Hands On: Siri's Translation Features in iOS 11

[Carlanga]

Does it do Japanese? The wife and I are eventually gonna do an anniversary trip to Japan and that would be super helpful.

Google translate is great for stuff like that and it shows the translation in big letters when in landscape plus it can do sounds and translations, even translate live images on the spot, use it all the time to see what the chinese have printed on my packages or in the asian markets and the biggest positive is offline download of languages.
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It would be fun if you have mods, like:
Translate into German but as Darth Vader.
Or into Spanish but as Enrique Iglesias.
Or from Spanish to English but as Sean Connery
Or from Spanish to English as Joda.

this reminded me of the older days of ios apps the navigation apps you could put different voices like vader, etc very fun!

 

[AppleSauce007]

Oh well. "Au revoir" should have been 2 words but who is counting?

 

[johannnn]

Does anyone know if I need one of these languages as my Siri language? For example, I use Siri in Swedish but would still like to be able to say an sentence in English and have it translated to Chinese.

 

[nicho]

Right now Siri can't even understand basic english

"Open Safari"
(cuts off after open: WHAT YOU SAY? OPEN WHA?)
"Open Safari"
"There is no app called 'open safari' ..."

So I have very little hope on having this work outside in the busy streets where you play tourist.
I rather point it at a sign that says "this is a taxi spot" and i dont have to ask someone where if this is where i wait for the bus or can find a cab .. (random example).

i've just repeatedly tried "hey siri open safari" (with the open safari in a different fake accent every time) and it worked 8 times out of 8. do you have siri set to the right language?

The failure of your second command is entirely your own fault. You're essentially telling siri to open open safari. The problem being, if it just ignored the word open in all secondary commands, apps like opentable would not launch. It's not something as cut and dried an error as an introduction : "Mr?" "Mr Smith" "OK, Mr MrSmith..." but you could easily adapt your behaviour to answer the question Siri actually asks you...

 

[Nabby51]

I like Apple products and all but welcome to Google Translate that was released for iOS in 2011.

 

[Tech198]

So I guess that means is anyone visiting us wants to translate anything to English, your stuffed, unless you use Google, or u speak another language others Siri can understand

still.... this should get you out of a uncomfortable situations when traveling. I gather next hopefully would be the ability to translate signs like Google can already do.

 

[Floris]

i've just repeatedly tried "hey siri open safari" (with the open safari in a different fake accent every time) and it worked 8 times out of 8. do you have siri set to the right language?

The failure of your second command is entirely your own fault. You're essentially telling siri to open open safari. The problem being, if it just ignored the word open in all secondary commands, apps like opentable would not launch. It's not something as cut and dried an error as an introduction : "Mr?" "Mr Smith" "OK, Mr MrSmith..." but you could easily adapt your behaviour to answer the question Siri actually asks you...

Yes... I have set siri to the right language..
It happens when it has a slight delay and closes the communication while listening after open .. the context sub routine then picks up just the app, but you still (because you are human and dont read the screen because you are using a remote voice activated thing) say open .. again . making it part of the name of the app

It's like Sierra macOS not knowing 1password as an app, because there's no such app installed: one pass word

 

[nicho]

It happens when it has a slight delay and closes the communication while listening after open

Literally can't replicate this on either an iphone 6 or iphone 7, with a 1 second+ intentional pause after the word open and before any other word (ie the name of the app to open). odd.

 

[mpainesyd]

Google translate is great for stuff like that and it shows the translation in big letters when in landscape plus it can do sounds and translations, even translate live images on the spot, use it all the time to see what the chinese have printed on my packages or in the asian markets and the biggest positive is offline download of languages.
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this reminded me of the older days of ios apps the navigation apps you could put different voices like vader, etc very fun!

I have been using a great little app called Japanese+ for travel in Japan. It simply presents a list of english phrases in context (eg travel, eating etc) and speaks the translation in Japanese. It certainly breaks the ice with the locals. A big advantage (when overseas) is that it works off-line.
Having said that, I am looking forward to using SIri for translation.

 

[djcerla]

And I'm guessing you have a perfectly standard English/American accent. While I agree with you Siri works fine for me, my Aussie wife relies on it a lot for dictating texts which turns into her refraining from throwing the phone out the car window after every use.

Siri speaks 21 languages, and if you add the variations for English, Spanish and others the figure goes up to an astonishinh 36.

Google Assistant 4, Alexa just two languages, a fact that is conveniently forgot when declaring Siri "inferior".

