Google is testing Live Transcribe app that converts audio to text in near real time

Google is starting a limited test for Android phones with an app called Live Transcribe. This app is capable of converting speech to text in near real time. With this, Google says it is responding to the estimated 900 million people who will have some degree of hearing loss by 2050.

Live Transcribe is an app that automatically converts speech into text via a smartphone’s microphone, including punctuation. Optionally, the app can connect to external microphones to make the transcription more accurate. The text that appears on the screen has a relatively large font size so that it is quite easy to read.

The app only works with an internet connection and is gradually becoming available through the Play Store as a limited beta. In addition, users of Pixel 3 devices can access the app. Live Transcribe is available in over seventy languages ​​and dialects. There is also an option for an interlocutor to respond via a built-in keyboard instead of talking.

Google also comes with a second app that is intended for users with hearing problems. This app, called Sound Amplifier, should make it possible to hear audio better. To do this, wired headphones must be connected to the smartphone. With the app, users have access to a number of sliders, with which, for example, certain unwanted sounds or background noise can be muted or filtered out, while other sounds can be amplified.

The Sound Amplify app will be available in the Play Store and will only be supported by devices running Android 9 Pie. Furthermore, just like the Live Transcribe app, this app is coming to Pixel 3 devices.