Your iPhone could soon add subtitles to almost any video

One of the most useful features announced ahead of WWDC 2026 isn’t flashy AI image generation or some dramatic iPhone redesign. It’s subtitles.

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As part of a wider accessibility push, Apple has revealed that its next major software updates will automatically generate captions for videos that don’t already include them – including personal clips recorded on your iPhone, videos shared by friends and family, and some streamed online content.

In other words, your iPhone could soon add subtitles to a huge range of videos that previously didn’t support them. 

According to Apple, the feature uses on-device speech recognition to generate captions privately, rather than relying on cloud processing – something that should please privacy fans.

While it’s a handy feature for binging YouTube clips or Netflix shows, the fact that it’ll work with personal videos is particularly impressive, making people’s own content more accessible.

The generated captions will automatically appear whenever a video doesn’t already include subtitles, and Apple says that users will also be able to customise how captions look through playback controls or the Settings app.

The feature is expected to arrive later this year as part of Apple’s next major software updates across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. For now, generated subtitles are limited to English in the US and Canada, with no word yet on UK English support.

Coupled with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max set to make their debut in September (alongside the folding iPhone Ultra), there’s plenty of hardware and software treats for Apple fans to look forward to in the relatively near future.

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Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.