Apple’s new feature places a sign-language interpreter directly inside the Apple TV player, in the lower-right corner of the screen, while the film or show plays. The interpreter appears as an in-player option, not as a separate version of a title.
How to Turn It On
Viewers enable Sign Language in Apple TV app settings first, then activate it during playback on any title that supports it.
Enabling Sign Language in the Apple TV app’s settings is the first step. When a supported title is opened, a Sign Language button appears in the playback controls.
Finding What Supports It
A dedicated icon, searchable phrases, and a new Apple TV collection help viewers identify eligible titles before they press play.
Supported titles display a Sign Language icon. Apple says search will recognize phrases like “with ASL,” and the company is adding a “Movies & Shows with American Sign Language” collection to the app to make discovery more direct.
What’s Available at Launch
Being Heumann and F1: The Movie launch with both ASL and BSL interpretation; Way of the Warrior Kid and Greyhound follow later in 2026.
Being Heumann begins streaming on Apple TV on November 13, 2026, with ASL and BSL interpretation available from day one. The title is a film about disability-rights activist Judy Heumann. F1: The Movie also has ASL and BSL support, according to Apple. Way of the Warrior Kid and Greyhound are scheduled to receive sign-language interpretation later in 2026, with additional Apple Original films and series planned over time.
Why Being Heumann First
Apple has not stated a public rationale for the scheduling, but the company chose this title to open the feature’s launch window.
Judy Heumann is identified by Apple as a disability-rights activist. Apple has not provided a formal statement explaining the pairing of this film with the feature’s debut.
Built With the Deaf Community
Apple says Deaf and native signers were involved in both design and testing, with each interpretation crafted to fit its specific Apple Original title.
Apple says the feature was designed and tested by Deaf and native signers. Each interpretation is crafted to complement the specific film it accompanies, according to the company.
Devices and OS Requirements
Apple says the feature is available on devices running iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS 27.2, tvOS 27.2, and visionOS 27.2 or later, as confirmed in Apple’s support documentation.
Regional availability has not been fully detailed by Apple. The company has not specified in available materials whether the feature is offered in all markets where the Apple TV app operates.
A Small Catalog for Now
Four titles are confirmed for 2026; Apple has not released a full timetable for expanding coverage to additional languages or content.
The feature launches with a limited catalog of supported titles. How much it matters to Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers over the long term depends on how quickly Apple expands interpretation to more titles and additional sign languages beyond ASL and BSL. Apple has not confirmed whether the feature will eventually extend to content from studios outside Apple Originals.
