SoundScreen
Always-On Display, reimagined for live captions.
SoundScreen turns the phone's idle-screen idea into an accessibility-first live caption surface for people who are hard of hearing. This prototype demonstrates the experience through a mobile-first OLED-style caption mode with live transcription, transcript history, AI summaries, accessibility settings, wake-lock support, and sound alert concepts.
Speech doesn't come with captions
Hard-of-hearing users often miss spoken words in conversations, classes, meetings, calls, and public spaces. Captions are usually locked inside apps, videos, or calls. Real life needs a simple caption screen that is always visible.
466M
People worldwide have disabling hearing loss
80%
Live in low- and middle-income countries
1 in 3
Adults over 65 experience hearing loss
Your phone as a live caption surface
SoundScreen turns the phone's idle-screen idea into an accessibility-first live caption surface. This prototype demonstrates the concept through a mobile-first OLED-style caption mode with wake-lock support where available.
- No extra hardware needed
- Works with your existing phone
- Minimal and accessible design
- Readable at a glance
Tap to start listening
Start reading speech in seconds
Open SoundScreen
Navigate to the app on your phone.
Tap Start
Tap Start Listening to begin caption mode.
Place nearby
Position your phone close to the speaker.
Read captions
Watch live transcription appear on screen.
Review
Tap What did I miss? for AI summary.
Everything you need to follow conversations
Live Speech Transcription
Real-time transcription of nearby speech using browser speech recognition.
AOD-Inspired Caption Mode
Full-screen OLED-style caption mode with wake-lock support where available. Designed to feel like a phone Always-On Display.
Transcript History
Review past captions with timestamps in a searchable drawer.
AI Summary
Tap What did I miss? for a structured summary with highlights, questions, and action items.
Simulated Sound Alerts
Visual alerts for doorbells, alarms, name mentions, and sirens.
Accessibility Settings
Adjustable font size, high contrast, caption alignment, and motion reduction.
Designed for real-world use
Every design decision was made to reduce friction for hard-of-hearing users. Large text, strong contrast, minimal distractions, and simple controls.
AA
WCAG 2.2 compliant
Designed to meet accessibility standards for contrast, readability, and navigation
What's next for SoundScreen
This prototype is just the beginning. The long-term vision is a native Android accessibility app with deeper Always-On Display / ambient display integration where supported.
Native Android
Deeper AOD/ambient display integration
Offline
On-device transcription without internet
Multilingual
Support for multiple languages
Vibration
Haptic feedback for sound alerts
Speaker ID
Distinguish between speakers
Sound Events
Real doorbell, alarm, siren detection
Transcription
Improved accuracy with custom models
Wear OS
Smartwatch companion app for quick captions
Try SoundScreen now
Open the caption mode and experience always-on captions for yourself. No download needed — it works in your browser.
Start Caption Mode