Apple added a new proprietary app back in iOS 14; the Translate app. The Translate app is designed to be a tool when travelling abroad, conducting business, connecting with faraway friends, and bridging and language barriers.
This guide will show you how to use the Translate app and incorporate it into your life.
Note that the Apple Translate app is only available on an iPhone with iOS 14 or above. It is not available for the iPad or iPod touch.
Getting Started with Translate
To get started with the Translate app, follow these steps:
1. Open the Translate app from the Home page or from the App Library.
2. In the top left-hand corner, select the language that you will be translating from. Tap the button.
3. You can choose from over a dozen languages, including Arabic, Chinese, US/UK English, French, Germany, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
4. Next, click the language button in the top-right corner to select the language you will be translating into.
5. Again, you can choose from over a dozen different languages.
6. When you are setting the language, you can also set the app to automatically detect the language you are translating from. This can save you time.
Translate Spoken Phrases
The easiest way to use the Translate app is to speak into the app and have the app automatically translate the words. Follow along!
1. Tap on the blue microphone button and speak the phrase that you want to translate.
2. The phone will automatically detect your words and translate them. Feel free to speak at length.
3. Once you are done, your translated phrase will appear in the app. Press the play button to have the app speak the translated phrase aloud.
4. If you need to use this translation frequently (say you are travelling and need the reminder) you can tap the star button to make that phrase a Favourite.
5. Tapping the dictionary button will bring up definitions for all the words you have translated.
6. While you are using the dictionary function, tap any word that you have translated. You will be shown the dictionary definition as well as multiple phrases that use that word.
Using the speech to translate function is the most common way to use the app, however there are other ways to use it as well.
Translate A Conversation In Real-Time
The coolest feature in the Translate app is the ability to translate a conversation in real time. In order to do this, make sure that your rotation lock is off. This feature requires that you use landscape mode.
Once rotation lock is off, follow these steps:
1. Open the Translate app and turn your iPhone to be in Landscape Mode.
2. Place the phone between you and the other person. Tap the blue microphone and start speaking.
3. Speak freely, and allow the other person to read the translation, they can then respond.
4. Tap the arrows to make the translation easier to read.
5. Tap the text bubbles to return to the conversation view.
Access Your Favourite Phrases
Accessing your favourite phrases is easy. Just tap the Favorites button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
This will bring you to all of the translations you have favorited recently. You can tap on any phrase and have it spoken or access the dictionary definitions. This is super helpful for commonly used phrases while travelling.
Make Translations Available Offline
The Translate app generally requires a data connection to function. However, when you are travelling, you may not have a constant data connection or consistent Wi-Fi connection.
In this case, you can download the languages that you need most often, and then you can use the app whenever you need it.
To do this, tap one of the language boxes.
Scroll down to the Available Offline Languages section.
Tap the Download button beside a language that you want to download.
That’s all there is to it! Download the languages you need and the app should work as normal, even without a data connection.
Final Thoughts on Translate App
The Translate app is a good step forward in the realm of digital translation. Having the app on your phone and being able to use the app even when the phone is offline makes it truly useful!