Apple have introduced accessibility for users with sight loss into almost all of their product range over the last few years. The two main elements of this accessibility are the VoiceOver screen reader and the Zoom magnifier.
This accessibility is not an extra that you have to request, or something you buy and install on the product, it's part of the product. This means it is very stable, and is designed to allow you to do the same things a sighted person does.
Accessibility options can be switched on in a number of ways:
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On a computer, press Cmd-F5 to turn VoiceOver or off.
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On a computer, hold down Ctrl and push two fingers up on the trackpad or Magic Mouse to introduce Zoom. You can probably work out how to remove it again!
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On an iOS device, tap the Home key three times within about a second to start or stop VoiceOver. It's possible to change this gesture so that it starts Zoom rather than VoiceOver, or starts both of them together.
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If you connect your iOS device to your computer and start iTunes, there is a button for "Configure Universal Access" which you can use to turn on any of the accessibiity features.
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Lastly, it is also possible to switch VoiceOver or Zoom on from within the Settings app on the device.
The last of these methods will be difficult or impossible to do if you need speech or magnification in order to use the device in the first place. But given the range of ways to introduce speech or magnification, there should be a way you can do this without sighted assistance.
Convergence
Apple's range of products can be split into two; computers and touch screen devices. Traditionally the way someone works with one of these products is different:
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Computers tend to require a keyboard and/or a mouse.
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Touch screen devices require gestures using one or more fingers.
Over the last couple of years, however, the difference between these two ranges of products has decreased. It is becoming increasing possible to use gestures to work with a computer, and a keyboard to control a touch screen device.
Want to know more?
If you've already got an Apple device, there will be information within its Help files.
If you have easy web access, there is a huge amount of information out there from other users. Examples include the official Apple accessibility pages, the AppleVis website where visually impaired users post reviews about apps, and David Woodbridge's audio files which demonstrate features.
If you want to read up about Apple's accessibility and don't have easy access to the web, you can download our introductory document which covers both computers and touch screen devices. There is a Word version with tables and an RTF version without.