☑️ iOS 16: How to use live captions on iPhone
– Reviews News
Live Captions have been around for a while on devices Android and Google Chrome. With the recent iOS 16 firmware, it has also arrived on theiPhone. If you are hard of hearing or prefer to read text rather than audio, live captions are a godsend.
Here you will find everything you need to know about live captions and how you can use the feature on your iPhone. Plus, we'll also show you great ways to use dynamic captions.
What are live captions on iPhone ?
The Live Captions feature transcribes audio into text and displays it on the screen of your iPhone in real time. It is extremely useful for users who are deaf, hard of hearing or who simply do not want to use the speakerphone in public places. Please note that this function is different from subtitle and subtitle function.
It works entirely on device, so you can use Live Captions on your iPhone without being connected to the Internet. It's also good from a privacy perspective because all your data stays on your iPhone locally and are not uploaded to the cloud. So, if you're wondering if Live Captions is safe, it probably is!
The Neural Engine, which is part of the chipset of your iPhone, is responsible for generating live captions. It's smart enough to automatically detect words in audio, even if the speaker is muted. This is a great advantage you get with live captions. However, it does not support older models or all languages.
ModelsiPhone and languages supported
The Live Captions feature was introduced as part of the new iOS 16 update which also brings some exciting new changes like a customizable lock screen and the ability to edit and undo messages in iMessage. Therefore, you will only be able to use Live Captions if your iPhone works on iOS 16 or higher.
Here is a list of devices that can run iOS 16:
- iPhone 8 / 8 Plus
- iPhoneX
- iPhone XS/XS Max.
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11/11 Pro/11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE 2020/2022
- iPhone 12/12 mini/12 Pro/12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13/13 mini/13 Pro/13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14/14 Plus/14 Pro/14 Pro Max
Regarding languages, Live Captions is still in beta phase. Therefore, only one language is currently supported: English (United States). As the feature becomes more mature and refined, it will also be available in other languages. Now let's see how you can enable and use the feature.
How to enable live captions on your iPhone
Once you have updated your iPhone to iOS 16, you can enable live captions. Here's how.
First, change the language of theiPhone in English (US)
Before you can activate and use dynamic subtitles, you must change the language of your iPhone in English (United States). Here's how.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and navigate to the General section.
Step 2: Scroll down and select Language & Region.
Step 3: Under Preferred languages, select Add a language. You will see a list of languages.
Step 4: Search English and select English (US) from the list of options.
5nd step : You will now see a message asking which language you want to set as primary. Tap "Use English (US)".
You have now set your primary language to English (United States), which means you can enable and use live captions.
How to enable live captions
Once you have changed the primary language on your iPhone, you are good to go. Now go ahead and enable Live Captions on your iPhone by following the steps below.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and scroll down to the Accessibility section.
Step 2: Under the Audition category, select Live Captions (Beta). The “Beta” tag indicates that the functionality is not yet perfect.
Step 3: Enable live captions at the top.
Step 4: While you're at it, also enable the option next to "Live captioning on RTT". It will also allow you to use live captions during phone calls.
How to Use Live Captions in iOS 16
After enabling the live captioning feature, you will see a gray bar at the bottom of the screen which starts playing audio.
This live caption bar is interactive. Tap it to expand and display additional options. There will be 4 buttons here: the first button is the hide button to minimize the live transcript bar, and the second is to pause the live subtitles. There is also a microphone button next to it which can be used to record any external audio for transcription. Finally, the last button on the right serves to expand the live caption bar.
Now all you have to do is open an app where you want to use Live Captions. Whenever an audio is playing, you will be able to see the live captions for that particular audio in real time.
When you're not using live captions, you can press the Hide button to collapse the bar into a small translucent circle. Tap the circle again to resume live captioning.
Customize live subtitles on iPhone
Apple also gave us the ability to customize the look of live captions. You can change the text color, background color, font size, etc. If you don't like the default look, here's how you can change it.
Step 1: Go to Settings, select Accessibility and tap on Dynamic captions (beta).
Step 2: Now tap on Appearance option.
Step 3: Here you will find individual options for everything you can change. Choose the setting you want to change and make the necessary changes.
Where can you use live captions on iPhone ?
You can use iOS Live Captions for various purposes in the user interface of your iPhone :
- The best example would be using it to transcribe videos or shows you might be watching. If you are in public and want to watch a video without disturbing others, this can be a good way.
- Another useful use case is to get lyrics to songs right while they're playing. It's a clever trick, isn't it?
- If you're on the phone, you can still use dynamic captions, but they may or may not be accurate depending on the speaker's accent and dialect.
- It's also a great way to find out what the other person is saying when you're on a FaceTime or video call using any other app.
How to turn off live captions
If you decide to turn off live captions for some reason, here's how to do it.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down to the Accessibility section.
Step 2: Under the Audition category, select Live Captions (Beta).
Step 3: Now turn off the toggle next to Live Captions at the top.
That's all. The Live Captions popup will now disappear from your screen.
Create your own subtitles
The Live Captions feature on iPhone essentially enables subtitles on any screen or app you choose. Simply activate the floating bar and play the live transcription of the audio. It's good to see Apple working on new accessibility features like these that are more inclusive and can be helpful to many users.
SOURCE: Reviews News
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