The current major release of macOS, Apple’s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers – macOS Monterey was announced by the company in the June of this year as a successor to macOS Big Sur and was launched in the month of October. Although it comes with a lot of new and exciting features, one of the most prominent features available with macOS Monterey is the “Live Text.” The Cupertino-based tech giant Apple describing the feature stated that it makes text ‘completely interactive in your photos’ which allows the user to copy and paste it, look it up, translate and much more. Mentioned below are the details in regards to this feature.
Compatibility of the Feature
In the beginning, when macOS Monterey was announced in June, it was reported that the software will only be compatible with Macs powered by Apple Silicon processors. However, changes were made and during the beta testing of the software, it was noted that macOS will be compatible with Intel-powered Macs as well. This means that the Live Text feature of macOS Monterey is available on any Mac that is capable of running the software. This includes the MacBook Pro model from 2015, MacBook Air models from 2015, the 12-inch MacBook from 2016-17 and many more. It is to be noted that the Live Text feature is currently available in English, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Portuguese and Spanish languages.
How to Use the Feature
In simple words, the Live Text feature is capable of recognizing the text in an image and making it interactive, just like any normal text will do. For example, if a user receives an image from a family member of a shipping number. The Live Text feature can recognize the text and will make it interactive so that the user can simply copy the tracking number to the clipboard. Interacting with the text is quite simple. Users simply need to move over the cursor to the text in the image just like it happens in a word document. As soon as the user has highlighted the text they want to select, they can simply use the keyboard to perform further functions of copy/pasting or looking it up or translating it. There’s also a new visual lookup feature that allows users to swipe up or click the information button in any image to know more about the objects showcased in that picture. Live Text feature works in the Photos App, Safari, Quick Look and the Screenshot interface. Moreover, the feature is also available on iPhone with iOS 15 and iPad with iPadOS 15.
