How To Access Your iPhone's Built-In Translator

Anybody who enjoys traveling to various parts of the world or conversing with people who grew up in other countries should have at least one language app installed on their mobile device to aid in communication. Apart from the ones that help you learn a new language, you should also have one that can produce accurate translations. That way, if you don't have time to achieve fluency in a foreign language, you can at least conduct casual conversations.

While there are several iOS translation apps that you can get from the Apple App Store, you may not even need to install one for your next out-of-the-country trip or conversation with a non-English speaker. iPhones actually have a built-in translator that you can access at any time, provided that the device is running on at least iOS 14. For certain iPhone models that have the latest version of iOS, you can even translate certain languages captured through your phone's camera.

The Translate app found on the iPhone can decipher both text and voice written and spoken in a foreign language. You can download language packs to translate offline, as well. At the time of writing, provided that your iPhone has the most up-to-date version of iOS installed, the Translate app has support for a total of 19 languages: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

The iOS 16 version of the Translate app also has a Camera tab that allows you to translate text in photos or while the camera is active. Here's how to use the feature:

1. Launch the Translate app.
2. Select the Camera tab.
3. Select two languages from the dropdown arrows to translate between. Tap on one of the chosen languages to assign it as the input language.
4. Do one of the following:

• Place the text you want to translate within the camera's viewfinder and tap the shutter (circle icon) to translate the text.
• Tap the photo icon and select a photo from your library you'd like to translate.

Once a translation is produced, you can zoom in on the text. Tap on the translation overlay and press the play button on the translation card — the gray one to hear the original text, and the blue one to listen to the translated version. It may take a few seconds for the Translate app to register translations from photos, so give it a moment before hitting play. Furthermore, you can also copy the translation and paste it somewhere else as well as add the translation to favorites. You can also share the translated image or save it to your camera roll by hitting the share button and choosing your preferred option.

On iOS 15 and newer iterations, certain iPhone apps that let you select text have the added functionality of translating it to a chosen supported language. In particular, you can attempt to do this on open Safari web pages, texts in the Messages app, emails from your Mail app inbox, and third-party apps. Here's how:

1. Launch one of the aforementioned Apple apps.
2. Long-press the text you want to translate.
3. Tap Translate, or tap the right arrow to see more options.

Doing this should pull up the Translate window containing the selected text and the translated text. Note that the translation may use a previously selected language, so tap Change Language to pick a different one. You can also do any of the following actions:

• Copy the translation to paste it on a different app.
• Add the translation to your favorites.
• Open the translated text in the Translate app.
• Listen to the spoken track of the original text (gray play button) or the translated version (blue play button).

If you translated text that's editable — such as text in an email you're composing in the Mail app or in a text message you're typing into the Messages app — you'll have an added option to Replace with Translation. To use this feature, make sure you choose your desired output language by tapping Change Language and picking the right one while the Translation tab is selected.