Apple is adding a sign language interpreter you can switch on like subtitles. A new Sign Language option in the Apple TV app goes live on Friday, November 13, Apple announced on November 10, starting with the global streaming premiere of Being Heumann, a film about disability rights activist Judy Heumann.
Once the setting is enabled, supported Apple Original titles show a Sign Language button during playback. Press it and an interpreter performs alongside the film. At launch, American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) versions are also available for the racing movie F1. Apple says Way of the Warrior Kid and Greyhound will follow later this year, with more Apple Originals after that.
Made by Deaf signers, not bolted on
According to Apple, Deaf and native signers both build and test each interpretation, and every performance is tailored to the one film it accompanies. For Being Heumann, the sign language interpretation was directed by Daniel Durant, who also appears in the film.
“It’s incredibly meaningful to see our beautiful language authentically represented onscreen,” Durant said in Apple’s announcement. Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s senior director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives, called the feature “an exciting step forward in making the viewing experience more accessible and inclusive for Deaf audiences.”
How to find and use it
- Turn on the Sign Language option in the Apple TV app’s settings.
- Check a title’s page for the Sign Language icon; only supported titles carry it.
- Press the Sign Language button while the film plays.
- Search with phrases such as “with ASL,” or browse the new “Movies & Shows with American Sign Language” collection, which Apple says will gather sign-language titles as more streaming services offer them.
There is a software catch. Apple’s footnote says Apple devices must be on version 27.2 or newer of their operating system, whether that is an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV box or Vision Pro headset; smart TVs and streaming sticks need the newest build of the app.
Why captions were not enough
For many Deaf viewers, ASL or BSL is a first language and English is a second one. Captions turn speech into written English, which can flatten tone, timing and emotion. A signed performance carries that meaning in the viewer’s own language. That is the gap Apple says it is trying to close, and it explains why the company stresses native signers rather than generic interpreters.
The launch title fits the theme. Siân Heder wrote and directed Being Heumann, with Ruth Madeley playing the activist; the story centers on a 1977 sit-in in San Francisco, where Heumann and over 100 fellow protesters refused to leave. Heder’s earlier film CODA, Apple points out, became the first best picture winner with a largely Deaf cast.
Where this fits
Streaming apps have been reshaping their settings and screens this fall; Roku, for one, is switching off its Aquatic Life fish tank screensaver and moving viewers to Roku City. More app and device news is on our tech page.
Apple TV costs $14.99 a month and runs in 170 countries and regions. The Sign Language button arrives with Being Heumann on Friday, November 13.
Image: daveynin, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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