Sneak Peek: 7 New Accessibility Features Coming in iOS 19

We usually have to wait for Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote each year to find out about all the goodies in the company’s latest major software releases. However, over the past four years, Apple has provided us with an early glimpse of the accessibility features that will be included in each new update.

These typically occur around four weeks before WWDC, and the timing isn’t coincidental. With Apple’s strong commitment to accessibility, the company highlights these new features to coincide with Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), which falls on the third Thursday of May each year.

Apple began showcasing its upcoming accessibility features in 2021, the same year the GAAD Foundation was formed. That was the year AssistiveTouch came to the Apple Watch, and AI-based VoiceOver descriptions appeared in iOS 14.

When it made another accessibility announcement in 2022 to reveal Door Detection and Apple Watch Mirroring, it was clear that this was going to become an annual event. Its 2023 announcement included Point and Speak, Live Speech, and Personal Voice, and last year’s iOS 18 release brought over a dozen new accessibility features, including Eye Tracking, Vehicle Motion Cues, Music Haptics, and Vocal Shortcuts.

So, it’s not a big surprise that the company has unveiled another collection of new accessibility features and initiatives, along with some nice enhancements to some of its existing ones. Read on for everything that’s coming to Accessibility in iOS 19.