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Apple Launches Live Translation in Messages for Real-Time Multilingual Conversations

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Apple Adds Live Translation for Seamless Multilingual Chats - Business Honor

Business Honor
18 November, 2025

iOS 26 feature auto-translates messages, supporting major languages for seamless global communication.

Apple has extended the translation software ecosystem by introducing Live Translation in Messages, a new feature launched with iOS 26. It's aimed at simplifying multilingual conversations by bringing real-time translation right into the chats you have every day, enabling smooth conversations for iPhone users in multiple languages without having to toggle between apps. Live Translation works inside the Messages app, where both incoming and outgoing messages are automatically translated. Every message is shown in its original form, with its translation alongside, so it's easy to understand and follow a conversation. It's currently available on the newest iPhone models: the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17.

It supports major global languages like Chinese-Mandarin, French, German, Italian, English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese-Brazil, and Spanish-Spain. Within this set of languages, Apple wants to facilitate communication both for international travel and teamwork, down to cross-cultural everyday conversations. Setting up the feature is easy. Opening up a conversation in Messages, users tap the contact's name and flip on the "Automatically Translate" toggle option. The first time around, this might also require downloading a language pack, around 900MB. Once it's turned on, the tool auto-translates messages continuously, so both parties can read messages in their preferred language, as long as the recipient is using updated Apple software on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Users can customize translation settings within a conversation: show both languages, show only the translated text, or pause translation altogether. This means Apple is making its software a potent competitor to apps that translate, with Live Translation integrated directly into Messages. The feature is one more indication of how built-in multilingual abilities are increasingly valued for giving users a smoother, more organic messaging experience across borders and languages.