Apple TV makes viewing content easier for deaf audiences
What's the story
Apple has announced a new feature for its Apple TV platform, aimed at making content more accessible to deaf audiences. The Sign Language Interpretation feature will debut with the release of Being Heumann, a biopic about disability rights activist Judy Heumann. It will support American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL), with select titles like Apple's hit movie F1.
Feature
Integrated setting with the main title
Unlike other platforms, Apple's sign language feature isn't a separate product or film made exclusively for deaf viewers.
Instead, it's an integrated setting with the main title, much like closed captions.
When a title with this option is playing, an interpreter appears in the bottom right corner of the screen, translating spoken words into signs.
Collaboration
No AI-generated interpreters used
Apple has partnered with a group of Directors of Artistic Sign Language (DASLs) to ensure that the interpreter for each film matches its tone.
The company is not using any AI-generated interpreters, as it believes that's not what the deaf community needs.
The feature is available in the latest release of iOS 27.2 and can be turned on through a new sign language option in Settings.
Discoverability
Making titles with sign language option more discoverable
To make titles with the sign language option more discoverable, Apple TV will highlight them in an editorial collection titled "Movies & Shows with American Sign Language."
Users can also easily find supported titles by searching for keywords like "with ASL."
This new feature is part of Apple's ongoing commitment to accessibility, as highlighted by Sarah Herrlinger, Apple's Senior Director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives.