What's New in iOS 26 Accessibility for Blind and DeafBlind Users

Fall is almost here in the Northern Hemisphere, which means it’s time for another major release of iOS for the public. While some of the information in this article may be new to readers, this year’s changes started being discussed in the spring. Prior to the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced several new features coming to their devices in the fall. Fast forward to June, and the mainstream also received a lot of announcements about what's coming in iOS 26. Many outlets online will cover iOS 26’s mainstream changes in great detail. Some of them include a new design throughout the entire operating system called "Liquid Glass.” Apple describes Liquid Glass as follows: "… a new dynamic material that combines the optical properties of glass with a sense of fluidity. Liquid Glass refracts content from below it, reflects light from around it, and has a gorgeous lensing effect along its edges." Because of this dramatic change, I would strongly recommend all low vision users take a look at something other than their main device before installing. Other mainstream changes include Live Translation & Visual Intelligence through ChatGPT, CarPlay enhancements such as integration of Live Activities, Live Activities themselves opening up to third parties, new calling and texting features, and much more. For a well-documented list of mainstream features in iOS 26, this article from Wired is a good place to start. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and later. For a list of all supported devices, consult this Article from CNET We're here to discuss the changes in accessibility for those who are blind and DeafBlind. As in every other year, I'm unable to comment firsthand on any low vision changes. It’s my hope that others will share their experiences from that perspective to help educate low vision users on the update's impact. Space constraints do not permit me to explore such things as Voice Control, Switch Control, Assistive Access, Assistive Touch, Head Tracking and other changes. I encourage all users to go to their favorite accessibility settings and visit the "What's New" section Apple has provided in many locations.

Sharing Is Caring

One of the main additions to the accessibility suite of tools is the ability to temporarily share your accessibility settings. This can be done between 2 devices running iOS 26 that are in the same location or signed into the same iCloud account. Once you are done using the shared settings from the host device, it is possible to dismiss them, returning the other device to its settings. When connected, the Accessibility Shortcut will also include the option to drop the sharing session. In either case, the first step is to go to Settings>Accessibility>Share Accessibility Settings and activating the share Accessibility Settings button on this screen. This only needs to be done on the host device. After activating the continue button, a list of devices near the user will be shown. This includes iOS Devices not signed into your iCloud account and also those not running iOS 26, though iOS 26 is required for this feature to work. After choosing the target device, you will need to switch to that device and accept the request. Once the connection has been made, the establishment is displayed on both devices. As a braille user, this was a little frustrating since I could not leave this confirmation without hitting the touchscreen. I did find that many of the settings transferred successfully from my host device including audio changes, VoiceOver's speech settings and hatpic settings. What wasn't carried over were all of the braille display commands that I had customized on my primary device. Also, if VoiceOver is not enabled on the target device, on the target device, press an hold 3 fingers to accept the request and VoiceOver will start speaking on the target device. It's a wonderful way to share settings with others for whatever reason may be needed, but it would be even more nice if you could take the settings from the host device and copy them with the one you are sharing settings with. Even better if you could specify which settings would be merged, for example, all Voice Control or VoiceOver settings.

Accessibility Nutrition Labels

This first feature is something users can find on the App Store. Rather than describing it again, here is a quote from Sarah Herrlinger, Apple's senior director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives, taken from the interview conducted by members of the AppleVis Editorial Team:

"We really wanted to create a consistent way for developers to highlight accessibility features. And we want it to be a way that's super easy for users to find and understand. Accessibility nutrition labels are an extension of kind of the longstanding work that Apple has done to provide developers with tools, documentation, and training to create great accessible experiences. We're really excited for these labels to come to the Apple ecosystem, and we expect it'll bring a whole new level of accessibility awareness, both for users and developers alike.

Accessibility Nutrition labels are something developers can fill out that lists all of the accessibility features their app is designed to support. If on iOS 26, users can check out an example of a completed label with the Please Don't Rain application. Accessibility Nutrition Labels are optional for the time being, with a requirement for developers to provide this information expected to come in the future.

VoiceOver Changes

VoiceOver has undergone many updates with iOS 26, with a lot of attention being paid to braille. Whether you use a braille display or Braille Screen Input, Apple has made some significant upgrades to both sets of tools.

