T-Mobile today announced a new live translation feature that allows conversations to be translated in real-time when calling someone from any phone on the T-Mobile network.
Live translation does not require any apps, and it is a free service that T-Mobile is offering in a beta capacity. T-Mobile users can sign up to test live translation on the T-Mobile website, with limited spots available.
The feature works with more than 50 languages, and voice conversations are translated for each speaker "almost instantly." T-Mobile says that users can speak how they normally do on calls, with live translation detecting the languages and voices that are speaking for a natural conversation.
Live translation is built into the T-Mobile network, so it works with any phone on T-Mobile, from iPhones to flip phones. T-Mobile users can even call landlines and get translation capabilities because only one phone connected to the call has to be on T-Mobile for translation to work.
To use live translation, T-Mobile users will need to sign up for the beta. From there, when on a call, pressing * 87 * on the keypad will initiate the live translation process.
Apple rolled out a translation feature for phone calls with iOS 26, but T-Mobile's version does not require participants to have an iPhone, and it covers more languages.
While live translation is free during the beta testing process, there could be a fee associated in the future. T-Mobile has not mentioned what it will cost when the beta ends.
