Apple Unveils AI-Powered Live Translation Service for iOS 26

Thomas is a native of upstate New York and a graduate of the University at Albany. As a member of CNET's How To team, he writes about the intersection of policy, information and technology, and how you can best be served in that area. Outside of work, he can most often be found watching too many movies, reading too much, drinking too much coffee, or spending time with his cats.

Language barriers look set to fall in Apple's forthcoming iOS 26 with its new Live Translation feature.

Unveiled during the company's WWDC 2025 presentation on Monday, Live Translation will, as the name suggests, offer on-the-fly language translation across the Phone, Messages and FaceTime apps in iOS 26, after years of the company dabbling with translation as its own app or via Siri.

It's an AI-powered service, marking the company's latest effort to provide greater value ...