It Magically Won't Play

The Two-Finger Double-Tap gesture for VoiceOver users has always been known as the "Magic Tap." While it can be very helpful, Magic Tap can also cause some annoyances. For example, if you are performing the Two-Finger Double-Tap to end a phone call, and instead get to listen to the audio last playing on your device, that can produce some interesting results. The caller may not have hung up yet, and may get to listen in as well. If you're DeafBlind and not using the Sound Curtain feature, this could lead to everyone thinking you are throwing a party with your phone while you walk around, without you even knowing it. iOS 26 brings a new option, which should eliminate some of these challenges. If the user goes to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Commands>Magic Tap, there is now an option to exclude the playback of media from this gesture.

Reset It!

With all of the settings which can be modified from within VoiceOver, it can be confusing to remember what you have changed and what you haven't. If something is going wrong and it's not possible to pinpoint the issue, or if you just want to start fresh, you now have an option for only resetting VoiceOver settings instead of resetting the entire device. Navigate to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Reset VoiceOver Settings. activating this resets VoiceOver to the factory default settings. When performing this reset, I was happy to find that my Bluetooth connection to my braille display did not get lost. All other settings had been reset as best I could tell.

Is Siri Listening?

It is not always easy to tell when Siri is listening when you don't have access to the screen in front of you. Apple understands this, and has added a feature for VoiceOver users which should help offset this challenge. It can be found by going to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Audio>Always Use Siri Sounds, and turn this on to give it a try.

Cursor Output

One of the challenges for users of screen readers who have been used to other operating systems is the way in which speech output conveys where the cursor is located with VoiceOver. By default, VoiceOver is set to announce content as the cursor passes it. iOS 26 also gives the user the option to speak the text to the right of the cursor. To enable this, go to Settings>VoiceOver>Typing>Cursor Output.

What's New And Old in the Rotor?

When visiting Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Rotor>Rotor Items, the user is presented with over 50 options that they can add and remove from their rotor. Naturally, this can take some time to find the item you'd like, until iOS 26. With this release, there is now a search feature located at the bottom of this menu which gives users another way in which they can manage their rotor settings. Speaking of this search box, many of the search boxes throughout the operating system have gone from being near the top of the screen to near the bottom. If a user can't find their search box they used to find with iOS 18 and earlier, checking at the bottom of the screen will likely be the search box's new location.

But Wait... There's More To Copy

A new rotor function has been added called Copied Speech. This option will allow you to access more than the past one instance of whatever speech you have copied to the clipboard. For those who may be unaware, the Copy Speech to Clipboard function does just that. Whatever the last thing VoiceOver has spoken can be copied to the clipboard. Once your clipboard is erased, or something replaces that item, before now, it would no longer be available to the user. Note that when turned on, if there isn't anything to copy, the rotor option will not be available.

Other Changes

Specific to Maps, when focused on a point of interest, VoiceOver users can now perform a 3-finger single tap. This will pull up a list of more information about the Point of Interest. Pan-Indian voices have been added for Gujarati and Marathi. Under Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Verbosity>Custom Labels, there is now an option to modify or delete any custom labels the VoiceOver user has added. Under Verbosity settings, it is now possible to control how the position in a list is communicated. Options include Speak, Braille, or Do Nothing.

Braille

Braille Access

Apple has brought some old features in with some new ones to develop a suite of services for braille display users called Braille Access. To activate Braille Access, press dots 7 and 8 together on a Perkins-Style keyboard. For users of QWERTY keyboards, pressing VoiceOver Modifier Shift Y will enable Braille Access. pressing VoiceOver Modifier with y will enable braille keyboard input, which will be required to interact with some of the features listed below such as Braille Notes. The user can then move through the menu with standard navigation options. To launch any form of context menu where available, users can press dot 7. Activating items is done with dot 8. Exiting Braille Access can be done by pressing dots 7 and 8 together, by pressing space with dots 1-2-5, space with dots 1-2, or VoiceOver Modifier Shift and Y. Note that space with 1-2 (b) also functions as a back button. Before exploring the various features of Braille Access, it may be best to also examine the list of settings which can be configured to best support each user in the Braille Access experience. Check out the options under settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>braille>Braille Access. It's possible to configure which features appear in the Braille Access menu, to control whether menu items are spoken, whether to speak list items, whether to show a visual representation of the Braille Access content with its print equivalents, whether Braille Access should remember your last position in Braille Access on re-launch, whether there is typing speech feedback spoken by VoiceOver, and individual settings for each feature. Note that in order to get typing speech feedback, typing feedback for hardware keyboards needs to be enabled in VoiceOver's Typing settings. To set this, go to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>typing>Typing feedback>Hardware Keyboard>Characters. For example, the braille notes feature settings permit the user to define how created notes should be sorted when displayed. BRF files currently only has the option of whether the user wishes to fit their specific device. The Calculator allows the user to select either Nemeth or Unified English Braille Math. The setting under Live Captions allows the user to control whether the audio from the iOS device's microphone or audio output. Unless configured in settings differently, pressing dots 7 and 8 together will present the user with each menu option: Launch App, Choose Item, Braille Notes, BRF Files, Calculator, Live Captions, and a running display of the time in seconds viewable at the bottom of the menu. Each option will be discussed below.

