How to translate text in a photo or video on your iPhone
Need to translate text in a photo or video into your own language? So you can with your handy iPhone.
You used your iPhone to take a photo or video of a sign, document, or other object with text in a foreign language. And now you want to translate this text into your own language. No problem with the Live Text feature.
With iOS 15 or later on your iPhone, you can isolate text from a photo and then translate it into another language. And with iOS 16 or later, you can do the same with a video by pausing it at a specific frame. You can also point your camera at a live object and see the translation on the spot. That’s how it all works.
SEE: iOS 16 Cheat Sheet: Complete Guide for 2022 (TechRepublic)
Translate text from an existing photo
First, take a picture of an article that contains text in a foreign language. Launch the Photos app on your iPhone and open the photo. Press on the text to select it. Then drag the handles to select more or less text, or tap Select All on the pop-up menu to select all text.
When the menu disappears, tap anywhere on the selected text to reveal it. From the menu, tap the right arrow and then tap the Translate entry. Translated text appears below with options to play, copy or change language (Figure A).
Figure A
Translate text from an existing video
To work with text from a video, make sure you have updated your iPhone to iOS 16 or later. Go to Settings, select General and then tap on the Software update option. You will be informed that iOS is up to date or prompted to download and install the latest update.
Record a video of an article with text in a foreign language. Open the video in the Photos app and play it. Pause the video at a frame with text that you want to translate. Then press on the text to select it. Drag the handles or tap Select All to select all text. On the pop-up menu, tap Translate to view the translation (Figure B).
Figure B
Translate text from a live image
Point your phone at an object with text in a foreign language. Wait for the Live Text button to appear in the lower-right corner of the frame, then tap that button. Select the text you want to translate. Then tap Translate on the pop-up menu to view the translation (Figure C).
Figure C
