Apple Education and Screen Readers - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Education and Screen Readers

Businessweek explores the strategic importance of Screen Reader software for the Mac platform. Screen Reader software allow the visually impaired to more effectively utilize computers by translating both text and images into speech.

When the only developer of such Screen Reader software for the Mac announced that it would no longer support or build new versions of its software, it left both Apple and users concerned about Apple's future in the educational market. According to Businessweek, "School systems buying Apple products today are knowingly purchasing systems that can't be used by all their pupils, which runs counter to the Americans with Disabilities Act."

This event is what prompted Apple to hire programmers in September to develop their own Screen Reader application. While the article goes on to suggest that Apple should release the Screen-reader software as open source, even simply providing the software for a discounted price to Mac users would represent a significant savings advantage for schools and customers purchasing Macs. The same software costs between $800-$1,300 for licenses on Windows.

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 12 New Features

Friday July 24, 2026 7:26 pm PDT by
It is now late July, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are less than two months away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro...
macbook ultra

'MacBook Ultra' Coming Soon With These 12 New Features

Friday July 24, 2026 6:00 pm PDT by
Apple's first high-end MacBook redesign in five years is expected to arrive in the near future, bringing a run of firsts to the Mac. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the laptop to arrive between late 2026 and early 2027, with the later window now looking more likely owing to the global memory chip shortage. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects mass production to begin by late 2026. Apple last...
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max Feature

'Apple Upgrade' Program Launching on Tuesday

Sunday July 26, 2026 8:20 am PDT by
In his newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that a new "Apple Upgrade" program is set to launch in the U.S. on Tuesday, July 28. Apple will stop accepting iPhone Upgrade Program sign-ups on the same day, but he said customers who are already enrolled will be able to remain in the program "for the time being." Apple is partnering with buy-now, pay-later company Klarna on the...