A Guide to the New Apple Update and iOS Accessibility Features
Apple will release iOS 26 and macOS 26 “Tahoe” in mid-September, with iOS 26 accessibility features making a significant impact on how people with visual impairments use their Apple devices. For the first time, every Apple platform shares the same year-based number, with everything simply becoming “26.” This September, both iPhone and Mac users will receive a host of new tools designed to improve usability. This will make technology more accessible than ever before. From a new built-in ‘Reader’ for instant large print to a complete braille workspace, these updates demonstrate Apple’s commitment to creating a more inclusive user experience. Here’s a closer look at what’s coming.
iOS 26 blue and green badge
Accessibility Reader: Large Print and Audio Anywhere
Look for a new ‘Reader’ button in Safari’s address bar, the Share Sheet, and the Magnifier toolbar. When you tap it, any text you are viewing—be it a webpage, a PDF, or even a menu through your camera—will re-flow into your preferred font, size, colours, and line spacing. A ‘Listen’ toggle is also available to read the text aloud, with words highlighted as they are spoken. Reader remembers your settings and syncs them across all your Apple devices via iCloud.
Image comparing the original book file on the left with small text, and the more accessible book on the right with enlarged text and an option of a reader from iOS 26.
Magnifier for Mac: A Digital Loupe for Your Desktop
The familiar iOS Magnifier app is finally coming to macOS 26. This new tool works with any USB webcam, an iPad, or your iPhone using ‘Continuity Camera’. It allows you to place your phone’s superior lenses wherever you need them to magnify your desktop view. It includes features like multiple windows, colour filters, freeze-frame snapshots, and a ‘Desk View’ for flattening pages that are at an angle. You can even send a magnified snapshot directly to the Accessibility Reader for easier reading.
A phone on a stand with its camera pointed at a book. The text is synced to the MacBook and enlarged.
Braille Access: A Note-Taker Built-In
‘Braille Access’ is a new workspace that replaces the old Braille Screen Input with a complete braille-first interface. With a connected braille display, you can now launch apps, open BRF or TXT books, type maths in Nemeth code, and get system notifications. It also allows you to stream live captions from FaceTime or Teams directly onto your braille cells. All your translation tables and cursor settings automatically sync between your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro.
VoiceOver and Spoken Content: Clearer and Smoother
The new on-device voices are more natural and install faster. VoiceOver’s ‘Rotor’ remains, but you can now hide actions you never use and create app-specific ‘Activities’ to change verbosity or speech rates. For Mac users, an updated Commands editor lets you easily remap common VoiceOver shortcuts.
Personal Voice: A Key iOS 26 Accessibility Feature
‘Personal Voice’ now only needs ten brief phrases, which takes about a minute to record, to create a lifelike synthetic voice. This new voice can then be used with ‘Live Speech’ and any third-party AAC app. The new update also adds Spanish (Mexico) as a supported language, with more languages planned for the future.
Vehicle Motion Cues and Larger CarPlay Text
Animated onscreen dots that move with your vehicle—introduced on iPhone last year—now appear on Mac notebooks, helping to prevent motion sickness while you work on the go. In the car, a new Large Text option lets you increase the size of CarPlay menus and Siri prompts, making them easier to read at a glance.
Accessibility Nutrition Labels: Understanding iOS 26 Accessibility Features in Apps
Every App Store page now includes a labelled grid showing whether an app supports features such as VoiceOver, Larger Text, high contrast, captions or reduced motion. From September, developers must complete the form for new submissions and updates, so the catalogue should quickly become more transparent.
Screenshot of the new iOS 26 accessibility feature, “Supported Features” in the app store
Share & Sync Your iOS 26 Accessibility Features
With ‘Share Accessibility Settings’, you can AirDrop or scan a QR code to temporarily apply your preferred text size, VoiceOver gestures or colour filters on another iPhone—perfect when borrowing a friend’s or family member’s device. You can also export a backup file to keep a permanent copy of every tweak.
Vision Pro Gets Zoom and Live Recognition
visionOS 26 extends the familiar two-finger Zoom gesture to your real-world view, letting you magnify anything you look at. It also adds ‘Live Recognition,’ which can describe surroundings, find objects, or read documents aloud—all processed privately on-device.
Device Compatibility
If you’re wondering whether your device will support the new software, here is the breakdown:
- iPhone: Every model from the iPhone 11 (2019) onwards, including the second-generation iPhone SE.
- Mac: All Apple-silicon Macs, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 2020 four-port 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the 2019 Mac Pro. Older Macs will stay on macOS 15 “Sequoia” and will continue to get security updates.
Getting Ready for the New iOS 26 Accessibility Features
To prepare for the update, make sure you back up your device to iCloud or Finder and free up at least 10GB of storage. To get the best experience from the new iOS 26 accessibility features, it’s also a good idea to export your accessibility settings so you can restore them instantly after the upgrade is complete.
Need a Hand?
The MyVision team can help you with the installation, demonstrate every new tool, and fine-tune them to your specific needs. When it comes to the new iOS 26 accessibility features, we are here to help you get the most out of them. Please call 01865 725 595 or email Info@MyVision.org.uk for assistance.
Read More
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You can read more on the iOS 26 Accessibility Features on the Apple News.com article.
