Andy Walker / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is adding new Expressive Captions to Android’s Live Caption system.
- The list of Expressive Captions is expanding to include sounds like whispering, sneezing, snoring, gargles, and more.
Last year, Google introduced Expressive Captions as part of Android’s Live Caption system. Expressive Captions not only show what’s being said in the audio but also how it’s being said, capturing elements like tone, volume, environmental sounds, and human noises. The goal is to make sure that even if you can’t hear the audio, you can still feel its impact. Now, it looks like Google is expanding the range of Expressive Captions available on Android devices that support Live Caption.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
While digging around in the latest version of Android System Intelligence (V.23.playstore.pixel9.741245583), we came across new Expressive Captions Google may be looking to add to the Live Caption system. The current Expressive Caption list includes the following expressions:
- Applause
- Cheering
- Clapping
- Coughs
- Crying
- Gasps
- Groaning
- Laughter
- Music
- Panting
- Sighs
- Snorts
We’ve now discovered that this list is growing, with the following Expressive Captions being added to the mix:
- Whispering
- Whistles
- Bells ringing (ambient sound)
- Burps
- Gargles
- Hiccups
- Sneeze
- Snore
- Clear throat
- Yawns
So if you have Live Captions enabled on a device running Android 14 or later, you should soon start seeing these new Expressive Captions, provided the audio being captioned includes them.
That said, the referenced Android System Intelligence version appears to be tied to a specific update on the Google Play Store, targeting Pixel 9 devices. This suggests that the enhanced Expressive Captions may roll out to Pixel 9 phones first, before expanding to other Pixel and Android phones.
