It looks like we know about one more important Google Pixel 4 feature ahead of the October 15 launch date, and it’s a concept that was previewed for Android 10 in May.
Live Captions is predicted to finally be making its debut with Google’s new phone, according to the findings of XDA Developers. It has the ability to create real-time captions for audio and video automatically.
The Live Caption feature is similar to another tool Google has introduced: Live Transcribe. But, where Live Transcribe listens to what people around you are saying and prints it out on your phone’s display, Live Caption processes the audio from videos, podcasts, and other sources to provide you with real-time captions. The feature can aid everyone from those with hearing limitations to people who are in a situation where they simply can’t turn the volume up.
Though Google announced the Live Caption feature back at Google IO 2019 in May, the feature hasn’t shown up in the live build of Android 10. But, XDA Developers managed to get the Live Caption feature working on a Pixel 2 by installing APKs taken from a Pixel 4 XL, with one called Device Personalization Services enabling the accessibility tool.
With the APK installed, Live Caption was able to provide text captions for sources from YouTube and Netflix to Google Podcasts and Google Photos. The captions can omit profanity, and controls can show up in the volume control. The captions also appear as an overlay that you tap and drag to move or can dismiss by swiping off the screen.
Given that the feature could be enabled through APKs taken from the Pixel 4, it’s a good bet that the Pixel 4 will launch with the feature active. The new phone is expected on October 15, and only time will tell whether other devices running Android 10 will get the Live Caption feature as soon.
