Your iPhone's Camera Comes With a Hidden Translator

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I recently took a trip to Europe, hopping across a few countries that all spoke languages I didn't understand. As such, in order to interpret menus, signs, and packaging, I needed to translate the text back into English. While you might assume you need to use a specific translator app of choice to get this done, you really only need one thing: your iPhone's camera.

I, along with all of the people I traveled with, have an iPhone, so I assumed all of us knew about this trick. To my surprise, however, nobody in my party knew about this. So, I'm here to make sure your next international trip is a bit easier.

Translate text with your iPhone's camera

The next time you need to translate some text in front of you, instead of heading for Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, or even Apple's own Translate app, just open your Camera app. Frame up the text in the middle of the viewfinder and give your iPhone a moment to "think." If all goes well, you should see a yellow frame appear around the text, and a new button appear in the bottom right of the viewfinder—or top right, if you're holding your iPhone in landscape.

Tap this button, and iOS will cut out the selected text, and zoom in to bring it into focus. Now, tap the "Translate" button that appears in the bottom left (or top left in landscape), wait a moment, and presto: The text is replaced by your target language. As you might guess, for me, that's English, but the feature will translate into whichever system language your iPhone is currently set to.

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For many applications, this translation is enough. But there's more you can do with this. If you need to share that translated text somewhere, you can tap the translation to pull up a Translate mini window. Here, you can copy the translation so you can paste it wherever you'd like. You'll also be able to have iOS read either the translation or original text out loud, add the translation to your favorites, or open the translation in the Translate app.

This hidden perk is part of the iPhone's larger Live Text feature, which uses OCR (optical character recognition) to identify text in images. Live Text allows you to select text both in images and within the camera's viewfinder for easy copy and pasting. And, since iOS 16, it allows you to translate that text directly within the camera as well. Since it's powered by the Translate app, it supports the languages the app does, which includes:

• Arabic

• Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)

• Chinese (Mandarin, Traditional)

• Dutch

• English (UK)

• French

• German

• Hindi

• Indonesian

• Italian

• Japanese

• Korean

• Polish

• Portuguese (Brazil)

• Russian

• Spanish (Spain)

• Thai

• Turkish

• Ukrainian

• Vietnamese

If this feature isn't working for you, it's likely not turned on. To check, head to Settings > Camera, then ensure "Show Detected Text" is enabled.

Other ways to translate on iPhone

This is far from the only way to translate other languages on your iPhone. As previously mentioned, iOS comes with a built-in Translate app, which has its own Camera function as well. But with iOS 26, there's a new translation feature that works seamlessly as you use your iPhone: Live Translate.

As the name suggests, Live Translate can translate conversations in real time. This works in Messages with text, but also during FaceTime and phone calls when talking to someone in another language. If you have a compatible pair of AirPods, you can even use this feature when talking to someone in person: You'll hear their words translated in your ears, and they'll see your words translated on your iPhone's display.

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