In iOS 15, Apple has added a new feature called Live Text that can recognize text when it appears in your camera's viewfinder or in a photo you've taken and let you perform several actions with it.

Apple iPadPro iPadOS15 photos LiveText 060721 big
For example, if you take a picture of a storefront that displays a phone number, you can capture that number to place a call or add to your contacts. You can also copy Live Text from your photos for making use of elsewhere. It's an incredibly simple, useful feature, and here's how it works in its simplest form.

  1. Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Find a photo that has some words on show, such as a restaurant menu or product tag.
  3. Pinch to zoom the photo if the text appears small.
  4. Press and hold on the words, then drag the ends of the selection tool to highlight all the text that you want to copy.
  5. Take your finger off the screen, then select Copy from the contextual popup menu.
  6. Finally, switch to an app that supports text input, press and hold your finger where the cursor is located, then select Paste from the popup menu.

photos

Did you know that Live Text also features optical character recognition? That means if you have a picture of a handwritten note in your photos, you can still copy it and then paste it as digital text.

Live Text also works with the camera app and other images on the ‌iPhone‌, plus there are other features in addition to copy/paste including Look Up and Translate, so you can translate foreign language text found in a photo. Live Text works with the Spotlight search on the ‌iPhone‌ as well, which lets text in photos be located through a standard ‌iPhone‌ search. For more on what's new in the Photos app, we have a dedicated iOS 15 Photos guide that highlights all of the new features.

Related Stories

iOS 15: How to Translate Text in Photos

Wednesday July 7, 2021 3:02 pm PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple entered the translation game in iOS 14 with native Safari browser translation and a dedicated translation app. Now, in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, translation has gone systemwide, which means you can take advantage of Apple's new Live Text feature to translate other languages that appear in your photos. The following steps show you how it's done in the Photos app. Note that by using largely...

How to Use Apple's Live Listen Feature With Beats Fit Pro

Monday November 15, 2021 6:16 pm PST by Tim Hardwick

Since 2014, Apple has included a little-known feature in iOS called Live Listen that allows an iPhone or iPad to serve as a remote microphone for an MFI-compatible hearing aid. In iOS 14.3 and later, Live Listen supports Beats Fit Pro, Apple's sporty Beats-branded earphones, making it possible to use your iOS device as a directional mic and have the audio relayed to your ears. As an...

How to Disable Annoying Apple TV Keyboard Notifications in iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1

Wednesday October 13, 2021 2:30 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

On the Apple TV, if you prefer not to input text using the Siri Remote you can use a nearby iPhone or iPad to type. Whenever a text field appears on the Apple TV, a notification appears on the iPhone or iPad, and after tapping the notification, you can use the on-screen keyboard on your iOS device to enter text on the Apple TV. It used to be the case that you could disable these...

iOS 15: How to See All the Photos People Have Shared With You in Messages

Most iPhone and iPad users enjoy sharing media with each other over Messages, and in iOS 15, Apple has acknowledged this popularity by adding a new section in the Photos app called Shared with You. If someone shares a photo or video with you in the Messages app, it will show up in Shared with You in Photos. You can find this new section by selecting the For You tab. If the photo shared...

iOS 15: How to Get the Photos App to Feature a Person Less Often

Thursday July 8, 2021 3:03 pm PDT by Tim Hardwick

In iOS 15, Apple has improved the control you have over the people and places that show up in your Photos Memories, letting you fine tune just who pops up in the ‌Photos‌ app and Home Screen widget. In previous versions of iOS, you could select "Suggest Fewer Memories Like This" when viewing a memory in the "For You" section of ‌Photos‌, or you could remove a photo from photo...

How to Make an App's Menu Bar Fit Below a MacBook Pro's Display Notch

Friday October 29, 2021 11:53 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

When Apple unveiled its new MacBook Pro models with a notch to house the camera in the thinner display bezel, many users saw it as a potential problem for third-party apps that place additional content across the menu bar, such as menus that extend from the left or menu items that extend from the right. However, it turns out Apple was wise to the potential issue of having menus or menu items ...

