iPhone Apps Can Integrate With Apple's Translate App on iOS 17.4 and Later

In a WWDC 2024 coding video last week, Apple highlighted a recently-introduced API that allows developers to offer built-in Translate app capabilities in their own apps on iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS Sonoma, and later.

iOS 17 4 Translate App API
While the iPhone, iPad, and Mac already offer a system-level translation function for highlighted text, websites viewed in Safari, and more, the API provides a convenient solution for user-generated content like reviews. For example, if a user writes a review in Japanese, the text can be quickly translated to other languages.

iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia enhance the API by allowing translated text to appear in-line within an app, instead of in an overlaid Translate sheet.

iOS 18 Translate App API
Another language-related change on iOS 18 is bilingual keyboard support. For example, you can type in English and Korean on the same keyboard without having to manually switch languages, complete with word suggestions in each language.

iOS 18 Multilingual Keyboard
iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia are currently in beta for developers. The software updates will be released later this year.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18
Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17, iOS 18, iPadOS 18

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Top Rated Comments

kevcube Avatar
10 months ago
Unfortunately apple’s translate app is inferior to Google’s in almost every way. Hopefully they can pull a Maps and make it useful someday.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clive27 Avatar
10 months ago
I hope that Siri will soon be able to speak bilingually without requiring changes to the settings, just like the bilingual keyboard support. As a Korean American, I use my Korean contacts' names in Korean and chat in Korean, while everything else is in English. Currently, I can only set Siri to either English or Korean. English Siri doesn’t speak Korean at all, and Korean Siri speaks English like a native Korean who has never spoken English before. I wish Siri could detect the language automatically and use the appropriate speech. Maybe the ChatGPT integration will fix that.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mongobongo Avatar
10 months ago

The keyboard has been bilingual since iOS 10 actually. They just made it more obvious by adding the letters to the space bar
Only for a very limited number of languages. If they finally add Swedish to that list it will be by far my favourite new feature in iOS 18 ?

https://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability/#quicktype-keyboard-multilingual-typing
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
daniesy Avatar
10 months ago
What about adding new languages? The translate app is useless for a lot of users
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Böhme417 Avatar
10 months ago
If only the translate app didn’t suck…
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
10 months ago
iOS 18 looking to be a very good update. Here's to hoping Apple squashes most bugs before release so I don't have to wait until 18.3 or 18.4
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)