Google Introduces Live Caption Feature To Audios And Videos On Android Q

Google’s I/O 2019 isn’t all about the new Pixel devices. The American Multinational Company added a new feature to Android Q, which is called Live Caption. When the said feature is enabled, users will be able to see transcribed captions for the respective audio/video on the screen in real time. The feature is not just limited to Google application, instead, multiple media apps like YouTube and Instagram can make use of this feature. Furthermore, the feature also works with live video calling apps like Google Duo and Skype.  As per Google, around 500 million people around the world are either deaf or have some forms of hearing problems. Such a feature may help in making content more accessible and easily available to hearing impaired people. Google CEO Sundar Pichai further stated that the company is constantly working on products that enable a multitude of people to access Google services along with others.

An interesting feature of the same is the ability to work offline. As per the demo showcased at the event, Live Captions are powered via on-device machine learning. As per Google, no data is sent regarding the user’s activity while he/she is using the feature. The text transcription appears in a box that can be moved around the screen, just like any pop-up video player.

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The demo also exhibited the ability of the feature to analyze the video/audio source even when the audio was muted. The feature can be used in a multitude of scenarios, for instance, in meetings. Users can access the Live Captions by pressing any volume rocker on the device. The feature has to be switched on via the accessibility settings in order to show up though. The Live Captions feature can prove to be useful to hearing-impaired people in the long run.