Glossary
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is the screen reader built into macOS, which speaks what is on the screen so you can use the Mac without seeing it. It does the reverse of dictation: it reads text aloud rather than writing your speech.
Updated October 16, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called Apple screen reader.
VoiceOver is the screen reader built into macOS. Apple's VoiceOver User Guide describes it as the screen reader built into macOS, and it teaches the basic commands for controlling a Mac with it 1. A screen reader speaks what is on the screen, so you can find and use windows, menus and text by listening.
VoiceOver reads text aloud and does not write it
VoiceOver and Apple Dictation are both speech features on the Mac, but they work in opposite directions. Dictation turns your speech into text. VoiceOver turns the text on the screen into speech. That is why VoiceOver appears in a glossary about dictation: people who compare the two, or who use both, often need to know which one does what.
Example: turning VoiceOver on and off
On a Mac, you turn VoiceOver on or off by pressing Command-F5. If the Mac has Touch ID, you can instead hold Command and quickly press Touch ID three times 2. While VoiceOver is on, pressing the Control key pauses its speech without affecting the audio of other apps, and pressing it again resumes speech 3.
VoiceOver needs the Fn key for function keys
By default, when you use a function key from F1 through F12 in a VoiceOver command, you must also press the Fn key 4. Some Macs let you change this. If a VoiceOver function-key command does nothing, check this setting first.
Why it matters for typing
A screen reader changes how you check text. Instead of seeing the page, you hear the text as you move through it, which works without sight. Apple's guide is written for the current macOS release, so the exact commands can differ on older versions. Our accessibility overview covers speech tools for people with different needs, and the question on how to turn off VoiceOver on a Mac covers the steps to switch it off.
Related terms
- Voice Control (Apple): Apple's hands-free control feature, which is a separate accessibility feature from VoiceOver.
- Globe key (Fn key): the key that VoiceOver uses with function keys by default.
- Dictation: speaking so that software writes your words, the opposite direction of a screen reader.
Guides that cover it
Evidence
Every number on this page, with where it comes from. Open a fact to see the exact words in its source.
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Related terms
- Mac Dictation: How to Dictate and Control a Mac by VoiceThe topic this term belongs to
- Accessibility permission (macOS)Accessibility permission is a macOS setting that lets a specific app read and control other apps through the system's accessibility features. macOS keeps it under Privacy & Security, and an app gets no access until you allow it there.
- Apple DictationApple Dictation is the free, built-in feature that types what you say into any text field on a Mac. Apple also calls it Mac Dictation, macOS Dictation or keyboard dictation.
- Apple IntelligenceApple Intelligence is the name Apple gives to its AI features across its devices. Its on-device models can improve Dictation on newer Macs, and Apple says apps can use the same models.
- Apple siliconApple silicon is the family of chips Apple designs for its own computers, starting with certain Macs in late 2020. Each chip puts several computer components on one piece of silicon, which Apple calls a system on a chip.
- Enhanced DictationEnhanced Dictation was a Mac option, available from OS X Mavericks, that lets you dictate without an internet connection after a download. Apple's help for macOS Mojave describes it, but Apple's later Dictation pages do not mention it.
- Globe key (Fn key)The Globe key, also called the Fn key or function key, is a modifier on Apple keyboards. In Keyboard settings you choose what a press does, such as switching input source, starting Dictation or doing nothing.
- Improve Siri & DictationImprove Siri & Dictation is the Mac setting that controls whether Apple may store and review audio from your Siri and Dictation requests. When you first turn on Dictation, the same choice is labeled Share Audio Recordings.
- Microphone key (dictation key)The Microphone key is a key on some Mac keyboards that starts Apple Dictation when you press and release it. Pressing and holding it activates Siri instead, if Siri is turned on.
- Neural EngineThe Apple Neural Engine (ANE) is a block of hardware inside Apple's chips that runs machine learning models efficiently. Speech models can run on it, and Apple uses it for on-device machine learning inference.
- SiriSiri is Apple's built-in voice assistant. You speak a request and it answers or carries out an action, while Dictation types what you say into a text field instead.
- Speech framework (Apple)The Speech framework is Apple's developer toolkit for turning audio into text inside an app. It includes the older SFSpeechRecognizer class and the newer SpeechAnalyzer, which Apple says transcribes entirely on the device once its models are downloaded.
- Voice Control (Apple)Voice Control is Apple's feature for controlling a Mac with spoken commands, including opening apps, clicking items and editing text. When it is on, it also handles dictation, so standard macOS Dictation is not available.
Pages that use this term
- Mac Dictation: How to Dictate and Control a Mac by VoiceTopic
- Voice Control on Mac: Turn It On and Use ItGuide
- Mac Voice Control Commands: The Complete ListGuide
- Dictation for Blind and Visually Impaired PeopleGuide
- Does dictation work with a screen reader?Question
- How do blind people type on a computer?Question
- How do you turn off VoiceOver on a Mac?Question
- How do you use VoiceOver on a Mac?Question
- What is the VoiceOver modifier key on a Mac?Question
- What is VoiceOver on a Mac?Question
- Accessibility permission (macOS)Glossary
- Globe key (Fn key)Glossary
- Screen readerGlossary
- Voice Control (Apple)Glossary