How to detect people, doors, and furniture in your surroundings using the Magnifier app in iOS 18 on your iPhone Pro or iPad Pro

This guide covers using the People, Doors, and Furniture detection modes. For information about other detection features, see the links below.

Text detection reads aloud labels and text. Point & Speak reads aloud text the user points at. See our guide How to read aloud text and labels in your surroundings using the Magnifier app for more information.

Scene detection describes the people and objects detected in your surroundings. See our guide How to get descriptions of your surroundings using the Magnifier app for more information.

Note: People, Doors, and Furniture detection modes are only available on iPhone Pro and Pro Max models (starting from iPhone 12 Pro) and iPads Pro from 2020 onwards.

For more information about using the Magnifier app, see our article How to use your iPhone or iPad as a magnifier in iOS 18

Note: Apple warns "Detection Mode should not be relied on in high-risk or emergency situations, in circumstances where you may be harmed or injured, or for navigation".

Short guide:

Open the Magnifier app .
In the Magnifier app, tap the Settings button .
Tap Detect.
On the next page, tap the toggle switch for Show in Control Panel to turn it on.
Tap the back button, then tap Done to return to the magnifier.
Tap the Detect button to turn on detection mode.
Press and hold the Detection button and choose People, Doors, or Furniture.
Position your device so the rear camera can detect your surroundings. When a person, door, or item of furniture is detected nearby, your device will play a sound, vibrate, and describe what has been detected. Written feedback will appear on the screen.
To customise the settings for Scenes, tap the Settings button .
On the Settings screen, tap Detect, then choose Scenes.

Before and after

This section gives you step-by-step instructions on how to detect people, doors, and furniture in your surroundings using the Magnifier app in iOS 18, with pictures of the screens to help.

Open the Magnifier app

1. Tap the Magnifier icon on your Home screen.

Note: The Magnifier icon may appear in a different place on your home screen. If the icon doesn’t appear on your home screen at all, you can find the Magnifier app in your App Library – swipe right through your Home pages until you find it, then tap the Magnifier icon in the Utilities folder.

Add the Detect button to the magnifier controls

2. To use any of the detection modes, you first need to add the Detect button to the Magnifier. Tap the Settings button on the Magnifier.

3. On the Settings screen, tap Detect.

4. On the next page, tap Show in Control Panel.

Close Magnifier settings

5. Tap the back button, labelled Settings, in the top-left corner. Then tap the Done button in the top-right corner to return to the Magnifier.

Turn on detection mode

7. Tap the Detect button to turn on detection mode.

Using detection modes

8. Press and hold the Detect button and choose People, Doors, or Furniture. Note: You can choose more than one detection mode.

9. Position your device so the rear camera can detect your surroundings. When a person, door, or item of furniture is detected nearby, will play a sound and give haptic feedback. Depending on your settings, you will also receive estimations on how far away the person or object is. The feedback becomes more frequent as you get closer to the person or object.

Door detection will give you feedback about the door attributes, whether the door is open or closed, and how to open it.

Furniture detection gives feedback about whether chairs or sofas are occupied or not.

Pause or stop detection

10. To pause detection, double-tap the screen with two fingers. Double-tap again with two fingers to resume detection. To stop detection mode, tap the Detect button .

Customise the settings for detection modes

13. To customise the settings for these detection modes, tap the Settings button on the Magnifier.

14. On the Settings screen, tap Detect.

15. On the Detect screen, go to the Detectors section and tap the detection mode you want to customise.

16. You can cusomise any of the following settings (descriptions shown after the image below):

People, Doors, and Furniture detection mode settings
Units	Show the distance to the person or object in Metres or Feet.
Sound Pitch Distance	A higher pitch sound is used if a person is detected within this distance.
Detection Feedback	Turn on the toggle switches for the types of feedback you would like to receive: Labels – written on-screen descriptions. Speech – spoken descriptions. Sounds – alert sounds. Haptics – vibrations.

Furniture Detection Only
Announce Seat Occupancy	Get information about the number of people occupying chairs or sofas.

Door Detection Only
Colour	Choose a colour to outline detected doors.
Back Tap	Double-tap the back of your device to hear more information about the doors around you.
Door Attributes	Receive feedback such as the size of a door, how to open it, and if it is open or closed.
Door Decorations	Get information about text and signs on or near the detected door.

Return to the Magnifier

17. When you are happy with your settings, tap the back button in the top-left corner < (labelled, Detect), then tap the back button again (labelled Settings). Finally, tap Done in the top-right corner to close Settings and return to the Magnifier.

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How to detect people, doors, and furniture in your surroundings using the Magnifier app in iOS 18 on your iPhone Pro or iPad Pro

Short guide: