Iris is your sight companion.

On-device AI that describes what you cannot see, for free, on your iPhone.

The Iris app icon, a stylized eye in cobalt blue.
Learn more

What Iris does

Five domains where Iris helps, today.

Shopping

Recognizes products on a shelf and warns about saved allergens.

Pharmacy

Reads prescription labels and warns about drug interactions.

Navigation

Detects obstacles ahead with depth and emits spatial audio cues.

Plate

Describes a plate of food, including approximate positions.

Classroom

Explains content on a board, slide, or printed page.

The problem

There are over 295 million people with moderate to severe visual disabilities globally. Existing tools either require a sighted person on a video call, send private images to a cloud, or charge a monthly fee.

Iris is built around a different premise.

How it works

Everything runs on your iPhone.

No images, audio, or transcriptions ever leave the device.

Works in airplane mode, end to end.

Iris uses Apple's on-device intelligence: Foundation Models, Vision, ARKit, Speech, Core ML, AVFoundation. No third-party SDK is bundled.

The story

Iris is built at Tecnologico de Monterrey by three founders for the Swift Changemakers 2026 hackathon, with the active support of the visually impaired community in Monterrey.

  • Portrait of Patricio Garza.

    Patricio Garza

    Founder

  • Portrait of Adan Gonzalez.

    Adan Gonzalez

    Founder

  • Portrait of Alana Martinez.

    Alana Martinez

    Founder

Supported by Elvia Rosas, Director of ITC at Tecnologico de Monterrey, and the visually impaired community in Monterrey we are designing with.

Iris is in development.

We are early. Iris already works for the five tasks above on a Pro iPhone, but it can misread, miss things, and surprise you. The first time you open each domain, Iris shows a full-screen notice that you must acknowledge. The Pharmacy notice says Iris is not medical advice and asks you to consult a doctor or pharmacist. The Navigation notice says Iris does not replace a white cane or a guide dog.

Hardware

What you need.

  1. iPhone 15 Pro or newer with Apple Intelligence enabled.
  2. LiDAR scanner (Pro or Pro Max) for Navigation.
  3. AirPods Pro 2 strongly recommended for spatial audio.

English first. Spanish coming soon.

Roadmap

Where Iris is going.

  1. Done April 2026 Hackathon submission. Swift Changemakers 2026.
  2. Done April 2026 TestFlight Internal with the founders. Per-domain beta disclaimers shipped.
  3. Next TestFlight External with the visually impaired community in Monterrey.
  4. Later Spanish localization.
  5. Later Public release on the App Store.

Try Iris

Iris is currently in private beta on TestFlight. If you live with visual disability and want to try Iris, install the beta or write to us.

Install on TestFlight