How to see subtitles of any audio or video on iPhone or Mac
Learn how to use Apple’s built-in Caption feature for near real-time recording of any audio or video playing in any app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Popular video streaming services offer subtitles for much of their content, as do music services such as Apple Music and Spotify.
But if you’re watching a movie, TV show, video, Instagram Reel, YouTube Short, or listening to a song, podcast, voice clip, or anything similar that doesn’t have subtitles but needs them, Apple has you covered.
Originally offered to record FaceTime calls, now you can add Live Captions to anything, and we’ll show you how to use it to get subtitles for video and audio content on your Apple device.
And the best part is that it works offline, with the recording happening right on the device!
See subtitles for all videos and audio on iPhone
1) Open iOS Settings app and press Accessibility.
2) Scroll down and tap Live captions.
3) Make sure that Modern Language it’s okay. Then, open the Live captions switch up. You will also see a caption box on the screen; ignore it for now.
4) Next, open a video or audio app and play something.
5) Then, press the button Microphone source button in the Live Captions box and set it to exist iPhone Audio or iPad Audio. This will ensure that the Live Shot captures the internal sound rather than what is playing around you. As the video or audio plays, the subtitles will appear in the Live Captions box.
When using Live Shots
Expand: Tap the double arrow icon to make the Live Captions box larger and see more text on the screen.
Hide box: Tap the arrow icon (<) to paste the box to one of the sides. This means that you will not be able to see the subtitles on the screen.
Pause: If you want to pause the Live Shot feature, tap the source button and select Stop Listening.
Clear the screen: Expand the Live Captions box, and tap the three-dot icon to clear all text from the screen.
Close live captions: Disable it in the Settings app or add a Live Captions button to the iOS Control Center and easily change it from there.
Accuracy of Live Captions
Live Shots will not be as accurate as actual movie subtitles or song lyrics. It may also misspell proper words and nouns. But overall, it’s fine considering the processing happens right on your device without Wi-Fi or mobile data.
Note that there may be slight lag, which may affect the overall movie viewing experience.
Customize how the text looks
As well as customizing how the subtitles look, you can also adjust the appearance of Live Captions. Go back to iOS Settings > Accessibility > Live captions > Appearance to make the text bold and change the text size, text color, background color, and passive blur.
Use live captions on Mac
Similar to iOS, you can use live captions on your Mac when watching videos or listening to music. Go to System Settings > Accessibility > Live captions and open it.
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