If you missed Apple’s WWDC 2022, the company revealed it has several new features in store for iPhone users with iOS 16. A number of existing features in iOS 15 are also getting an upgrade with the upcoming major release that’s expected to arrive later this year. One of these features is Live Text in videos.
How does Live Text work?
First introduced in iOS 15, Live Text is Apple’s implementation of optical character recognition to allow supported iOS devices to extract text from photos as well as from objects you point with your camera. Similar to Google Lens, Live Text has several useful applications for regular users.
For instance, you can use Live Text to transcribe excerpts from a book, translate a foreign language, or get the phone numbers from billboard ads to call an establishment. You can also search for information online regarding the text you extracted. Live Text recognizes handwritten notes too.
One great way to take advantage of Live Text is via the Apple Notes or iMessage app. Launch either app, tap on the writing area or white space to open the context menu, and select Text from Camera. A camera preview frame will appear at the bottom. As you point your camera at any recognizable text, the app will automatically transcribe it for you. Tap insert when you’re done to close the frame.
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iOS 16 Live Text in Videos
Once iOS 16 arrives, Live Text will add support for videos, which means your device will be able to recognize and extract text from videos. It will work on videos being played on apps such as Photos and Safari.
To use Live Text in Videos, you only need to pause the video and then tap and hold where the text is. A context menu will appear to provide several options. You can also adjust the highlighted text.
Live Text in Videos supported iPhones and iPads
Live Text is available to Apple devices powered by the A12 or later chipsets. These devices include the iPhones in the iPhone X, 11, 12 and 13 series, as well as iPad models and variations running on iPadOS 15.1 or later. A complete list of supported devices is found below.
Right now, only developers can use Live Text in Videos. Regular iOS users will get their chance to use the feature when the public release of iOS 16 becomes available.
iPhones
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE 3rd and 2nd generation
iPads
- iPad Air (3rd gen)
- iPad mini (6th gen)
- iPad (8th gen)
- iPad mini (5th gen)
- iPad (9th gen)
- iPad Air (4th gen)
Unsupported Devices
- iPhone SE 1st generation
- iPhone 6, 6 Plus
- iPhone 6S, 6S Plus
- iPhone 7, 7 Plus
- iPhone 8, 8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPad 7th gen
- iPad 6th gen
- Other iPhones and iPads that don’t have the Bionic A12 chipset or newer