When you’re going to watch a video on your iPhone, what’s the app you turn to? My guess is, in most cases, it’s YouTube.
But in iOS 18, Apple has added a key feature to its own TV app that YouTube needs to copy ASAP.
More than just a tvOS 18 feature
During its WWDC keynote, Apple demoed a new tvOS 18 feature that automatically puts subtitles on screen when you skip back in a video. It’s similar to what happens when you ask, “What did she say?”
Instead of making that request, the system now just assumes that if you’re skipping back, it’s because you missed something, so it puts subtitles on screen for 10 seconds automatically.
What Apple didn’t say during its presentation is that the same feature extends to its other platforms too. Auto-subtitles on rewind is baked into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia; it’s available in the betas today.
And it’s fantastic.
How auto-subtitles work in iOS 18
The feature is simple and performs flawlessly. There’s not much to say about it, other than that it currently only works in Apple’s own TV app. Which makes sense, since Apple doesn’t get to control how other video apps function.
But I hope this feature inspires YouTube, Netflix, and other popular video apps to copy Apple. Maybe there are cases where auto-subtitles will annoy some users, but I can’t imagine it’s many.
Mostly, the feature provides a valuable service I didn’t know I wanted. Now I just need it in every video player on my devices.
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