Launch App

Ever since iOS 17, braille display users have been able to quickly launch apps using dot 8, or space with dot 8 when in 8 dot mode. Then type the app they are looking for and launch it. While this ability still exists in iOS 26, accessing it has changed. To do so, press dots 7 and 8 to launch Braille Access. You can also press this command to exit Braille Access. The user will notice the first option "launch app" appears with a blinking cursor at the end. Begin typing the name of the app desired, and press enter to pull up a list of matches, or to automatically launch the app if only 1 match is found. What has improved with this option is that it was only possible to launch apps from the home screen in iOS 17 and 18, but this option can be utilized even from within other applications, so there is no longer a need to go back to the home screen before going to another app. It is also now more difficult to accidentally activate while on the home screen if you forget to lock your device and bump dot 8.

Item Chooser

iOS 17 brought this ability to launching apps, while iOS 18 brought this to the item chooser. This is the second option now found under Braille Access. It works exactly as it did under iOS 18, the location has just been changed.

Braille Notes

Though many braille displays on the market have their internal notetaking features, this is a huge leap forward specifically for users of the NLS eReader. Though this device is distributed to patrons of NLS services freely, it does not have a notetaking application. Whatever code a person throws at it will see it sent back to them. iOS is recording dot combinations inside these files instead of attempting to interpret them. For example, I wrote out a note half in mixed contracted and uncontracted braille, and reading it back yielded the same result. Typing in Spanish braille, which has some different symbols also read exactly as I had written it. Translation only happens if the user wishes to send that composed note to something or somewhere else, such as a text field outside of Braille Access. Notes are saved on iCloud, though the syncing between other devices on my iCloud account seemed to take much longer than when composing a note within the standard Notes application. One of the neat things about this set of features is that the user can also utilize VoiceOver while, for example, taking notes. This requires that the user can hear, but it allows a user to do research on their iOS Device while also taking notes. Many of the standard commands apply when editing a note. If the user wishes to send their note to, say, a text field on iOS, this is also possible but will need to be translated. One way to get these notes from your device to a text field is by copying and pasting them. To do this, while in a braille note, press space with dots 2-3-5-6 to select all of the text. Now, press space with dots 1-4 to copy it. Then, press dots 7 and 8 to exit Braille Access and return to iOS. Find the text field you'd like to paste the text from the note in and then press space with dots 1-2-3-6 to paste the text. It will translate the note based on your iOS Device's braille input settings.

BRF Files

One of the challenges with BRF files is that they are designed specifically for braille users to be consumed on braille-first devices. When a user gets a BRF file and would like to read it on a mainstream device such as an iPhone, it requires workarounds. Either the user must convert the file to a more usable format on iOS, or use an app which requires other settings to be changed. iOS 26 brings the readability and writability of BRF content to iOS. To create a BRF file, after launching the feature, press dot 8 or a cursor routing button on "new...". From here, a new file or folder can be created by selecting file name and then pressing dot 8. Then, the user can type their file. When done, simply press space with dots 1-2 to save the file. It will then be available after the "new...." option. Pressing dot 8 on a selected file will open the file in a read-only mode. To access the context menu for any given file, press dot 7 while it is selected. This gives the user options to edit, move, delete, or rename the file. At the moment, the move option does not work unless the user first creates a folder, based on my testing of 2 different devices, but files can still be moved with the Files app. When the user presses dots 7 and 8 together to launch Braille Access, a folder will be created on that user's iCloud account called "BRF files.". Any BRF files put in this folder can then be accessed with the BRF files feature inside of Braille Access. This includes files you have created in Braille Access, but also those which you move to the BRF Files iCloud folder. I moved On the air: the encyclopedia of old time radio into the BRF files folder from my Dropbox and was able to load it on my iPhone in approximately 3 seconds. This is quite impressive, as the book is 3.3 megabytes in size. When I left Braille Access and returned an hour later, it had retained my position in the content. Space with f for find works well and is able to search through large amounts of content quite quickly. While a file is open, dot 7 launches a menu. Options are available to find again and also to create a bookmark. Note that it is also possible to create multiple bookmarks in the same file.

