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At its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8, Apple confirmed that the hearing-related accessibility features it previewed in May will ship as part of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27, expected in fall 2026.
The Generated Subtitles feature will automatically produce on-screen transcriptions for videos that do not already include captions, working systemwide across iPhone and iPad, including in the Photos app, Messages, social media apps, and personal video clips. Subtitles are generated on-device. On Apple TV, tvOS 27 will add AI subtitle generation in English along with adjustable subtitle and on-screen text size. Expanded "Made for iPhone" hearing aid support on Apple TV is also expected, making device pairing and switching work more like AirPods.
AirPods are also gaining a customizable three-band equalizer in iOS 27, covering low, mid, and high frequencies, accessible through AirPods Settings. While not a hearing accessibility feature specifically, it allows users to manually shape audio output to better suit their hearing needs, something previously not available without third-party apps.
All features are expected to ship this fall. Developer betas are currently available; public betas are expected in July.
Learn more here.
