Apple TV Adds Built-In Sign Language Interpretation, Starting With Being Heumann

It starts with a small set of Apple Original titles. The first is "Being Heumann", a biopic about the disability rights activist Judy Heumann, out this Friday. American Sign Language and British Sign Language will also be available for the film "F1", and Apple said "Way of the Warrior Kid" and "Greyhound" will follow later this year.

The design choice is what sets it apart. Streaming services that offer signed content have usually done so as a separate title. Apple's version runs inside the main title: when the option is on, an interpreter appears in the bottom right corner of the screen and signs the spoken dialogue.

Apple is also not using synthetic signers, at a time when AI-generated avatars are being offered as a cheaper way to add sign language to video. The company said AI-generated interpreters are not what the Deaf community has told it it needs. Instead it has worked with Directors of Artistic Sign Language, who match each interpreter to the tone of the film, according to TechCrunch.

The feature comes with iOS 27.2 and is turned on through a new sign language option in Settings. Supported titles then show a sign language button and icon on their pages, next to closed captions and audio descriptions, and a new section under languages lists which sign languages are available. Apple TV will collect the titles in a "Movies & Shows with American Sign Language" section, and users can find them by searching terms such as "with ASL".

"Bringing sign language interpretation to Apple TV is an exciting step forward in making the viewing experience more accessible and inclusive for Deaf audiences," Sarah Herrlinger, Apple's senior director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives, said in a statement.

Apple has not said how many titles it plans to support beyond the four named, or whether languages other than ASL and BSL will be added.