iOS 18 offers a brilliant Eye Tracking feature allowing users to control their iPhones using only eye movements, which can be game changing for those with mobility issues who may not be able to control an iPhone the usual way.
While primarily designed as an accessibility tool, it can also help anyone seeking a hands-free way to interact with their device. It’s also a very interesting thing to try out from a purely technological standpoint. Eye Tracking lets you select apps, browse content, and perform actions simply by looking at different areas of the screen.
Eye Tracking works by using your iPhone’s front-facing camera and Face ID sensors to follow your gaze, converting eye movements into actions on-screen. Apple emphasizes privacy by handling all tracking data directly on the device itself, ensuring nothing sensitive is shared elsewhere.
Eye Tracking is available on any iPhone with Face ID running iOS 18 or later.
Calibration
To enable Eye Tracking, open Settings and head to Accessibility. Scroll down to the Physical and Motor section, tap Eye Tracking, and then switch the toggle on. You’ll be guided through a quick calibration process, which involves following a colored circle on-screen with your eyes. This setup helps your iPhone accurately track your gaze, ensuring precise control.
For the best experience, position your iPhone about 1.5 feet (around 45 cm) away on a stable surface, ensuring your face is well-lit and clearly visible to the camera. If you reposition your device or change seating, quickly recalibrate by staring steadily at the top-left corner of the screen for a few seconds. Eye tracking works with glasses, although your mileage may vary.
Look around
Once activated, you’ll see a cursor on screen that moves wherever you look. When you linger over a clickable item like a button or a hyperlink, it will be highlighted with a gray rectangle. Hold your gaze still for a moment to interact with it, simulating a tap of the finger – Apple calls this maneuver a ‘dwell’. It feels a bit like controlling a magical computer mouse with your brain.
The AssistiveTouch button automatically appears when using Eye Tracking, a floating quick menu giving quick access to additional actions that are cumbersome or impossible to achieve with only your eyes. Dwell on the grey circle to unfurl a radial menu with various options such as returning to the Home Screen, activating Siri, and so on.
Personalization
You can further customize how the Eye Tracking pointer responds to your gaze from the aforementioned Settings menu. Feel free to experiment with Smoothing, Snap to Item, Zoom on Keyboard Keys, Auto-Hide, and Dwell Control. That last option is particularly helpful to tailor the length of the lingering ‘dwell’ to your liking.
You can also modify the cursor’s appearance from Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control.