Apple introduced a new sign language interpretation feature on Friday, alongside the premiere of the Apple TV movie Being Heumann.
The feature, designed with native signers, offers a visual of a person on the screen. Rather than replacing captions as an accessibility option, Apple is offering another language experience to improve user experience through American Sign Language and British Sign Language.
People in the Deaf community have cited inability to get the full experience of watching shows and movies due to captions that lack descriptions of tone and mood. Poorly timed captions can throw off an entire episode or movie, and incorrect language can alter the understanding of a conversation.
The new feature and the film go hand in hand. The 2026 biographical drama film directed by Sian Heder is based on the memoir Being Heumann by disability rights activist Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner.
Starring Mark Ruffalo and Dylan O’Brien, and Ruth Madeley as Judy, it debuted in select theaters on November 6, and released for streaming on Apple TV today.
A 2021 Census Bureau presentation discussed the difficulty of collecting accurate ASL-user statistics through traditional household language surveys. The Deaf community is often undercounted in national data, making it harder to measure accessibility needs.
Apple Originals have led the industry in providing accessibility features, such as Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Audio Description for blind and low-vision audiences, in multiple languages, worldwide.
For the new feature, Apple created each interpretation with a DASL (Directors of Artistic Sign Language) and an interpreter who worked together in a studio to create high-quality sign language, capturing tone and emotional intensity of each film being interpreted.
“I’m proud to have been part of Being Heumann and thrilled to see Apple TV supporting greater accessibility for Deaf audiences,” said Daniel Durant, who appears in the movie and also directed the film’s sign language interpretation shared.