Calculator

Braille Access also has a Calculator which can display Nemeth or UEB math codes. Not only can basic arithmetic be used, but it's also possible to type a math expression in Nemeth or UEB and see the computed result. For example, the user can use parentheses, fractions, radicals, exponents, constants like e and pi, and functions such as sin, log, etc. Like with Braille Notes and BRF Files, it's possible to copy the result. The visual interface will render the math expression you typed in Nemeth or UEB as a visual math formula.

Live Captions

Originally introduced as part of iOS 16 in 2022, Live Captions has continually had one issue for braille users. When accessing Live Captions, each time new text arrives and the individual is still reading previous captioning, the new text would force the braille display to jump back to the beginning of what they were reading. For example, if the reader was accessing the 3rd sentence of what someone had said, and then a 4th sentence was added, the user would be sent back to the top of the text. They would then need to pan all the way back to the sentence they were reading. Meanwhile, if more captions arrive, they would again be sent back to the beginning of the text. Apple has taken the time to develop Live Captions specific for braille users which, I'm happy to report, do not suffer the same challenge. After launching Live Captions from the Braille Access menu, the user will encounter captions already in progress or "listening." When captions begin arriving, pan forward or backward as normal to read captioning. If more captions have arrived after what the user is reading, an 8-dot full cell will be located at each end of the braille display. pressing a Cursor Routing button when the 8-dot cell indicators are present will move focus to the end of the captions. Pressing dot 7 here will also launch a menu giving the user several options. These include pausing/resuming, the toggle of captioning the microphone or device's internal audio, and for those on Apple Intelligence-capable devices, the ability to summarize the captions received. Pressing dot 8 will give the user the option to make use of the Live Speech function. I set up a custom braille display command (discussed further below), to launch captioning immediately so that it is available on demand. When done with the captioning, pressing dots 7 and 8 together return me to where I was in iOS. As of the iOS 26.0 release, I was unable to get Live Captions to work with Face Time video or audio calls.

Accessing Time And Date

The final Braille Access option is to view the time and date. When navigating to this feature within the Braille Access menu, the user will find the time displayed with seconds included. If the user presses enter, they will encounter the date and then the time.

Item Overview

With a single-line display, there are very few ways to scan, for example, a full Home Screen of apps to activate the correct one. Even more challenging is when you have a huge list of links on a web page that you may be familiar with. Item Overview is a new feature in iOS 26 which displays the first few cells of each item on the user's screen. To activate Item Overview, press dots 6-7-8 together. The default is to display the first 3 cells of each item, but the user can adjust how many cells should display with each item. Find this setting by going to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Braille>Item Overview and choosing anywhere between 2 and 7 cells. As an example, I launched Item Overview on my home screen and can select any of the first 5 apps on my Home Screen with a 20-cell display. Panning forward will give me the next 5 items. I can activate any of the items listed by using a Cursor Routing Button.

More Selection Options

There are many ways to select text on iOS. For braille display users, there is a new method with iOS 26using the Cursor Routing Buttons. To select a word, use a Cursor Routing button within that word and press it twice quickly. Pressing this button 3 times quickly will select the full line. Note that these selection options are also available for use inside Braille Access. I've had to get used to working with this method and found the command space with dots 1-3-5-6 (z) to undo to be very handy.

Cursor Clarity

One of the challenges some individuals face as braille display users on iOS is determining where the braille cursor is located. This is because, by default, the cursor is represented by dot 7 in 1 cell and dot 8 in the next. A new option found under Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Braille>Use Underline Cursor, can be enabled with will show the cursor as dots 7 and 8 together in the same cell.

New Options For Assigning Braille Keyboard Commands

More functions within the operating system are getting the ability to be assigned braille keyboard shortcuts. For example, there are options to assign a braille keyboard command to each of the Braille Access features covered above. They can all be found by navigating to Settings>VoiceOver>Braille>your Device>More Info>commands, and then selecting the braille category. Other additions include activating the Accessibility Shortcut, Reachability, the option to take a screenshot as well as to activate Spotlight search. All of these new options can be found under the Device category.

Tapping Feedback

It's now possible to have the same type of keyboard echo with Braille Screen Input that is found for both the onscreen and hardware keyboards. It can be found in the same menu as these options. Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>typing>Typing Feedback. BSI is a new heading at the bottom of this menu. The options are to echo characters, words, both characters and words, or to do nothing.

Commanding Customization!

All of the options available for customization of commands for users of braille displays are now available to Braille Screen Input users. It is possible to customize the Braille commands for Braille Screen Input Command Mode, and Braille Keyboard Input. To check these new choices out, head to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Commands >Braille Screen & Braille Keyboard Input.

