Live Text: With the live text feature on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, you can get text on photos to make phone calls, send emails, translate languages, and do web searches.
You have an image on your iPhone or iPad that contains text that you want to copy, access, or research. You can turn to apps like Google Lens or Office Lens, but with the update of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, live text search is now built into Apple’s mobile app.
Thanks to the practical touch of artificial intelligence, the new live text feature can identify text to copy and paste, call, email, translate text, or launch web search.
Live text and works with live images in the real world. Point your iPhone or iPad camera to the mark, document, or any other visual image with the text, and the feature is entered. We even work on a website with images that contain text.
Live Text Compatibility
The live text feature only works on some of the latest iPhone and iPad models. This includes all iPhone 11, 12, and 13 models, as well as the iPhone XS and XR (sorry, iPhone X owners).
IPad Pro 12.9-inch model (third generation or later), iPad Pro 11-inch model (all generations), iPad Air (third generation or later), iPad (eighth generation or later), and -Pad mini (fifth generation or later) are all supported.
You will also need to use iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 or higher to use Text. Go to Settings> General> Software Update. You will be notified that iOS is up to date or you will be prompted to download and install the latest update.
Finally, Live Text only supports English, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Spanish as currently translated languages.
Enable live text
Before you try using Text, make sure the feature is turned on. Go to Settings> General> Language and Region and turn on the switch next to Live Text when closed.
Copy and Paste Text From Pictures
To copy text to an existing image, open the Photos app and open the text with the text. Drag the circular capture points to all the words you wish to capture, then press Copy to capture the text. You can also tap Select All to highlight all the text that appears in the image, then press Copy to capture it.
Now open the application to which you want to attach the captured text, tap in the appropriate location, and select Paste from the menu.
To copy text to a symbol, document, or other visual object, point your phone’s camera at an object. Tap the arrow button from the bottom right corner of the view screen. Then swipe or tap the text to select it or simply tap Select All to highlight all the Live Text in the image.
Tap Selected to display a command Copy and press a button. Navigate to your application where you are going and use the Paste command to paste text.
To copy Live Text to an image on a website, click on the image below. In the popup menu, select the Text view option, which selects text. Press down on the selected text and select Copy or Select All and Copy. Then paste the text into the local application.
The only answer in the background for copying the text in the image is that you may need to restructure the attached text, especially by adding or removing paragraph returns. If not, AI built into Live Text usually does a good job of finding the text itself.
Call the Number in the Picture
You can make a call with the phone number shown in the picture. Open an image in the library in the Photos app. Press down on the number and press the displayed number to make a call.
You can also direct your device’s camera to a phone number to make a call. Open the Camera app and point to a picture. Tap the arrow key, then press down on the displayed phone number. Tap a number to call it.
To call a number listed in a photo or image list on a website, press the number. Tap a phone number to call it.
