Latest macOS Monterey beta adds Live Text feature to Intel Macs

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By Joe Wituschek
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Live Text Mac
Live Text Mac (Image credit: Rene Ritchie)

What you need to know

  • Apple has added Live Text support to Intel Macs.
  • The feature came with the fourth developer beta of macOS Monterey.

When Apple announced macOS Monterey, iOS 15, and iPadOS 15, it revealed a handy new feature called Live Text that would allow you to pull text straight from images.

While many thought that the feature would be limited to Macs with the M1 processor, Apple has brought it to Intel Macs as well with the fourth developer beta of macOS Monterey that the company released earlier today.

The feature was spotted by Rene Ritchie who tweeted it out earlier today. Ritchie notes that Apple was able to bring the feature to Intel Macs because, while the iPhone and iPad use the camera system to scan for text, the Mac doesn't need to.

macOS Monterey Beta 4 includes Live Text for Intel Macs Party popperSounds like Apple prioritized it based on demand, but it was made much easier by the lack of real-time requirements for a camera system(So instead of kicking it to the ANE, it'll just process opportunistically)

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As Apple explains, Live Text uses "secure on-device intelligence" so that the text that you pull from photos stays on your device and is never shared with Apple.

There is so much rich information in your photos, from memorable places you've visited to handwritten family recipes. iOS 15 uses secure on-device intelligence to help you discover more in your photos, quickly find what you're looking for, and relive special moments.

Live Text will be available to all users when iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey launch this fall.

Joe Wituschek
Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.