(Web Desk) - The idea of controlling your smartphone with your eyes might sound like technology from the latest science fiction blockbuster.
But it's set to become a reality for millions of iPhone users around the world.
Apple has confirmed that it is enabling eye tracking on both the iPhone and the iPad.
Using artificial intelligence (AI), the tool will allow users to navigate their Apple device using just their eyes.
'Eye Tracking uses the front-facing camera to set up and calibrate in seconds, and with on-device machine learning, all data used to set up and control this feature is kept securely on device, and isn't shared with Apple,' Apple explained.
The eye-tracking tool was one of several new accessibility features announced by Apple this week.
'We believe deeply in the transformative power of innovation to enrich lives,' Apple chief executive Tim Cook said.
'That's why for nearly 40 years, Apple has championed inclusive design by embedding accessibility at the core of our hardware and software.
'We're continuously pushing the boundaries of technology, and these new features reflect our long-standing commitment to delivering the best possible experience to all of our users.'
Eye Tracking works across iPadOS and iOS apps, and doesn't require any additional hardware or accessories.
Once it's set up, users can navigate through the elements of an app and use Dwell Control to activate each element, accessing additional functions such as physical buttons, swipes, and other gestures solely with their eyes.
The new feature will launch 'later this year', but has already garnered huge attention on X (formerly Twitter).
'it's great news for people with certain disabilities, but for the rest it just means getting lazier than we already are,' one user tweeted.
Another added: 'the black mirror episodes making more sense everyday.'
And one joked: 'oh this generation is about to be the laziest generation ever.'
Also among the suite of new features announced by the tech giant was a feature the firm says could reduce motion sickness for passengers in moving vehicles.
Apple said research has shown that motion sickness is commonly caused by sensory conflict between what a person sees and what they feel.
However, its new Vehicle Motion Cues feature, which places animated dots on the edges of the screen to represent changes in vehicle motion, can help to reduce sensory conflict and therefore motion sickness.
Another new feature is Music Haptics, which uses the taptic engine in the iPhone – which powers the vibrations on the device – to enable those who are deaf or hard of hearing to experience music vibrating to the audio of the music.
Apple said it was also introducing new speech features which enable users to assign custom utterances to virtual assistant Siri to help with shortcuts to apps, aimed at those with conditions that affect their speech.