At WWDC 2025, Apple talked a lot about iOS 26. Translation will become a distinctive feature of the new Apple Intelligence features that will appear in the next iteration of the iPhone operating system. During this year’s annual presentation in Cupertino, the Apple team showed that it is adding a live translation feature for calls and texts with integration into the Messages, Phone, and FaceTime apps.
Real-time translations will be performed using artificial intelligence models on the device. When a translation occurs during a call, it will be spoken by the AI voice and will also appear as written captions. In texts, Messages can automatically translate while the user is typing. Leslie Ikemoto, Apple’s director of input experience, noted that live translation will also be available even when communicating with a non-Apple smartphone. However, she didn’t specify which languages will be supported in live translation, so we’ll keep an eye out for this information.
iPadOS 26 will also bring live translation to the same three main apps: Phone, FaceTime, and Messages. Apple noted that automatic translation will be available in group chats on the iPad, as well as in one-to-one messages. And if you have an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, live translation can also be used with the Messages app in watchOS 26 on the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Apple added some translation features to Siri back in iOS 11, and then launched its own dedicated Translation app as part of iOS 14. Now, these features will be more thoroughly implemented in the iPhone operating system as part of the Apple Intelligence package.
There has been talk in the Apple camp that AirPods may have a live translation feature, but no one spoke about it at today’s presentation. Google has been offering translation on its Pixel Buds headphones for a few years now, so this is an area where Apple lags behind in terms of features. Perhaps we’ll hear more about this topic in the fall, when Apple focuses more on hardware development.