Learning The Dots

After calibrating, it's still possible that the input may be slightly different from what was set. A new option under Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Braille>Braille Screen Input>Learn Dot Positions will allow the dots to slowly drift towards the user's tap positions over time. When they are comfortable with how the positioning is set, this setting can be turned off so that the dot positions will be retained.

BSI Single Handedly

Several new input methods are available for BSI users in iOS 26 which require the use of only 1 hand. If Use Activation Gestures are set to on, users can launch single hand BSI by double-tapping and then holding 3 fingers on the screen. This will also set the orientation to Portrait Mode, regardless of whether the user’s orientation is locked in Landscape or not.

1 hand, 4 different ways to type

One Handed BSI has brought 4 different ways of inputting braille on the screen. The choices can be found by going to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Braille>Braille Screen Input and choose from Right Hand, Left Hand, Slate and Stylus or Reversed Slate and Stylus. Choosing Right Hand, input is done by column and uses 3 fingers such as the index, middle and ring fingers. To make the letter g, dots 1-2-4-5 for example, the user can press dots 4 and 5 with 2 fingers, swipe right with 1 finger, sometimes required to do twice as of now, to get to the next column, and then tap dots 1 and 2 together. When Left Hand is selected, the user will then use the left side of the column first. Slate and Stylus allows the user to utilize their touchscreen as a giant 6 dot cell. Like when using a conventional Slate and Stylus, where the user has dots 1-3 on the right and dots 4-6 on the left side of the cell. After tapping the desired dots in the cell, swipe right with 1 finger to move on to the next cell. There is also the option of Reverse Slate and Stylus style, which puts dots 1 through 3 on the left side of the cells and dots 4 through 6 on the right side.

Hearing

Live Captions

Not to be confused with "Live Captions" under Braille Access, this is the mode that users have had access to since 2022. It still has the same challenges outlined above for braille users, but has gained some new functionality. Newly supported languages include English (Australia), English (United Kingdom), English (India), English (Singapore), German (Germany), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (United States), French (Canada), French (France), Japanese (Japan), Korean (South Korea), Cantonese (China), Chinese (China), and Chinese (Hong Kong). iOS 26 also brings the ability to save call captions. The user has 24 hours after a call to access the transcription. If the user wishes to save the transcript beyond that, it is possible to screenshot the text for future reference.

Name Calling

Don't worry, I'm not here to insult anyone by calling them a name, though you could set this feature up to recognize one. Name Calling is a new feature found under the renamed option of "Sound and Name Recognition." Adding a name to the list can be done by typing the word, but the user is also given the option to record their name and hear an audio representation of what iOS will listen for. It's also possible to add multiple names or words for recognition. Testing this, I found that if someone called my name loudly to get my attention, it worked every time. When in conversation, it would often not recognize that my name was said, but would on occasion. It did sometimes think it heard my name, for example, with the phrase "it's got" which sounds quite similar to "Scott." I found that other words which would sound similar, like "plot," "rot," "slot," etc. did not produce false positives.

Feel The Vocals

Music Haptics was introduced in iOS 18 and allows one to experience Apple Music tracks through Haptic Feedback. For iOS 26, new in Music Haptics is the ability to have the haptic pattern only reflect the vocal nuances of the track. There are also new options to control the haptic intensity. Choose from Light, Medium, or Strong. My only disappointment is that no other music services have taken advantage of this technology.

What was that again?

With MFI-supported hearing aids, Live Listen now has a Rewind feature. I was not able to test this, since I do not use hearing aids which are MFI compatible, so it's my hope that someone else can review this functionality. Also new with Live Listen is the ability to control Live Listen sessions with nearby devices. The user can now utilize other devices, such as an Apple Watch, to serve as a remote control to start, stop, or rewind Live Listen sessions.

Background Sounds Added

New sounds have been added to the Bac list of backgroun sounds. Users can now also choose from airplane cabin noise, rain, night ambiance, and crackling fire.

Conclusion

iOS 26 offers a mixture of new features and quality-of-life improvements for blind and DeafBlind users. It is always good to see Apple focusing resources on braille, as traditionally this has been one of Apple’s weaker areas. For low vision users, I strongly recommend experiencing the Liquid Glass interface on another device prior to upgrading your own. For VoiceOver and braille users, iOS 26 should be a relatively safe upgrade, with the caveat that everyone’s situation is unique and the decision whether to install an update is a personal one. For a list of known bugs, check out our list of these when it becomes available.