Live Transcribe, Live Captions and Voice Control

Your phone already has speech-to-text tools that are not part of the keyboard. On Android, Live Transcribe shows what people around you say as text on the screen, and Live Caption captions audio and video. On iPhone, Live Captions captions audio in apps and conversations near you. Both systems also offer control by voice: Voice Control on iPhone and Voice Access on Android. The short answer is that captions are for hearing what is said, and control is for running the phone without touching it. Calls are the hard case, because Google names only Pixel phones for call captions, and Apple's page does not list ordinary phone calls.

This guide explains what each tool does, which phones and languages it supports, and how to set it up. Where a source is old or a feature varies by phone, we say so. For the basics of typing with your voice, see our overview of iPhone dictation and voice typing on Android.

Phones can turn speech into text for people who cannot hear it

Captions matter to a large group of people. About 15 percent of American adults, or 37.5 million people aged 18 and over, report some trouble hearing ¹. The share rises steeply with age. In the 2014 National Health Interview Survey, 5.5 percent of adults aged 18 to 39 reported trouble hearing ², against 19.0 percent of those aged 40 to 69 ³ and 43.2 percent of those aged 70 and older ⁴. That makes trouble hearing about 7.9 times as common at 70 and older as at 18 to 39 ⁵. The World Health Organization estimates that 430 million people need rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss ⁶.

Live captions are a practical tool, not a medical treatment, and they have limits. Apple says that the accuracy of Live Captions on iPhone may vary and that it should not be relied on in high-risk or emergency situations ⁷. For a lecture, a medical visit or any conversation where a missed word matters, consider a human captioner. Our guide to speech to text for deaf and hard of hearing people covers human captioning and the options side by side.

Live Transcribe captions the conversation around you on Android

Live Transcribe is Google's tool for conversations. Google's page says you can join any conversation with its instant speech-to-text captions ⁸. The words appear on the screen as people speak, which suits a meeting, a shop counter or a family dinner.

We found no iPhone version of Live Transcribe. Google presents it on its Android accessibility pages, so we found no official iPhone app. The closest iPhone feature is Live Captions, covered below. The question is answered in full at is there Live Transcribe for iPhone.

Alerts can tell you when your name is spoken

Live Transcribe can also alert you. Google's page says: "Never miss a beat by setting your phone to vibrate when your name's spoken" ⁹. Google's page does not say where this option sits in the settings, so look for it inside the Live Transcribe screen.

Offline use depends on a language download

In March 2022 Google announced that Live Transcribe would work without an active internet connection after an additional download ¹⁰. That announcement comes from a news report of the change, not from Google's current help pages, which we could not open. Download the language you need while you have a connection, then test it in airplane mode before you rely on it.

Captions depend on the phone and the sound

Google says that some features and availability vary by phone maker and by device ¹¹. Two phones on the same version of Android can therefore show different menus. Use the name of the feature when you search your phone's settings, not a fixed path.

Live Captions covers media on both platforms, and calls only on some phones

Live Caption on Android captions media and spoken audio on the device. Google's 2019 launch described it as captioning videos and spoken audio on your device, with one tap, except phone and video calls ¹². Google's current Android accessibility page goes further for Pixel phones: "On Pixel, you can even caption your calls" ¹³. So on Android, call captions are documented for Pixel phones. We found no statement from Google that Live Caption covers calls on other brands. Google's Live Caption help page blocked our reads, so this comes from its product page.

On iPhone the feature is called Live Captions. Apple says it lets you follow the audio in any app, such as FaceTime or Podcasts, as well as live conversations around you ¹⁴. Apple says the captions are generated on the device: Live Captions "offer real-time, on-device-generated transcriptions of conversations so you can follow along securely on your device" ¹⁵. Apple's page names FaceTime as a call example and does not list ordinary phone calls, so do not assume it captions a cellular call.

To turn on Live Captions, Apple's steps begin in the Settings app ¹⁶. Apple also requires an iPhone 11 or later, and says Live Captions is not available in all languages, countries or regions ⁷. Once it is on, Apple's steps include an appearance option: "Tap Appearance to customize the text, size, and color of the captions" ¹⁷.

For the full call question, including what to do if your phone does not show call captions, see how to get captions on phone calls. For the wider set of tools for hearing loss, mobility and vision, see our accessibility overview.

Voice Control lets you tap, swipe and type on an iPhone by voice

Apple's Voice Control lets you navigate and interact with your device using your voice to tap, swipe, type, and more ¹⁸. It is the iPhone tool for controlling the phone by voice rather than by touch.

Voice Control needs iOS 13 or later, and it needs a file download before first use. After the download, Apple says you do not need a Wi-Fi connection to use it ¹⁹.

To set it up, go to Settings, select Accessibility, then select Voice Control and Set up Voice Control ²⁰.

