The real-time captions feature allows users to read what Gemini Live says without ending the session.
With real-time captions, users can also use Gemini Live while the voice is turned down
Gemini Live on Android and iOS is getting a real-time captions feature. The feature will show live captions of whatever Gemini says on the screen. This feature will allow users to have a two-way conversation with Gemini Live without needing to hear its voice. It can be useful when users want to have a hands-free conversation with the chatbot but do not want the AI to respond back verbally (if users are outdoors or in a crowded location). Google has also provided options to customise the size of the font and how the captions appear on the screen.
Near the beginning of this month, several netizens claimed to have seen a new captions feature in Gemini Live. The Mountain View-based tech giant was likely testing the feature with a small subset of users. It appears that the company is now rolling it out to all users globally. First spotted by 9to5Google, users can now see a square icon on the top-right side of the Gemini Live interface, which represents the feature.
This is how real-time captions appear on Gemini Live
Gadgets 360 staff members were able to spot the feature on both Android and iOS devices. The feature works the same on both operating systems. Once Gemini Live has been turned on, users can tap the square icon to either enable or disable real-time captions. Alternatively, if the device's volume is turned all the way down, Gemini Live automatically suggests that users turn on captions. Earlier, Gemini Live would not open unless the volume was at a level audible to the user.
When turned on, real-time captions appear near the bottom of the screen in two lines. It only shows what Gemini says in that moment, and not the older conversation. To view the entire transcript, users must first end the session. Interestingly, captions also work when users share their screen or use the live video feature via Gemini Live. While in the video mode, the caption appears at the top of the screen.
On Android, Gemini users also have the option to customise captions. A new settings option is available as “Caption preferences.” Tapping on it opens a new page where users can find menu options to change the language, text size, and caption style. The latter lets users change how the captions appear on the screen.
Apart from providing standard options, such as black text on white background and white text on black background, it also lets users manually select the font style, text colour, background colour, text and background opacity, and more. We are not seeing any customisation options on iOS.
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