Apple has debuted the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, and the most prominent additions to it are the new languages for the AirPods Live Translation feature and Apple Intelligence.
Five more languages for AirPods Live Translation
With the announcement of AirPods Pro 3, Apple promised to soon extend the supported languages for Apple Intelligence and AirPods Live Translation. Apparently, “soon” wasn’t an exaggeration as iOS 26.1 Beta 1 has added new languages to both features, as reported by 9to5Mac.
Live Translation was one of the most impressive new features, but it was limited to US and UK English, French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish from Spain. The first iOS 26.1 beta adds the following five languages to the mix:
Chinese (Mandarin, simplified)
Chinese (Mandarin, traditional)
Italian
Japanese
Korean
With the update, Apple completes its promise to add those languages by the end of the year. The company hasn’t mentioned any specific plans to add other languages.
Apple Intelligence gets eight new languages
Apple is lagging behind in AI, but it is still important for the company to extend the languages supported by Apple Intelligence. Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be other new features in the new beta, but at least we have the following new languages:
Chinese (traditional)
Danish
Dutch
Norwegian
Portuguese (Portugal)
Swedish
Turkish
Vietnamese
Initially, Apple Intelligence was available only in US English, but Apple quickly added support for a few different English accents. The last time Apple added new languages was in March.
Galaxy AI, available on the Galaxy S25 and other Samsung devices, supports up to 39 languages, depending on what feature you’re looking for. About nine languages have access to all Galaxy AI features, while Call Assist supports 20 languages.
What could make you use Apple Intelligence?
New, useful features
70.59%
Better support for my language
20.59%
Nothing, I’ll stick to 3rd party apps
8.82%
Google’s Gemini, which is preinstalled on the Pixel 10 series but is available on any Android or iOS device, supports over 45 languages. However, some features, like “Hey Google,” aren’t supported by all languages.
That’s not enough, Apple
Adding new languages is great and a crucial part of improving Apple Intelligence, but it’s far from enough. I’d even argue that adding more features is more important than extending language support. After all, I’m still counting on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini for any AI-related task I have, and adding more languages won’t make me switch to Apple Intelligence.
Apple iPhone 15
$481
$829
$348 off (42%)
iPhone 15 - Certified Refurbished at Back Market
Unlocked
Black • 256 GB • eSIM
Ilia, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, has been covering the mobile industry since 2011, with experience at outlets like Forbes Bulgaria. Passionate about smartphones, tablets, and consumer tech, he blends deep industry knowledge with a personal fascination that began with his first Nokia and Sony Ericsson devices. Originally from Bulgaria and now based in Lima, Peru, Ilia balances his tech obsessions with walking his dog, training at the gym, and slowly mastering Spanish.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
![New T-Mobile CEO has everyone on the edge of their seats with new teaser [UPDATED]](https://m-cdn.phonearena.com/images/article/175840-wide-two_350/New-T-Mobile-CEO-has-everyone-on-the-edge-of-their-seats-with-new-teaser-UPDATED.webp)
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: