Mashable today shared the inspiring story of Jordyn Castor, the 22-year-old Apple engineer who has been blind since birth and now plays a central role in improving the company's Accessibility features.

Castor was born 15 weeks early and weighed just under two pounds – small enough to be held in the palm of her grandfather's hand. She defied doctor's predictions and survived those first weeks, and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

Blind Apple engineer

Apple engineer Jordyn Castor works on Accessibility features for the blind (Image: Apple)

A former college student at Michigan State University, tech-savvy Castor was introduced to Apple at a Minneapolis job fair in 2015, a gathering she attended nervously knowing that representatives of the Cupertino company would be there.

Castor told Apple reps how amazed she was by the iPad she had received on her 17th birthday. "Everything just worked and was accessible just right out of the box," she said. "That was something I had never experienced before."

Her passion made an immediate impression, and she was hired as an intern, with her work focusing on VoiceOver support. At the end of her internship, she won a position as an engineer on Apple's accessibility design and quality team.

Castor has since been a driving force behind accessibility, in particular on Apple's Swift Playgrounds, an introduction-to-coding program geared toward kids. She's been working to make the program accessible to blind children, who have been waiting a long time for the tool, she told Mashable.

"I would constantly get Facebook messages from so many parents of blind children, saying, 'My child wants to code so badly. Do you know of a way that they can do that?'" Castor explained. "Now, when it's released, I can say, 'Absolutely, absolutely they can start coding.'"

Sarah Herrlinger is Apple's senior manager for global accessibility policy and initiatives, and said that a notable part of the company's steps toward accessibility is its dedication to making inclusivity features standard, not specialized.

"[These features] show up on your device, regardless of if you are someone who needs them," she said. "By being built-in, they are also free. Historically, for the blind and visually impaired community, there are additional things you have to buy or things that you have to do to be able to use technology."

Apple's belief in continually improving accessibility has not gone unnoticed. On July 4, the company received the American Council of the Blind's Robert S. Bray Award for continued dedication to inclusion-based innovation for blind users.

For more on how Apple's work is benefitting the blind and low vision community, including advances coming with watchOS 3 and the continuing importance of Braille displays, be sure to check out the original article here.

Top Rated Comments

Radin.Y Avatar
118 months ago
She was my student at MSU. Quite a brilliant girl. It was my pleasure to teach her. She insipid me everyday.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
118 months ago
With the assistive technology sector in general, companies charge an absolute fortune for the most basic VI applications. We're talking thousands of pounds just for an application that utilise AT features in Windows like Magnifier — and goodness help you if you upgrade to Windows 10. The application won't even install, and you'll have to pay through the nose to get an upgrade code. If they were really concerned about disabled people using computers, they wouldn't heartlessly hose their pockets at every opportunity.

Apple, on the other hand, are incredible with what they do. Software companies absolutely milk the disabled sector because there's no other alternative application designed for disabled people, so they can charge what they want. And believe you me, they charge what they want.

Whereas Apple say that everybody should have the right to fully use a computer out of the box, no matter who you are. Can't give enough credit to them when it comes to this.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
118 months ago
No it doesn't make me rethink it at all. Propping up a person like this is a good puff PR piece. The woman is terrific and Apple is not. Apple doesn't give a .... about folks unless they can use it for PR spin or possibly some $$$ and that wont change under the modern market scheme.
Could you be any more disrespectful of this woman? Did it ever dawn on you that she worked her way to where she is and is more than a prop? Apple has been pushing accessibility for the disabled far longer than anyone else. Shame on you.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glassed Silver Avatar
118 months ago
"[These features] show up on your device, regardless of if you are someone who needs them," she said. "By being built-in, they are also free. Historically, for the blind and visually impaired community, there are additional things you have to buy or things that you have to do to be able to use technology."
Some of them are so useful even I use them and I have no handicaps. (*knock on wood*)
I think it's great that they pretty much hover between enabling people and enriching the UX for others.
Some don't need or want any and that's cool, but I love that these features are normalized - really just another setting.

It's nice to know that whenever I may NEED them not to enrich my UX, but to be able to use my devices I won't need jack to get started.
A very comforting feeling, considering how ubiquitous and necessary technology is today.

We take our health and well-being for granted, but it really doesn't hurt to reflect how volatile everything is once in a while.

Glassed Silver:mac
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
springsup Avatar
118 months ago
This is the stuff I wish other companies would copy.

It's not just about making a fancy-looking toy.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EricTheHalfBee Avatar
118 months ago
Didn't take long for the aholes to show up. Not even past page 1 of comments.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...