Instant translation in over 70 languages
The functionality, integrated into Google Translate, now allows you to understand a conversation in real time in more than 70 languages via any pair of headphones. Among the supported languages, we find French, English, Spanish, German, Japanese and Chinese.
Concretely, all you have to do is open the application, select the option Live translate
then switch to listening mode. The app then takes care of capturing the voice, translating it and restoring everything almost instantly in the headphones.
A more natural and contextual experience
Google highlights a key point: the quality of the translation. The objective is not only to translate word for word, but to preserve the tone, rhythm and intention of each interlocutor. The result should be a smoother conversation, where it becomes easier to track who is speaking and in what context — a classic challenge for real-time translation tools. Practical use cases are numerous: multilingual family discussions, trips abroad, professional interactions.
With this arrival on iOS, Google directly competes with the features offered by AirPods and the translation tools integrated into the Apple ecosystem. As a reminder, Live Translation works on AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 equipped with active noise reductionwhen associated with a compatible iPhone (from the iPhone 15 Pro, since models capable of running Apple Intelligence are required).
Once activated, a new tab Live
appears in the iPhone Translate app. All you have to do is press both earphones simultaneously or start a conversation from the app: you hear the translated voice in your ears, while the transcription is displayed on the screen. The interlocutor can read your translated response on the iPhone. The system supports major international languages : FrenchGerman, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified and Traditional).
In fact, Google is banking on universal compatibility (all headphones). For its part, Cupertino favors deeper integration with its own devices. In both cases, the trend is clear: the language barrier is gradually disappearing thanks to on-board AI and voice assistants.
What do you think?
With this feature, Google is taking a new step towards translation that is truly transparent and accessible on a daily basis. Traveling, working or simply chatting in another language becomes easier than ever – and all this, without even looking at your screen.
