Already now: Apple opens translation interface for developers
Apple's Translate app integrated into iOS is now also available as an API. This allows developers to integrate translations into their app, even on the Mac.
Translation API from Apple in use.
(Image: Apple)
A nice surprise for developers: Apple has turned its translation app Apple Translate, which is integrated into iOS and iPadOS, into its own API. This means it is now possible to integrate Apple's multilingual translations into your own applications – even on the Mac, which currently lacks Apple Translate as a separate application.
Further functions coming later
The new API called Translation can also be used immediately, so there is no need to wait for iOS 18 or macOS 15. All you need to do is run iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4 or macOS 15 Sonoma on your device. The Translation API complements the translation system functions already available (Mac, iPhone, iPad) or Apple Translate itself. This is currently done via an overlay that a developer can add at the touch of a button.
According to Apple, the API will be further improved in iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 so that in-line translation will also be possible, which will be less disruptive for users. It should then also be possible to display several translations at the same time and react to changes in content. The translation will also remain in the look of the app.
Keyboard with multiple languages
Another new feature in terms of foreign language support concerns the keyboard under iOS and Co. From iOS 18, it should be possible for the first time to make entries without switching between different languages with one keyboard view. This applies to Japanese and English, for example. Apple has also worked on various other functions to facilitate language display, formatting and searching in multiple languages.
Apple Translate currently supports 18 different languages, including English, German, French, Arabic, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Dutch, Thai and Vietnamese. Ukrainian was added in iOS 17 and Hindi is set to follow in iOS 18. It is unclear why the company does not support smaller countries such as Denmark, Norway or Sweden - they often have to wait for support from other applications such as Siri or the dictation function. Competitors such as Google act faster here.
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