Live Text is a striking feature loved by most iPhone users ever since its release for photos with iOS 15. Now, Apple has taken a giant leap by adding video compatibility in the Live Text feature. With the Live Text in a video on iOS 16, you can interact with texts on videos. If that seems interesting, you shall quickly learn how to use Live Text on iOS 16 for videos.
What is Live Text in a Video
Recently, Apple has included the feature to use Live Text in videos on iOS 16. Earlier, the feature was limited to camera-captured photos, screenshots, and downloaded images with the iOS 15 update. The Live Text feature is one of the most desirable features which uses OCR technology of Apple. With the Live Text feature, iPhone users can extract any of the texts from videos. You can perform various basic operations like copying the text, pasting it on other apps, or translating it to other languages. The feature works on all iOS devices like iPhones, iPad, and Mac. The Live Text feature works on iPhones with A12 Bionic or later.
FYI: With the iOS 16, you shall capture smooth videos using the Action Mode on iPhone 14 and its lineup of devices.
To get the best of the live text feature, you are recommended to take care of the text size, alignment, and visibility. In addition, the video should be of good resolution for the iPhone to identify the words on the video.
Currently, you can use the Live Text feature on videos in the Photos app and Apple Safari.
- Shortly, you can expect this feature to work fine on other platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc.
The Live Text feature will recognize the date, time, currency, or phone number from the video and ask for a suggestion to make a reminder, call the phone number, convert it to a different currency, and more. You can copy the address on Map by using the Live Text feature.
How to Use Live Text on a Video in iOS 16 in Photos App
To use the Live Text feature on any videos on your iPhone/iPad, follow the steps below.
Quick Guide: On iPhone with iOS 16, launch Photo app > Open Video > Play & Pause the video > Live Text icon > select the text > Copy/Translate/Look Up/Search Web.
1). On your iPhone/iPad, launch the Photos app.
2). Now, reach out to the video from which you want to extract text and open it.
3). Play or scroll the video to where the text you want to copy is present.
4). Now, Pause the video where the text is available and then tap and hold on it until the text is highlighted in blue color.
5). Live Text appears with various options after recognizing the text. The options include copy, select all, look up, translate, search the web, and share.

6). In case you can’t find the Live Text icon, tap on the Timeline. Now, swipe the slider forward and backward to get the Live text icon.
Did You Know? iOS 16 included the Safety Check feature, with which anyone can get help anyone who is at risk of domestic abuse.
How to Use Live Text with iOS 16 on Safari
You can also use the Live Text option on Safari Browser, just like how you use it in the Photos app.
1). On your iOS device, launch the Safari browser.
2). Then, play the video and then pause it at the place where the text portion is available.
3). Now, Maximize the window.
4). When the video plays in portrait mode, you can invoke the Live Text icon by tapping on the three-dot icon and selecting Show Text.
5). If the video is in landscape mode, you can directly tap on the Live Text/Show Text icon.
A Short Note on the Options
You can select any of the options as per your requirements.
- Copy: You can copy the text in the video by tapping Copy option from the bottom-right corner.
- Select All: You can select the text by long-pressing any word. When you select a word, it gets highlighted with a blue dot on the end. Then you can increase or decrease the selected text by dragging the blue dot.
- Search Web: After selecting the word, you can choose the Search Web option, which directs you to the web browser and displays the search result of the selected word.
- Look Up: On clicking Visual Look Up, you will get more information about the image. Look us is similar to Google Lens on Android devices.
- Translate: You can select a word and then choose the Translate option to translate the highlighted word to another language. With iOS 16, iPhone can translate into three new languages like Korean, Japanese, and Ukrainian. They are in addition to English, Frech, Chinese, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, etc.
Live Text feature in iPhone is one of the valuable features and serves multiple uses for iPhone users. However, the outcome of the Live Text feature depends on the clarity, font, and lighting of the video. Before using the Live Text feature, ensure that Video resolution, text font & size, text alignment, and text visibility are fine enough to go through the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
The iPhone/iPad devices which run on iOS 16/iPadOS 15 or newer versions support Live Text on Videos.
iPhone XS and newer versions, iPad Pro 2020 and newer versions, iPad Mini 5th generation, iPad Air 2019 or newer versions, iPad 2020