Apple also describes a grid for precise work: speaking a number on the grid enlarges that area and shows a new set of numbers, which makes it easier to pick a small item ²¹.

The main limit is language. Apple says Voice Control uses the Siri speech recognition engine for U.S. English only ²². For spoken punctuation and editing words when you type, see our guide to iPhone dictation commands, and for other languages see the guide to dictation languages on iPhone and Android. The question on running an iPhone by voice, with the most common commands, is answered at how to control your iPhone with your voice.

Voice Access runs an Android phone by voice, and starts hands-free

Voice Access is Google's Android app for controlling the phone by voice. Its Google Play listing says it helps anyone who has difficulty manipulating a touch screen, for example because of paralysis, tremor, or temporary injury, use their Android device by voice ²³. The same listing says you can say "Help" at any time to see a short list of commands ²⁴.

Google's listing also says that Voice Access includes a tutorial. It "introduces the most common voice commands" and covers starting the app, tapping, scrolling, basic text editing and getting help ²⁵. Run the tutorial once before you rely on the app, because it introduces the most common commands.

You can start it without touching the phone. The listing says you can use the Google Assistant to start Voice Access by saying "Hey Google, Voice Access" ²⁶. The listing does not explain how to turn on Hey Google detection, so check your Google Assistant settings.

Google's 2020 announcement of the updated app said it was available globally on devices running Android 6.0 and above ²⁷. That is the minimum in the 2020 release, and Google's current listing is the place to check what your own phone needs. The same update added a choice: "With the new version, you can ask for labels instead of numbers" on screen items ²⁸.

Voice Access is a separate app from the Android keyboard's voice typing. If you only want to dictate text into messages, the Android voice typing guide is the simpler choice. For control of the whole phone, see how to control an Android phone with your voice, and the glossary entry for Voice Access.

Samsung Galaxy phones add Bixby for spoken or typed commands

Samsung Galaxy phones have their own assistant, Bixby. Samsung's US support page says that you can interact with Bixby through voice or text, by speaking or by giving commands through text ²⁹. Samsung also warns that the available commands may differ depending on the version of Bixby ³⁰.

Bixby is not the same as Voice Access. It is an assistant that runs commands, while Voice Access lets you tap, scroll and type on the screen. Privacy is worth checking too. Samsung's US privacy policy says it collects recordings of your voice on its servers when you turn on the voice command feature and use it ³¹. Check the privacy settings on your phone before you use it for private conversations. Our guide to Galaxy voice typing covers the keyboard side of Samsung's voice features.

When a feature does not respond, check the download, the setting and the language first

The sources point to four things to check when these features fail: a download that has not finished, a setting that is off, a language the feature does not support, or a phone maker that does not offer the feature. Check them in that order before you assume the phone is faulty.

1. Voice Control on iPhone. Make sure the file download has finished. Apple says a file download is required before first use, and after it finishes you do not need Wi-Fi to use Voice Control ¹⁹.
2. Voice Access on Android. If you start the app by voice, check that Hey Google detection is on. Google's listing says you can start Voice Access by saying "Hey Google, Voice Access" ²⁶, but it does not explain how to turn detection on.
3. Live Captions on iPhone. Confirm the language is supported and that your iPhone is an iPhone 11 or later ⁷. Apple's accuracy warning applies here too, so treat the captions as an aid rather than a record.
4. Live Caption and Live Transcribe on Android. Check that your phone's maker supports the feature. Google says that some features and availability vary by phone maker ¹¹. If a menu is missing on your phone, the feature may not be offered on it at all.

If a check passes and the feature still fails, the sources do not give a further fix. Search the help pages for your phone maker and Android version, and note the exact menu names you see, because they differ by maker.

Our sources list no price, and some features run on the device

None of the sources we read lists a price for Live Captions, Live Transcribe, Voice Control or Voice Access. Live Captions and Voice Control are in the phone's own Accessibility settings, and Voice Access is listed on Google Play, where the page we read shows no price. This guide does not claim that any of them is free in every case, so check your store or settings before relying on one.

Where a feature runs on the device matters for privacy and for places with no signal. Apple says Live Captions generates its transcriptions on the device ¹⁵. Google's 2019 launch described Live Caption as captioning on the device ¹². Samsung's policy, by contrast, describes server storage for its voice command feature ³¹. Each tool's privacy depends on its own setup, so read the privacy settings for the one you use.

For a quick choice, the table below puts the tools side by side. Use captions when you need to read what someone says, and use control when you need to run the phone.

The features on this page are part of the wider speech-to-text family. Guides on dictation on iPad, offline voice typing on phones and the phone dictation languages cover the parts that type text, and the phones and tablets overview lists every guide in the group. For the term behind live captions of the room, see the glossary entry for Live Transcribe and the glossary entry for Live Captions.