Apple has announced a significant leap in real-time language support with the introduction of Live Translation in iOS 26 — and the big news is: it works even when the other person doesn’t have an iPhone.
With Live Translationusers can now have real-time conversations across languageseven when the other person is using a non-Apple device. This update removes a long-standing limitation, making the feature more inclusive and globally useful.
The tool uses on-device intelligence and works seamlessly with AirPodsallowing users to listen and understand foreign languages on the go — from travel to casual conversations.
Apple also introduced a new Live Translation APIallowing third-party developers to integrate translation features into their apps. This gives travel, education, customer service, and messaging apps access to Apple’s real-time translation engine with privacy and performance benefits of on-device processing.
This is part of Apple’s broader push under Apple Intelligence to expand its language and accessibility tools across the entire ecosystem.
