Android Q was announced during Google’s I/O keynote earlier today. The new mobile OS comes with a lot of new and impressive features, and among them is Live Caption. If you think the name sounds familiar, that’s because Skype has a feature with the exact same name.
That said, Google’s implementation is slightly different. Being an OS-wide feature, it works with just about any app that you use on Android. It will even work with other video chat apps like the aforementioned Skype, and even audio or video that you record yourself. Accessing them is as simple as bringing out the volume bar, and tapping the Live Caption button from there.
Best of all, the live transcribing is all done within the device itself. You won’t need an internet connection for this to work, nor any audio to be playing. According to The Verge, Live Captions will still work even if your phone is on mute, as it analyses the audio stream in the media you play, rather than recording the media while it’s playing.
We don’t yet know for sure when Android Q will be available officially. That said, we know that Android Q beta 3 is available for 21 devices. If you have one of those devices, then you can check out Live Captions for yourself.
(Source: Google / YouTube via The Verge)
