Transparent Backgrounds Arrive for Android’s Live Caption Panel on Pixel Devices

Android’s Live Caption Panel Adds Background Transparency

The latest update to the Live Caption feature on Pixel devices introduces a new Background transparency setting, which makes the caption panel semi-transparent. This allows users to see the content behind the captions more clearly, making the UI less intrusive and potentially more useful for everyday use.

Key Features:

• Semi-Transparent Background: The solid gray background is replaced with a semi-transparent one, improving visibility of the underlying content.
• Customization Options: Users can enable this feature via the three-dot overflow menu in the Live Caption panel settings.
• Expressive Captions: This update builds on the December release of Expressive Captions, which adds emotion and feeling to live captions through text formatting like all caps, vocal bursts, and ambient sounds.

Availability:

• Pixel Devices: The feature is available with version V.16 of Android System Intelligence for Pixel devices.
• Other Devices: The corresponding update for Android 14 and non-Google devices has not yet been released.

This enhancement aims to make the Live Caption feature more user-friendly and less disruptive, allowing users to keep captions on without feeling they obstruct their view.