Glossary
Live Captions
Live Captions is a feature that shows text for speech and audio as it happens, using the phone's own processing. Google calls it Live Caption on Pixel phones, and Apple calls it Live Captions on iPhone. It reads what others say, so it is the reverse of dictation.
Updated October 17, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called Live Caption.
Live Captions is a phone feature that writes on-screen text for speech and other audio as it happens. You do not record anything and you do not wait for a transcript. The words appear while the audio plays, or while someone speaks near the phone. Google's version is called Live Caption, and Apple's is called Live Captions. Both names describe the same job: showing audio as text for the person using the phone.
Live Caption on Pixel runs on the phone
Google introduced Live Caption with the Pixel 4. Google says it captions videos and spoken audio on the device with one tap, except phone and video calls 1. "On the device" matters for privacy. The recognition runs on the phone rather than on a server, so the audio does not have to leave it for the captions to appear.
The feature has a call mode on some phones. Google says that on a Pixel phone, Live Caption can caption your calls 2. Check your own model, because the call feature is not the same on every Android phone.
Live Captions on iPhone starts in Accessibility
On iPhone, Apple's steps start in the Settings app, under Accessibility 3. Apple says Live Captions requires iPhone 11 or later, and that it is not available in all languages or regions 4. The same Apple source says accuracy may vary, so the captions should not be relied on in high-risk or emergency situations.
Example: following a video with the sound off
A commuter watches a video on a train with the sound off. With Live Caption on, the spoken lines appear as text under the video, so the commuter can follow the plot without headphones. The same captions help when a colleague talks in a noisy room and the phone is on the table in front of you.
Why it matters next to dictation
Dictation and Live Captions run in opposite directions. Dictation turns your voice into text that you send or save. Live Captions turns other people's speech, or the sound from a video, into text that you read. A person who dictates a message can still need captions to follow a call, so the two features are often used together.
Captions are an aid, not a complete record. Recognition can miss or misspell words, especially names and fast speech. Apple's warning about high-risk situations applies generally: do not rely on live captions to follow an emergency instruction or a medical or legal conversation. For a related feature that is built around conversation, see Live Transcribe.
Related terms
- Live Transcribe: Google's Android app for captioning a conversation around the phone.
- Real-time text (RTT): text that is sent and read as it is typed, rather than produced from audio.
- Dictation: speaking so that your own words are written into a text field.
- Voice control: using your voice to operate the device rather than to write.
Guides and questions that cover it
- Live Transcribe, Live Captions and voice control: how the captioning and voice features on phones differ.
- How do you get live captions on phone calls?: the options for captions during a call.
- Dictation on phones and tablets: our overview of speaking to text on iPhone, iPad and Android.
Evidence
Every number on this page, with where it comes from. Open a fact to see the exact words in its source.
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Related terms
- Dictation and Voice to Text on iPhone and AndroidThe topic this term belongs to
- Allow Full AccessAllow Full Access is an iPhone setting that you switch on for a third-party keyboard before it can have open access, such as network access. Apple warns that a keyboard with this setting on is permitted to collect and transmit the text you type.
- GboardGboard is Google's keyboard app for Android and iPhone, and its microphone key turns speech into text in any app where you can type. On Android it can run speech recognition on the phone, while on iPhone the voice input is handled inside the Gboard app and sent to Google.
- Google voice typingGoogle voice typing is the speech-to-text input that Google provides on Android, so you can speak words into a text field. Its name and location vary by phone: Gboard shows a microphone key, while Samsung Galaxy phones list Google Voice Typing next to their own voice input.
- Live TranscribeLive Transcribe is a Google app for Android phones that turns the speech of people around you into captions as they talk. It helps you follow a conversation. It does not type your own words into a text field, which is what dictation does.
- Real-time text (RTT)Real-time text (RTT) is a way of sending text as it is typed, so the other person can read each word before the sender finishes. It is used in conversation by many deaf and hard of hearing people, and it has no send step like an ordinary text message. It is a typing channel, not a speech technology.
- Samsung voice inputSamsung voice input is the voice-to-text feature built into the Samsung Keyboard on Galaxy phones and tablets. It works only with that keyboard, so it is a separate choice from Google Voice Typing.
- Speech Services by GoogleSpeech Services by Google is the Android speech engine from Google that turns speech into text for other apps and reads on-screen text aloud. Google's Play Store listing now uses the title Speech Recognition & Synthesis, and reviews on that listing still call the app by the older name.
- Third-party keyboardA third-party keyboard is a keyboard app from a developer other than the phone's maker, which you install and switch to in place of the built-in keyboard. Apple calls the iPhone version a custom keyboard, and Apple's rules limit what it can do, such as network access and microphone use.
- Transcript Assist (Galaxy AI)Transcript Assist is a Samsung Galaxy AI feature that converts a saved recording in the Voice Recorder app into text. It works on select Galaxy models and needs a working internet connection. It transcribes recordings you already made, so it is not live dictation into a text field.
- Voice Access (Android)Voice Access (Android) is a Google feature that lets you operate an Android phone or tablet by speaking commands, such as opening an app or tapping a labelled item. Google built it for people who have difficulty using a touch screen. It is a control tool that can also enter text, and it is separate from Windows Voice Access on PCs.
- Voice message transcriptsA voice message transcript is written text of the words in an audio message, produced by the messaging app so you can read instead of listen. Apple, Google and WhatsApp each offer one, with different defaults and different privacy arrangements. It turns audio into text, the reverse of dictation.
Pages that use this term
- Dictation and Voice to Text on iPhone and AndroidTopic
- Live Transcribe, Live Captions and Voice ControlGuide
- Are automatic captions good enough for accessibility rules?Question
- Can Zoom transcribe a meeting without recording it?Question
- Does Copilot have meeting transcription?Question
- How do you find and download a Teams meeting transcript?Question
- How do you get live captions on phone calls?Question
- How do you transcribe a meeting on a Mac?Question
- Is there Live Transcribe for iPhone?Question
- What is the difference between captions and subtitles?Question
- Why is Teams meeting transcription greyed out or not working?Question
- Live TranscribeGlossary
- Real-time text (RTT)Glossary