How to enable and use Live Captions in iOS 16

iOS 16 is a major iOS update that brings with it a variety of visual changes and features. Of all the features introduced in iOS 16, Live Captions has to be one of the best. When enabled, it converts any audio played on your iPhone to subtitles in real-time. This is extremely beneficial for people with hearing impairments, as they can answer calls, take video calls, watch videos, and more without additional help.

Live Captions is currently in beta, which limits it to only one language – English (US). But we expect that to change as the feature matures and more languages ​​and regions are included. Read on as we take a closer look at the new live captions feature and learn how to use it.

What are live captions and how do they work?

Live Captions is a transcription feature that converts spoken dialogue into text. This happens live and doesn’t require an internet connection as all the processing takes place on your iPhone using your phone’s Neural Engine. It’s great for privacy as none of the data used is transported to the cloud for processing.

When enabled, Live Captions opens a small floating interface on your iPhone. It has four options, including a microphone button that transcribes external audio. It is able to detect audio and turn it into subtitles even if your phone’s sound is muted. This makes it great for watching videos in public when you don’t have your headphones with you and don’t intend to use the speaker.

The feature works with almost any app that generates sound. However, in our experience, it is currently not very reliable. The feature worked well with YouTube and podcasts, but it was more hit-and-miss with music, audio calls, and video calls.

How to set up and enable live captions on iPhone

Live Captions is a feature of iOS 16, so you need to update your iPhone with the latest software to use it. If you have updated to the latest firmware, follow these steps to set up and enable live captions on your iPhone.

Step 1: Open Settings and tap Accessibility.

Step 2: If you cannot find the live subtitles menu, it may be because the primary language is not set to English (US). To make this change, go to settings > General > Language & Region > * Preferred languages*. Now tap on Add language and select American English).

Step 3: Next go down to Listen submenu and tap Live Subtitles (Beta).

Step 4: Turn those on live subtitles function and Live subtitles in RTT.

Step 5: After the setup is complete, you will see a window at the bottom of the display that will start listening to the audio. Tapping the window brings up four options: the left-most button minimizes the window, the right-most button maximizes the window, the pause button starts or stops the feature, and the microphone button allows external audio (e.g., your voice) to be recorded.

How to customize live subtitles

You can customize certain aspects of live captions. For example, you can increase the text size, make it bold, and customize the text and background color.

Step 1: Open settingstap on Accessibilityand then live subtitles.

Step 2: From this menu, tap Looks.

Step 3: Now turn that on bold text option and adjust it text size upon need.

Step 4: In which color options submenu you can select that text color and the background color.

Step 5: Adjust the opacity of the live subtitle floating menu with idle opacity Possibility.

Use of live subtitles

The live subtitles has many use cases. With this feature, you can transcribe any video or audio played on your iPhone. This is very helpful for videos and songs that don’t have subtitles. For example, if you forgot your headphones at home, you can use Live Captions to transcribe your favorite podcasts in real time. Live subtitles also work for calls and video calls. So if you are hard of hearing this should be of great help. It also transcribes live conversations around you if you wish.

Supported iPhones and languages

The live captions feature is in beta. As a result, support for iPhone models and languages ​​is limited. Currently, the feature works with English (US). You can use the feature on iPhone 11 and later, but expect support for languages ​​and iPhones to expand as the feature evolves.

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