What Are Live Captions?

Using on-device intelligence, Live Captions will quickly generate captions inside apps, on websites, or other experiences where closed captions may not be available or supported. Live Caption Pros

Highly accurate speech-to-text engineRobust integration with video chat apps including FaceTime

Live Caption Cons

Captions are not visible when sharing device screenshots.Lack of vocal clarity or excessive background noise may negatively impact performance.

No dedicated API for developers can make performance feel slow.

How to Enable Live Captions on iPhone/iPad

Before you proceed any further, know that Live Captions are only available on the iPhone 11 and later and iPad models powered by the A12 chip and later. Furthermore, the device needs to be running either iOS 16 or iPadOS 16 (available in beta at the time of writing). All Mac models with Apple Silicon can also run Live Captions. Follow the steps below to enable the Live Captions beta on your iPhone/iPad.

Personalize In-App Live Captions on iPhone/iPad

Customize Live Captions Appearance on iPhone/iPad

If you find the default Live Captions difficult to use, you can take steps to make the caption text more legible using controls for font color, size and more.

Configure Rich Text Editing Options

Adjust the Color

Adjust the Opacity

Manage the Live Captions Widget on iPhone/iPad

Unlike live caption browser extensions, Live Captions work by displaying an easily-accessible widget throughout the entire system that can be dynamically adjusted and resized to remain as unobtrusive as possible. This uniquely integrated interface offers a surprising degree of user customization highlighted in the following steps.

Minimize, Drag, and Expand the Live Captions Widget

Pausing the Live Captions Widget

Switching Between Active Captions and In-App Captions

How to Enable Live Captions on Mac

Tip: read on if you’re curious about the Accessibility options that are available in Windows 11.

Customize In-App Live Captions on Mac

Change the Appearance of Live Captions on Mac

A variety of font-styling choices and background color options for the Live Captions widget on the Mac can help make Live Captions even easier to use. This ensures that users who are both hearing- and visually-impaired can still take advantage of the convenience of Live Captions.

Configure Fonts and Font Size

Change the Color of Live Captions

Manage the Live Captions Widget on Mac

To prevent the Live Captions widget from constantly obstructing onscreen content or unnecessarily disrupting other multimedia content, you can move the widget or pause its functionality in just a few clicks.

Move, Resize, or Pause the Live Captions Widget

Switch Between Active Captions and In-App Captions

Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots and photos taken by Brahm Shank