iOS 19 will not be unveiled until June, but Apple today previewed a long list of new accessibility features that will be coming with the software update, including two CarPlay enhancements that can benefit both drivers and passengers.
We already highlighted some of the key new features, ranging from a new Accessibility Reader to a Magnifier app on the Mac. Below, we have pasted Apple's entire list of additional features, including some of the smaller ones.
For CarPlay, this includes support for the Large Text option that has long existed on iPhones. Apple is also expanding the Sound Recognition feature for drivers or passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing. CarPlay will be able to provide a notification if it hears a crying baby inside the vehicle, whereas the feature is currently limited to detecting sounds outside the vehicle, such as horns and sirens from police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks.
Here is the complete list of additional features, as worded by Apple:
- Background Sounds becomes easier to personalize with new EQ settings, a timer to stop sounds automatically, and new automation actions in Shortcuts. Helps minimize distractions and may aid tinnitus.
- Personal Voice now creates a voice in under a minute using 10 phrases, with more natural results thanks to on-device AI. Adds support for Spanish (Mexico).
- Eye Tracking users on iPhone and iPad can use a switch or dwell to make selections. Keyboard typing is improved across iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro with a dwell timer, fewer steps, and QuickPath.
- Head Tracking allows users to control iPhone and iPad with head movements.
- Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) now supported via a new Switch Control protocol for users with severe mobility disabilities.
- Assistive Access adds a simplified Apple TV app and an API for developers to create tailored apps for users with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
- Music Haptics becomes more customizable, allowing users to feel haptics for vocals only or an entire song, with adjustable intensity.
- Sound Recognition adds Name Recognition to alert users when their name is called.
- Voice Control adds a programming mode in Xcode, vocabulary syncing, and expands language support to Korean, Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Turkish, Italian, Spanish (Latin America), Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan), English (Singapore), and Russian.
- Live Captions adds 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.
- CarPlay now supports Large Text and enhanced Sound Recognition to detect a crying baby, horns, and sirens for deaf or hard-of-hearing users.
- Share Accessibility Settings lets users quickly share their accessibility preferences with another iPhone or iPad — ideal for temporary device use in public or shared spaces.
iOS 19 will be unveiled during the WWDC 2025 keynote on Monday, June 9. Following months of beta testing, the software update should be released in September, bringing these features to the masses. Many of the accessibility features will also be available on iPadOS 19, macOS 16, watchOS 12, and visionOS 3.
