Apple is making its streaming service more accessible to Deaf audiences with a new sign language interpretation feature for the Apple TV app. The feature will let viewers watch selected Apple Original movies with American Sign Language (ASL) or British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation, adding another accessibility option alongside existing subtitles and audio features.

Announced on November 10, the new feature will debut on Friday, November 13, coinciding with the global streaming premiere of Being Heumann. The film tells the story of Judy Heumann, the disability rights activist whose work helped transform the disability rights movement in the United States.

The initial lineup will also include F1, which will receive both ASL and BSL interpretation. Apple says Way of the Warrior Kid and Greyhound will follow later this year, with additional Apple Original titles planned for the future.

How Apple TV’s new Sign Language feature works

The new Sign Language feature is designed to make interpreted content easier to find and watch without requiring viewers to search through individual accessibility settings for every title.

Once enabled in the Apple TV app settings, supported movies will display a dedicated Sign Language option. Viewers can then select the Sign Language button during playback to access the interpretation.

Apple will also identify compatible titles with a Sign Language icon, helping viewers recognize which movies offer the feature before starting playback. Search functionality will support simple queries such as “with ASL,” making it easier to locate content with sign language interpretation.

The company is also introducing a dedicated Movies & Shows with American Sign Language collection within the Apple TV app, providing a central place to browse supported titles.

Importantly, the interpretations are not simply generic translations added to existing movies. Apple says the experience has been designed and tested by Deaf people and native signers, with each performance carefully crafted to complement the film being interpreted.

Being Heumann leads the launch

The first movie to support the feature will be Being Heumann, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Siân Heder and starring Ruth Madeley.

The film follows Judy Heumann and the disability rights protests of 1977. In San Francisco, Heumann and more than 100 disability rights activists organized a historic sit-in to demand changes to a system that excluded people with disabilities.

It marks another collaboration between Apple Original Films and Heder, who previously directed CODA. That film made history as the first movie with a predominantly Deaf cast to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Daniel Durant, who appears in Being Heumann and directed the movie’s sign language interpretation, also highlighted the importance of representing sign language authentically.

The interpretation was developed with attention to the emotion and meaning of the story, rather than treating sign language as a straightforward word-for-word translation. That distinction matters because effective interpretation needs to communicate the tone and context of a performance, not just its dialogue.

Availability and supported devices

Apple’s Sign Language feature will become available on November 13, 2026, alongside the premiere of Being Heumann. However, access also depends on software compatibility.

The feature requires iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS 27.2, tvOS 27.2, or visionOS 27.2 and later. It will also work on supported third-party devices running the latest version of the Apple TV app.

Apple has not announced a complete list of supported third-party devices specifically for the new interpretation feature.

The initial selection is relatively small, but the planned expansion to additional Apple Original movies gives the feature room to become a more substantial part of the service’s accessibility offering.

For Deaf viewers, sign language interpretation can provide a different and more direct way to experience films than subtitles alone. By incorporating ASL and BSL into selected original productions, Apple is also making accessibility part of the viewing experience rather than leaving it entirely to external solutions.