apple’s iOS 26 Beta Reveals Real-Time Call Translation and Enhanced phone App Features – A recent beta release of iOS 26 showcases critically important updates to the iPhone’s Phone request, including live call translation and improvements to call management and hold functionality.The features were initially reported by Lebanon24 and signal Apple’s continued investment in communication tools.
The updated “Phone” app in the iOS 26 beta consolidates recent calls, call history, and voicemail into a single, unified interface. This streamlined design aims to improve user navigation and accessibility to call-related data. Users accessing the app will now find a more cohesive view of their communication activity.
A new “Ask Reason for Calling” feature has been added, accessible after selecting “Phone” from the home screen. This allows users to quickly categorize incoming calls. The system also introduces an option to label unknown numbers as “unknown,” providing a clearer distinction for unidentified callers.
“Hold Assist,” another new feature, enhances the call experience by automatically detecting and identifying music or hold tones when a caller is placed on hold. the system then alerts the user when the other party returns to the line, eliminating the need to constantly monitor the call. This feature leverages Apple’s audio recognition technology.
Perhaps the most groundbreaking addition is “direct translation of calls.” This feature enables real-time translation during phone conversations. Users can select both their spoken language and the desired translation language.Currently, the feature supports English, German, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. The technology powering this feature is likely based on Apple’s Core ML framework and perhaps utilizes on-device processing for privacy and speed, though Apple has not confirmed this.