What you need to know
- Google is adding captions to Duo.
- The feature is now rolling out to both iOS and Android.
- Google is also rumored to be planning on replacing Duo with Meet in the long term.
If you're being forced to take conference calls while your kid (or dog) screaming in the background — and really, which of us isn't in that situation these days? — Google has some good news for you: Google Duo is getting built-in caption support.
In a noisy place? No problem. Captions are now available on Google Duo, so you won't miss a word of your video and voice messages. https://t.co/jqEvy9Vyn7 pic.twitter.com/gq5Z2ntn5PIn a noisy place? No problem. Captions are now available on Google Duo, so you won't miss a word of your video and voice messages. https://t.co/jqEvy9Vyn7 pic.twitter.com/gq5Z2ntn5P— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) August 19, 2020August 19, 2020
Note that this is different from Live Caption. While that feature has steadily expanded in availability from its Pixel-exclusive launch last year and is now on some OnePlus and Samsung devices (and soon, even the desktop!), it's still a distant dream for the hundreds of millions of Android users that don't own one of these devices.
Having built-in captioning on the Duo app certainly goes a long way toward making remote work a more pleasant experience for those users.
The feature is, as Android Police reports, available for both iOS and Android. It joins several other accessibility-oriented features from Google, such as the aforementioned Live Caption and the Live Transcribe app, which shows an on-screen transcription of a conversation you may be having with others in person.
