Imagine unlocking your iPhone, scrolling through apps, or sending a text—using nothing but your thoughts. Apple is turning that futuristic vision into reality with groundbreaking technology that lets paralyzed patients control their devices using brain signals. In a bold move toward accessibility, Apple is exploring mind-powered navigation that could revolutionize how people with disabilities interact with everyday tech. This could be the beginning of a whole new way we connect with our devices—and the details behind it are just as fascinating.
Apple Explores Brain-Reading Tech to Make iPhones More Accessible
Apple is stepping into the future of human-device interaction with a bold new venture into brain-computer interfaces. The tech giant is developing groundbreaking technology that could one day allow users to control their iPhones using only their thoughts—no taps, swipes, or spoken commands required. This cutting-edge innovation, designed to decode neural signals captured by next-generation brain implants, has the potential to drastically improve accessibility for individuals with severe spinal cord injuries or conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), who are unable to use their hands.
At the core of Apple’s efforts is a partnership with Synchron, a company that has created a device called the Stentrode—an implantable, stent-like tool placed in a vein near the brain’s motor cortex. The device reads brain signals and translates them into actions on a screen, such as selecting icons or navigating through menus. This marks a major shift in how we think about user input, moving beyond touch or motion and into pure intention.
While Apple is currently laying the foundation for this new standard, the company is also looking ahead to the broader adoption of brain-computer interface implants. That future could accelerate once devices like those being developed by Elon Musk’s Neuralink receive FDA approval. Neuralink and other competitors have already implanted devices in a small number of patients, demonstrating the early safety and feasibility of the technology.
Just as Apple helped standardize Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids a decade ago, the company is now positioning itself to lead a new wave of assistive technology—this time, powered by the human mind.
How Synchron’s Stentrode Device is Revolutionizing Mind-Controlled Tech for Apple
Since 2019, Synchron has implanted its Stentrode brain device in 10 individuals, opening a new frontier in mind-controlled technology. One of those early recipients, Mark Jackson, offered a remarkable glimpse into the device’s potential. Though he lives near Pittsburgh and can no longer stand due to ALS, Jackson recently found himself virtually standing at the edge of a mountain in the Swiss Alps—his legs trembling from the simulated height. He wasn’t actually there, of course. He was immersed in the experience through Apple’s Vision Pro headset, connected to his brain implant.
Despite his physical limitations, Jackson is now learning to control his iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro headset using the Stentrode. The implant captures his brain activity and sends those signals to Apple devices, which interpret them through a built-in accessibility feature known as Switch Control. Originally designed to support alternative input tools like joysticks, Switch Control now allows brain implants like the Stentrode to serve as hands-free controllers.
The technology enables users to navigate screens and select icons by thought alone, though Jackson notes that it’s still in the early stages. He can’t yet replicate the smooth movement of a cursor or the speed of a finger swipe, so interactions remain slower than traditional device use.
According to Synchron CEO Tom Oxley, most current brain-computer interfaces must “trick” devices into thinking the signals they send are coming from a physical input like a mouse. But that’s changing. Apple plans to release a new standard later this year designed specifically for brain implants—one that could unlock faster, more direct communication between the brain and digital devices, and pave the way for broader accessibility breakthroughs.
Synchron’s Stentrode vs. Elon Musk’s Neuralink
When it comes to brain-controlled technology, two major players are emerging: Synchron with its Stentrode implant and Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Both offer groundbreaking solutions, but their approaches and capabilities differ significantly.
Neuralink’s N1 implant has demonstrated remarkable speed, with its first user able to move a cursor using only their thoughts, faster than some people can with a traditional mouse. One key advantage of Neuralink’s device is its sheer scale: the N1 is equipped with over 1,000 electrodes, allowing it to capture significantly more neural data compared to Synchron’s Stentrode, which has only 16 electrodes. Additionally, Neuralink’s electrodes are implanted directly into the brain, enabling deeper and more precise data collection, while the Stentrode sits on top of the brain’s motor cortex, reading neural signals from a vein.
The potential of Neuralink, according to Musk, goes far beyond medical applications. He has spoken about the possibility of using these implants to amplify human cognition, potentially allowing humans to compete with superintelligent AI systems by augmenting the brain’s natural capabilities.
While Neuralink is pushing the frontier of brain-computer interfaces, Synchron’s Stentrode remains a significant step forward in accessibility for people with disabilities.
However, it’s worth remembering that this is not the first attempt to bring brainwave technology into consumer tech. As far back as 2011, a company called PLX Devices introduced the XWave headset, designed to detect and interpret brainwaves to control mobile devices. While PLX’s ambitions were high, their technology never reached mainstream adoption, and the company eventually filed for bankruptcy. Despite this, PLX’s early innovation laid the groundwork for the advancements we see today, showing that the idea of mind-controlled devices has been slowly evolving for years.
As we look ahead, both Synchron and Neuralink are working to refine this technology, potentially unlocking a future where controlling devices with just our thoughts is no longer a science fiction dream, but a daily reality.
When Will Mind-Control Technology Be Available to the Public?
Morgan Stanley has projected that approximately 150,000 individuals in the U.S. with severe upper-limb impairments could be among the first to benefit from brain-computer interface devices. The firm anticipates that the first commercial approval for such technology could come by 2030. However, Oxley is optimistic that his company will receive approval even sooner.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Phone Arena