How to Use Point and Speak on iPhone and iPad

For years, we have noticed Apple’s firm commitment to make its devices easily accessible to all users across the globe. And for this, it comes up with new accessibility features in its new devices, such as iPhone and iPad. At present, iPhone 14, 15, 16, and 17 are available in several different models, storage capacities, and exciting features. Point and Speak is one of those features. It assists the blind to know and interact with the atmosphere around them. Know here more about this feature and how to use it on your iPhone or iPad.    

Point and Speak on iPhone and iPad – What is It? 

Built-in the Detection Mode of Magnifier, Point and Speak is a new feature that comes with the latest iPhones and iPads. It uses the sensors of an iPhone or iPad to detect the objects, scenes, and people around it to produce speech, sound, or haptic feedback to its users. This aligns the input from its LiDAR scanner and camera and on-device machine learning to detect the object’s position or read texts pointed by your finger within its camera range.

What Do You Need to Use Point and Speak on Your iPhone or iPad? 

To use Point and Speak, you need to have an iPhone or iPad with iOS17 or later. As an iPhone 17 or iPad 17 has the Magnifier app, which is crucial for using this feature. In the case of non-availability of the Magnifier app, check whether your iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro, etc. has LiDAR sensors or not. The availability of LiDAR sensors can help you use the feature, Point and Speak. 

How to Use Point and Speak on iPhone or iPad

• Go to the Magnifier app on your device 

• Choose the icon of Detection Mode. The icon will be of a square shape. 

• Click on the Point and Speak icon, which will be a place to point your finger. It will be on the back of your device or front screen and will be highlighted in yellow.

• Wait for the announcement of your finger detection as you position your finger. You can also see a notification for hand detection. 

• Place your device camera paralleled to the object or surface you want to scan. The Point and Speak feature will automatically detect text or object under your finger. You can change it by choosing Point and Speak > Settings > Point and Speak > Click on Over or Under to scan the area of an object or surface. 
• Further, choose what feedback you wish to get when you use this feature. You can toggle Sound, Labels, or Speech under Detection Feedback.