad mini (A17 Pro), iPad models with M1 and later, or Mac with M1 or later.
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.
Eye Tracking is available on iPhone 12 and later, iPhone SE (3rd generation), iPad Pro (M4), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad (A16), iPad (10th generation), iPad Air (M2 and M3), iPad Air (4th generation and later), iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPad mini (6th generation).
Voice Control is available in Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Cantonese (China mainland, Hong Kong), English (Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, UK, U.S.), French (France), German (Germany), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese (China mainland, Taiwan), Russian, Spanish (Mexico, Spain, U.S.), and Turkish.
Voice Control spelling mode is available when users have their system language set to English (U.S.).
Platform Switching requires all devices to be signed in to the same Apple Account and connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Live Translation in Messages is available in Chinese (Simplified), English (UK, U.S.), French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain) when Apple Intelligence is enabled on a compatible iPhone, iPad, or Mac, as well as on Apple Watch Series 9 and later and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone. Live Translation in Phone and FaceTime is available for one-on-one calls in English (UK, U.S.), French (France), German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain) when Apple Intelligence is enabled on a compatible iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Apple Intelligence is available in beta. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see support.apple.com/121115.
Safari Reader spoken content is available in English (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, U.S.).

Published Date: December 01, 2025