The Samsung Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra will be the first phones aside from the Google Pixel line to get Android’s excellent Live Caption, the accessibility feature that transcribes videos in real time and flashes subtitles up.
Announced on stage at Unpacked, Samsung said that the feature will be system-wide just like it is on the Pixel. This means however that it will not work with phone calls or music, but it does work with all types of video including voice calls.
Even though Live Caption is billed as an accessibility feature, anyone can use it and benefit from it. Cleverly, the processing all happens on device without the need for a data connection. Google says this means the data will never be stored on its servers.
The news was announced in part by the onstage presence of Hiroshi Lockheimer, SVP of Google. Him being there showed that Samsung is working more closely than ever on its software integration, evidenced by Live Caption and also Google Duo now being built into the S20’s dialler.
The Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung’s second folding phone also announced at the event, seemingly will not get either of these features.
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Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.