Apple on Tuesday announced a new accessibility feature for the Apple TV app that allows viewers to watch supported titles with sign language interpretation. The option will become available on Friday alongside the global streaming premiere of the original film Being Heumann.
The company said the feature aims to make viewing more accessible and inclusive for deaf audiences. Apple stated that the sign language experience was designed and tested by native signers in the deaf community, with each performance crafted to fit the film it interprets.
Interpretation for American Sign Language and British Sign Language will also be available for the movie F1, Apple said. Later this year, the feature will be added to the films Way of the Warrior Kid and Greyhound, with more original titles planned for the future.
Daniel Durant, who directed the sign language interpretation for Being Heumann, said the process required care to ensure translations captured the emotion and meaning of the story.
To use the feature, viewers can enable it in their Apple TV app settings and press the sign language button while watching supported content. Apple said titles with interpretation will be labeled with a dedicated icon. The company also introduced a “Movies & Shows with American Sign Language” collection to help users locate supported titles, and noted that users can search with phrases like “with ASL.”
Being Heumann, directed by Siân Heder and starring Ruth Madeley, is based on the true story of disability rights activist Judy Heumann. The film chronicles her role in organizing a 1977 sit-in in San Francisco with more than 100 disability rights protesters, according to the announcement.
The new sign language feature is available on devices running iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS 27.2, tvOS 27.2, visionOS 27.2 or later, as well as supported third-party devices with the latest app software. Apple TV is available for $14.99 per month, the company said.