Apple desktop: Accessibility

Make your Apple computer easier and more comfortable to use.

Learn how to make text easier to read on the screen, adjust the size and speed of the mouse pointer and use voice commands with Siri.

Before you begin

Make sure your computer is:

Plugged into mains power, switched on and showing the desktop
Properly connected to a mouse and keyboard, and your home Wi-Fi
Running the latest version of its operating software. If your computer is not running Ventura macOS, some of the steps may look different but you can still follow along.

Use System Settings to change many of your computers accessibility settings:

Open System Settings from the Apple icon in the top left of the screen.
Scroll down the list of options on the left side of the System Settings panel to find Displays.
A row of square icons represents larger to smaller screen text.
Click each icon to trial how large text appears on the screen.
The Default is the second icon from the right.
The Accessibility menu has many other options worth exploring.

If you have trouble seeing the mouse pointer you can make it bigger and move more slowly:

Open the Accessibility menu and choose Display.
Scroll down until you see the Pointer options.
When the switch next to an option is blue, it’s turned on.
The first option lets you find the mouse pointer quickly.
The next option lets you increase the size of the pointer using a slider.
To change the speed of the mouse, use the Mouse options in the Settings panel.
Tracking speed changes how fast the pointer moves on the screen, using a slider.
As soon as you move the slider, the new mouse pointer speed is set.

You can change some of the settings of your computer automated voice assistant, Siri:

Open the System Settings panel and click Siri & Spotlight options.
If Ask Siri is blue, the feature is enabled.
If Ask Siri is grey, click it to turn it on. A pop-up reminds you that Siri shares some information with Apple.
Click Siri Privacy… if you’d like to learn more about this or Cancel if you don’t want to use Siri.
If Apple asks to store your voice recordings, you can click Not Now.
Click Listen for “Hey Siri” and follow the steps to Set Up “Hey Siri”.
If you can’t see Listen for “Hey Siri”, your computer is not compatible with this feature, however you can still use Siri to search for things on the internet, open an application, dictate an email, and much more.
Launch Siri by clicking the Siri icon in the top right of the screen.