How to use live captions on an iPad in a lecture or meeting

An iPad can caption a lecture or a meeting in two ways: Apple's own Live Captions, built into iPadOS, or an app made for it. This guide shows how to set up each, what each does in a lecture hall, a team meeting and a conference, and where each one stops. Captio AI, a live captioning app for deaf and hard of hearing people, is now a full iPad app, so this guide compares it with Apple's feature using Apple's own pages.

How do I turn on Live Captions on an iPad?

Apple's Live Captions turns on in Settings: go to Accessibility, tap Live Captions, then turn on Live Captions¹. Apple describes it as a real-time transcription of spoken audio in any app and in live conversations around you¹. Once it is on:

1. Tap the Live Captions window, then tap Microphone to caption an in-person conversation, such as a lecturer or a colleague across the table¹.
2. Tap iPad Audio instead to caption sound the iPad itself plays¹.
3. Drag the window to move it, drag its bottom edge to make it longer or shorter, or tap the full-screen button to fill the screen¹.
4. Tap Pause Listening when you want it to stop¹.
5. Open Appearance in the same settings to change the text, size and colour of the captions¹.

Apple adds three limits on the same page: Live Captions is available on supported models, it isn't available in all languages, countries or regions, and its accuracy may vary and shouldn't be relied upon in high-risk or emergency situations¹. Apple's FaceTime page also says Live Captions uses additional battery².

Which languages does Apple's Live Captions cover?

As of November 2026, Apple's feature availability page lists 18 language and region entries for Live Captions³. They are Cantonese (China mainland and Hong Kong), English (Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States), French (Canada and France), German (Germany), Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese (China mainland and Taiwan), and Spanish (Mexico, Spain, United States)³.

That list has no Hindi, Arabic or Polish entry. A Hindi-speaking student in a lecture, an Arabic-speaking colleague in a meeting or a Polish speaker at a conference has to look elsewhere. Captio AI covers 60 languages for captions and translation, including Hindi, Arabic and Polish, and it handles speech that switches languages mid-sentence. You can also tell it the language to expect, so it starts tuned in from the first word.

How does Captio AI work on an iPad?

Captio AI runs on the iPad as a full app in every orientation and window size: Split View, Slide Over, Stage Manager and resizable windows. The App Store lists it as compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and says it requires iOS 15.1 or later⁵. You start Live Captions from the record button, and the words appear while the person is still talking.

What changes on the larger screen:

• Live captions fill the whole iPad screen, so a lecture reads from across a desk.
• Translation shows the two panes side by side in landscape. Turn on the Translate switch in Live Translator and the original and the translated captions sit next to each other.
• Every other screen keeps the phone design in a centred column.
• Speaker direction and the Live Activity are not on iPad. Captions with the screen locked are an iPhone feature in Captio AI's list, so don't count on them on an iPad.
• Free and Plus work the same as on iPhone. The free plan gives 100 free credits a day, as of October 2026.

Live captions and translation need an internet connection. Without one the app still records, and the recording is transcribed when the iPad reconnects.

Which one is better for a lecture, a meeting or a conference?

Apple's Live Captions is the quicker start when your language is on Apple's list and you only need words on the screen. Captio AI is the better fit when you need a language outside that list, a saved transcript, translation or speaker names. The table puts each use case next to what each option offers.

Apple's feature is built into iPadOS, which means nothing to install, and it also captions the iPad's own audio, for example a recorded lecture playing in another app¹. Apple's guide describes copying captions into another app, not a saved library of recordings¹. If you want a lecture to be searchable a week later, that is where an app earns its place. For long recorded sessions, see How to organize and share meeting transcripts in folders.

How do I set up an iPad for a lecture?

For a lecture, put the iPad where you can see both the screen and the lecturer, and start captions before the first word. These steps work with either option:

1. Ask first. Check your school's rules on recording in class before you start a saved recording.
2. Set the language. In Captio AI, pick the language of the lecture before you start; in Apple's Live Captions, check that your language is on the list³.
3. Use Split View for notes. Captio AI keeps working in a narrower window next to a notes app.
4. Plug the iPad in for long sessions. Apple says Live Captions uses additional battery².
5. Fix names after. Long-press an uncertain word in Captio AI to correct it everywhere in the recording, and add it to Words and names so a professor's name is right next time.

Captions from an app are a tool for you, not a replacement for a booked captioner or interpreter. For when a school or employer must provide one, see What is CART captioning?.

What rights do I have to a captioner in the US?

In the US, the ADA says state and local governments must give primary consideration to the aid or service the person with a communication disability requests, unless another equally effective means is available or the aid would fundamentally alter the service or cause an undue burden, defined as significant difficulty or expense⁴. This is legal information, not legal advice. ADA.gov lists real-time captioning, also called CART, as one auxiliary aid, a service where a transcriber types what is said at a meeting or event onto a screen⁴.

That page dates from 2020 and covers state and local governments (Title II) in that passage; rules for a private employer or a private university differ, so ask your disability services office or employer. An iPad app is a good backup when the captioner does not turn up or when you are in a small group the service does not cover.

What does each option not do?

Neither option replaces a human captioner when you need an exact record. Apple says Live Captions may vary in accuracy and shouldn't be relied on in high-risk or emergency situations¹. Captio AI is one tool among others: it doesn't replace an interpreter, hearing care or a legal accommodation, it needs internet for live captions, and its free plan runs out after 100 free credits a day.

If two languages are in the room, for example English and Spanish at a team meeting, read How to caption a conversation in two languages.