macOS · Accessibility
Reduce motion, increase contrast, and adjust color
Display Accommodations groups visual comfort settings such as Reduce Motion, Increase Contrast, Differentiate Without Color, and color filters, letting you tune how the interface renders for visual comfort or color vision differences.
How to open Display Accommodations
- Open System Settings → Accessibility → Display
- Toggle Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency, or Increase Contrast as needed
- Open Color Filters to enable and choose a filter type if needed
- Adjust the intensity slider to fine-tune the filter
What you should know
- Reduce Motion limits animations like zoom and parallax effects
- Increase Contrast adds stronger borders and reduces transparency
- Differentiate Without Color adds shapes or patterns instead of relying on color alone
- Color Filters include options for various forms of color blindness and a general color tint
- Contrast and saturation sliders offer additional fine-tuning
Why it matters
Interface motion, low contrast, and color-only indicators can make macOS harder or even physically uncomfortable to use for people with vestibular sensitivity, low vision, or color vision deficiency. Display Accommodations lets those users adjust the visual language of the system directly rather than requiring every app to be individually redesigned, which means accessibility gains apply broadly and immediately across virtually all software running on the Mac.
Best practices
- Turn on Reduce Motion if animations trigger discomfort or distraction
- Combine Increase Contrast with a larger pointer size for better visibility
- Choose the color filter type that matches your specific color vision profile rather than a generic one
- Revisit Display Accommodations after macOS updates since new visual effects are occasionally added
Common problems and fixes
- Some third-party apps still show heavy animation
- Reduce Motion primarily affects system-drawn animations; check the app's own settings for a separate motion toggle.
- Color filter makes some UI harder to read instead of easier
- Try a different filter type or adjust the intensity slider, since filters are not one-size-fits-all.
- Increased contrast makes some app icons look odd
- This is expected in a few third-party apps that have not adopted increased-contrast icon variants; it does not affect functionality.
Tips and tricks
- Add Display Accommodations toggles to the Accessibility Shortcut panel for quick access from the menu bar.
- Use Pointer outline color adjustments here alongside contrast changes for a more visible cursor.
Frequently asked questions
Is Reduce Motion the same as Reduce Transparency?
No, they are separate toggles; Reduce Motion targets animation while Reduce Transparency targets translucent interface backgrounds.
Will Display Accommodations change my desktop wallpaper colors?
Color filters can visually tint the entire screen including wallpaper, but they do not alter the underlying image file.
Can I schedule these settings to turn on automatically?
These settings do not have a built-in schedule, though they can be toggled quickly via Accessibility Shortcuts.
Related settings
- Accessibility SettingsAccessibility settings on Mac include VoiceOver screen reading, Zoom for magnification, Voice Control, and many vision, hearing, and mobility features to make macOS easier to use.
- ZoomZoom is macOS's built-in screen magnifier, letting you enlarge everything on the display using keyboard shortcuts, trackpad gestures, or the mouse scroll wheel, without needing a separate magnifying app. It works independently of display resolution settings.
- AppearanceAppearance settings control whether macOS uses a Light or Dark theme, or automatically switches between them based on time of day, along with accent color, highlight color, and sidebar icon size preferences.
More Accessibility guides for macOS
- Language & RegionLanguage & Region settings control which language macOS and your apps display in, plus regional formatting for dates, times, numbers, currency, and the calendar system used system-wide. You can also set different preferred languages per individual app.
- VoiceOverVoiceOver is macOS's built-in screen reader, describing aloud what's on screen — windows, buttons, text, and images — so you can use the entire Mac without seeing the display. It works through keyboard commands and gestures rather than a mouse.
- Voice ControlVoice Control lets you operate your entire Mac — clicking, typing, opening apps, and navigating menus — using only spoken commands, with all speech processing done on-device for privacy. It's built for people who can't use a traditional mouse and keyboard, but works for anyone who wants hands-free control.
- Switch ControlSwitch Control lets you operate your entire Mac using one or more adaptive switches, a game controller, or the keyboard instead of a mouse and trackpad, by scanning through onscreen items and selecting with a button press.
- CaptionsCaptions settings control how closed captions and subtitles appear across macOS, including text style, background, and size, and let you require captions whenever available in supported media.
- Sound RecognitionSound Recognition uses on-device listening to detect sounds such as a doorbell, smoke alarm, or crying baby, and shows a notification on screen so people who are deaf or hard of hearing do not miss them.