How to Hide the MacBook Pro Notch

Monday November 1, 2021 11:46 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple's 2021 MacBook Pro models unexpectedly came with a display notch, or as Apple calls it, a camera housing, which sits dead center at the top of the screen. This article covers all the ways you can conceal the notch or at least make it play nice with your apps using software-based solutions. The inclusion of a notch on the redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro allowed Apple to slim...

How to Get a List of Directions in Apple Maps

Monday November 15, 2021 6:11 pm PST by Tim Hardwick

After several years of iterations and improvements, Apple Maps has become a solid app and a viable Google Maps alternative for getting GPS-based directions to navigate journeys by car, public transport, bicycle, and on foot. Depending on the journey though, you may want to print off a list of turn-by-turn directions to refer to instead of relying on your iPhone and draining the battery. Or...

Popular Stories

Elon Musk Urges Customers to Buy 'Tesla Cyberwhistle' Instead of Apple Polishing Cloth

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has encouraged customers to buy the "Cyberwhistle" for $50 instead of Apple's much-discussed Polishing Cloth. The product page, which Musk shared on Twitter on Tuesday evening, offers a limited edition stainless steel whistle with the same distinctive design of the Tesla Cybertruck:Inspired by Cybertruck, the limited-edition Cyberwhistle is a premium collectible made from ...

New iPhone SE Reportedly on Track for Release in First Quarter of 2022

Tuesday November 30, 2021 8:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol

Apple plans to release a third-generation iPhone SE in the first quarter of 2022, according to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce. If this timeframe proves to be accurate, we can expect the device to be released by the end of March. As previously rumored, TrendForce said the new iPhone SE will remain a mid-range smartphone with added support for 5G:In terms of product development, Apple is...

Five Features to Look Forward to in the 2022 MacBook Air

Tuesday November 30, 2021 1:51 pm PST by Juli Clover

In 2022, Apple is going to release an updated version of the MacBook Air with some of the biggest design changes that we've seen since 2010, when Apple introduced the 11 and 13-inch size options. In the video below, we highlight five features that you need to know about the new machine. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. No More Wedge Design - Current MacBook...

Cyber Monday: Original Apple TV 4K Drops to $99.99 for Amazon Prime Members

We've been tracking Apple product and accessory deals for Cyber Monday 2021 today, and now Woot is offering a solid discount on the previous generation 32GB Apple TV 4K. You can get this device in new condition for just $99.99 if you're an Amazon Prime member. Note that this sale will last for one day only. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...

Apple Reveals the Most Downloaded iOS Apps and Games of 2021

Thursday December 2, 2021 12:05 am PST by Juli Clover

Along with naming its editorial picks for the top apps and games of 2021, Apple today shared charts for the most downloaded free and paid apps and games in the United States across 2021. The number one most downloaded free iPhone app was TikTok, followed by YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. The top paid iPhone apps included Procreate Pocket, HotSchedules, The Wonder Weeks, and Touch...

Apple Introduces New MacBook Upgrade Program for Business Partners

Monday November 29, 2021 7:38 am PST by Sami Fathi

In association with CIT as the financing partner, Apple has launched a new Mac Upgrade Program for small businesses and Apple business partners that allow companies to easily distribute and upgrade their fleets of MacBooks at an affordable price to all of their workers. As outlined on CIT's website, shared by Max Weinbach, Apple Business Partners can distribute the 13-inch MacBook Pro,...

Transparent AirPods and 29W Power Adapter Prototypes Surface in Photos

Images of transparent prototype AirPods and a 29W Apple power adapter have been shared on Twitter by Apple device collector Giulio Zompetti. The prototypes, which appear to be either first-generation or second-generation AirPods, feature clear plastic along the stem and around the outer side of the earbud, with the normal white plastic on the inner side of the earbud. Transparent casings are ...

Apple Planning to Replace the iPhone With AR Headset in 10 Years

Apple is planning to replace the iPhone with an augmented reality (AR) headset in 10 years, a process that is apparently due to start as soon as next year with the launch of a head-mounted device, according to a recent report. Concept render of Apple's rumored AR headset by Antonio De Rosa In a note to investors seen by MacRumors, eminent analyst Ming-Chi Kuo explained that "Apple's goal is...