Simple activation, big catch WhatsApp brings long-awaited feature - but you don't benefit yet
In future, Whatsapp will allow you to convert voice messages directly into text. But it could be a while before the app also understands Swiss German.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- WhatsApp is introducing a new function that converts voice messages into text directly on the user's device.
- This is particularly useful in noisy environments or if you are generally not a fan of voice messages.
- The function must be activated manually in the settings, although availability is currently still unclear.
You either love them or hate them: voice messages in WhatsApp divide users. For many, there is nothing more tedious than listening to messages. Not infrequently because certain senders simply don't get to the point with their voice messages.
Opponents of voice messages in particular will therefore be all the more pleased about Whatsapp's new function. In future, voice memos can be completely transcribed into text. A practical alternative, even in noisy environments or when you're out and about.
How to activate the function
According to WhatsApp, voice messages are converted exclusively on the recipient's device. Thanks to end-to-end encryption, privacy is completely protected. Neither WhatsApp itself nor others can view the messages or their transcripts.
However, the function must be activated manually: In the settings under "Chats", the option "Transcriptions of voice messages" can be switched on. You then select your preferred language. iPhone users also need to activate "Hey Siri".
Once everything is set up, a transcript can then be created by long pressing on a voice message and tapping on "Transcribe".
Exact availability still unclear
It is still unclear exactly when the update will be available. According to a WhatsApp blog post, the function should already be available. We have not yet been able to activate the function on either iOS or Android on the devices we tested. However, it can be assumed that this will be the case in the coming weeks.
iPhone users will be able to select German as the target language right from the start, while only English, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian are initially available for Android. However, further languages are to be added for both operating systems in the coming months.
Will Swiss German then also be included? That seems rather unlikely at the moment. All the more so if you take Snapchat as a comparison, where the transcription of voice messages has been possible for some time, but the results in Swiss German require a lot of creativity to understand.
However, if WhatsApp manages to train a model similar to OpenAI with the help of artificial intelligence, there is a good chance that Swiss German will also be transcribed reliably in the future. Perhaps only the people of Valais will have to be patient a little longer.
