Apple is rolling out a suite of new accessibility features later this year, in a move that may benefit an estimated 29 million Nigerians living with disabilities, the tech giant announces.The planned updates aim to make Apple’s devices more inclusive for users who are blind, have low vision, hearing difficulties, mobility or learning challenges—potentially addressing persistent barriers to education, employment, and public services in Nigeria.The California-based iPhone maker says its upcoming accessibility enhancements span across devices including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and the Apple Vision Pro headset, with features designed to assist users with varied disabilities.
Apple: Tool spans iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro headset
Among the key features is the new Accessibility Nutrition Labels on the App Store, allowing users to view whether an app supports assistive technologies like VoiceOver, Voice Control or captions before downloading. The labels will be introduced globally.Mac users who are blind or have low vision can also access the Magnifier app, previously only available on iPhone and iPad. The app enables users to connect external cameras, including iPhones or USB webcams, to zoom in on physical environments like printed text or whiteboards. It supports multiple viewing windows and integrates with a new system-wide Accessibility Reader, which converts real-world text into readable, customisable formats.
Apple is also launching Braille Access, a tool that transforms Apple devices into full-featured braille note takers. The feature includes Braille Screen Input, file reading in Braille Ready Format (BRF), and support for math calculations using the Nemeth Braille code, which is widely adopted in classrooms.The Accessibility Reader, intended for people with reading disabilities such as dyslexia, allows users to adjust font, colour, and spacing, and includes spoken content. It is available across all apps and integrated within the Magnifier app.
For users who are deaf or hard of hearing, Apple Watch will support Live Captions through the Live Listen feature, which streams captions from conversations captured by the iPhone microphone directly to the wearable device. Users can manage these sessions remotely from their wrist—an addition that could enhance classroom and meeting experiences.
Apple Vision Pro, the company’s spatial computing headset, will gain enhancements through its visionOS update. Features include Zoom for real-world magnification and Live Recognition, which uses machine learning to describe environments and read text for blind users. Apple also plans to release an API to support apps like Be My Eyes, which connects visually impaired users with sighted volunteers.
Additional enhancements announced by Apple include:
- Personal Voice updates with faster setup and more natural output; now includes support for Spanish (Mexico).
- Vehicle Motion Cues on Mac to help reduce motion sickness using animated screen indicators.
- Improved Eye Tracking and Head Tracking for hands-free control of Apple devices.
- Switch Control for Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), aimed at users with severe mobility impairments.
- Music Haptics allowing iPhone users to feel musical vibrations with adjustable intensity.
- Name Recognition within Sound Recognition, which alerts deaf users when someone calls their name
- CarPlay enhancements including support for Large Text and expanded sound recognition for alerts like sirens or crying babies.
Live Captions expanding to more languages, including English (UK, India, Australia, Singapore), Mandarin, Spanish, French, and Korean.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, says in a statement that “accessibility is part of our DNA,” reaffirming the company’s commitment to inclusive technology.
Apple introduced its first major accessibility tool, VoiceOver, in 2009 with the iPhone 3GS, making it the first touchscreen phone accessible to blind users out of the box. The latest suite of tools builds on that legacy, with implications for digital inclusion across Nigeria and other developing markets.
The World Health Organization estimates that around 15% of Nigeria’s population lives with a disability, underscoring the potential impact of such accessibility innovations in one of Africa’s most populous nations.
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