Which languages, regions and devices does Apple’s Translate app support?

Apple translate system requirements - hero image

Read these official system requirements for Apple’s Translate app on the iPhone and iPod touch to verify that the software supports your preferred languages, regions and devices.

Can your device run the Translate app? Are your preferred languages and regions are supported? Continue reading for the official Apple Translate app system requirements for a list of supported languages, regions, devices and operating system versions.

System requirements: Apple Translate

Here’s what you’ll need in terms of hardware, software and more to use the Translate app.

Supported devices and OS versions

To use the Translate app, you must have one of the following devices and OS versions:

  • iPhone or iPod touch with the iOS 14.0 software or later

A native iPadOS version of Translate is unavailable.

If you live in an supported region, you may be able to use Translate by changing device region in Settings → General → Language & Region → Region to one of the supported countries.

You also need to take account language and regional restrictions listed ahead.

Supported languages

The following languages are supported in Translate, in both online and offline mode:

  • Arabic
  • Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)
  • English (US, UK)
  • French (France)
  • German (Germany)
  • Italian (Italy)
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Portuguese (Brazil)
  • Russian
  • Spanish (Spain)

The app supports translation between any combination of these languages.

Apple will provide support for additional languages down the road and iDB will be making sure to update this writeup with relevant new information as soon as it becomes available.

About Translate

Apple debuted the Translate app via the iOS 14 update that was previewed in the online WWDC presentation in June ahead of the public launch on September 16, 2020. And if its system requirements are an indication, the Translate software appears to use different underlying technologies from the handy webpage translation feature in Safari.

What can I do with Apple Translate?

Apple designed the app to bring natural translation of voice and text to the iPhone and iPod touch. With it, world travellers and just about anyone can enjoy easy conversations between languages. You can translate using voice or text, save your favorite translations, use offline mode to translate fully on-device for private voice and text translation, and much more.

Apple translate app system requirements - favorites on iPhone

In Conversation mode, available in landscape mode, the interface is split to show text from both sides of the conversation. Simply tap the microphone button on your part of the screen, then say something. Apple’s automatic language detection transcribes the original and translated text on the correct sides of the screen, followed by the translated audio.

System requirements for Safari translation

And with Attention mode, users of the app are able to enlarge translated text in landscape to both be easier to read and get someone’s attention. When using the app in offline mode, all processing for downloaded languages happens directly on the device. In online mode, text and voice are uploaded to Apple’s servers for processing.