Apple is apparently working on a new ‘streamlined’ accessibility mode for iOS

Apple is apparently working on a new ‘streamlined’ accessibility mode for iOS

Your homescreen could look different with the new mode. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple is working on a brand new “Custom Accessibility Mode” for iOS, according to evidence found by 9to5Mac in the second iOS 16.2 developer beta. The company apparently says this mode offers a “customizable, streamlined way to use your iPhone and iPad,” which seems to mean you’ll be able to adjust some settings to make your iOS devices easier to use.

With the new mode, “users will be able to set things like UI and larger text, apps available on the Home Screen, allowed contacts, and access to hardware buttons for when Custom Accessibility Mode is enabled,” 9to5Mac reports. In screenshots shared by the outlet, you can see how the mode enables things like much larger app icons, a big back button, and a simpler UI in the Messages app.

Image: 9to5Mac

With Custom Accessibility Mode, you might be able to drastically change iOS to make it easier to use.

If it’s released, Custom Accessibility Mode would add to iOS’s already impressive suite of useful accessibility features, but unfortunately, we don’t know when the mode will actually be available. 9to5Mac says it found Custom Accessibility Mode “under the hood” of the second iOS 16.2 beta and that it’s not something people on the beta update can actually use right now, which could point to the feature arriving much later in the future. Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.