Deaf and hard-of-hearing people get free live captions of nearby speech on Android, in more than 80 languages.

Kenning's take

What it does

Google's free Android accessibility app that shows spoken words as text on screen in real time, in over 80 languages and dialects, so deaf and hard-of-hearing people can follow conversations. The other person's speech appears as captions and replies can be typed back; a companion Sound Notifications feature alerts the user to sounds such as smoke alarms or a crying baby.

• real-time captions in over 80 languages and dialects
• type replies in the conversation
• custom words such as names
• vibrate when the user's name is said
• works with external and Bluetooth microphones
• Sound Notifications for alarms, appliances and crying babies

Who it suits. Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and anyone who needs live captions of nearby speech on an Android phone.

Key facts

Category

Voice, reading aloud & translation

Made by

Google (developer listed as Research at Google)

Based in

United States

Launched

2019

Works on

Android

In the UK

Yes

Free plan

Free on Google Play

Ratings

• Google Play (UK)3.7271,249 ratings

Reviews and write-ups

• Engadget 2019-02-04

FAQ

Facts from the maker's own pages and the sources listed. Checked 2026-10-11.