I'd argue that Siri is, as opposite, far superior for the simple fact that it can be used by a ridicolously larger world audience.

And the focus on translations and voice quality in iOS 11 further cements Siri's lead.

Personally I quit expecting "Her" performance from Siri, and for what I use it for several times a day it's basically perfect.

 

[magicMac]

Translate doesn’t work with British English yet ☹️ Maybe never like voicemail transcription...

 

[mariana888]

I'm guessing you haven't used it in a while.

I use siri (well, voice dictation ... same difference for these purposes) for any text messages I send when:

1. It's going to be longer than a short-ish sentence, and,
2. I'm not at my computer to type it out

Yeah, I'll have to occasionally correct a word or two, but as long as I don't go out of my way to speak like I have mouth full of marbles, it usually works pretty well. Certainly a lot faster than tapping out a long message.

I agree. I use it all the time for text dictation, even though my mother tongue is Spanish and I'm speaking in English. I rarely have to change anything, I get more frustrated with auto correct than I do with dictation/Siri.

 

[MacFinnley]

Doesn't work for me in German. I can't get Siri to translate anything!?

 

[justperry]

This is just silly, not one single person here commented on the one way translation here.

Problem is, there is no use for one way translation, example:

I am in China, I need to go to the toilet badly, I then let siri translate the question "Where is the toilet", get an answer back in Chinese (好的，先生，你走到街頭的盡頭，上樓梯，右轉，黃色的標誌就是廁所.
By the time I found out what that means (Never) I already ***** my pants!

 

[PowerMacBook]

Right now Siri can't even understand basic english

"Open Safari"
(cuts off after open: WHAT YOU SAY? OPEN WHA?)
"Open Safari"
"There is no app called 'open safari' ..."

So I have very little hope on having this work outside in the busy streets where you play tourist.
I rather point it at a sign that says "this is a taxi spot" and i dont have to ask someone where if this is where i wait for the bus or can find a cab .. (random example).

Works each and every time I try it.
(and btw I am Dutch as well, so we could have more or less the same English with a tiny Dutch accent?)

 

[nicho]

This is just silly, not one single person here commented on the one way translation here.

Problem is, there is no use for one way translation, example:

I am in China, I need to go to the toilet badly, I then let siri translate the question "Where is the toilet", get an answer back in Chinese (好的，先生，你走到街頭的盡頭，上樓梯，右轉，黃色的標誌就是廁所.
By the time I found out what that means (Never) I already ***** my pants!

You wouldn't get that answer in China for a multitude of reasons.

 

[GadgetBen]

Siri can't translate British English currently on iOS11. The one true language that spawned them all FFS.

 

[rockyromero]

This is just silly, not one single person here commented on the one way translation here.

I'll take one way translations, for now.

Traveling to Italy, I can use this to supplement what I already know.

Good enough translation is good enough.

Better than before.

Two way communications happens already & will get better with technology.

Using my AirPods with the iPhone translating in a foreign country is magical.

For me.

➰

 

[justperry]

You wouldn't get that answer in China for a multitude of reasons.

Just kidding. (Google translate, and I just exaggerated.)

I've been there, on a (push)bike, finding a Hotel each day was a challenge, most of the Hotels where in shophouses, they all looked similar (with white tiles on the front), and then there's this thing that there are several names for a hotel, and it's in Chinese characters so there's another obstacle.
Asking did help, people pointed out their finger/Arms but I almost always went past the Hotel, asked again further down the road, and back again, and so on.

 

[Weaselboy]

Is Macrumors sponsored by Project Fi?...every iOS beta video has been with a iPhone 7 being used on Project Fi(which seems random since it seems it has some "quirks" on the iPhone)

From the MacRumors FAQ.

Are news stories really advertising in disguise?

No. We always identify our promotional arrangements, and we don't post undisclosed paid stories.

I think what you are seeing there is the MR video content producer just happens to be using Project Fi on his phone.

 

[justperry]

I'll take one way translations, for now.

Traveling to Italy, I can use this to supplement what I already know.

Good enough translation is good enough.

Better than before.

Two way communications happens already & will get better with technology.

Using my AirPods with the iPhone translating in a foreign country is magical.

For me.

➰

Well, I've been around and it can be handy, for instance, it's always good to learn at least a few words in a foreign language/country, thank you is by far the most important.

Kop Chai Lai Lai being the nicest one (Thank you-Laos)

 

[nicho]

Just kidding. (Google translate, and I just exaggerated.)

I've been there, on a (push)bike, finding a Hotel each day was a challenge, most of the Hotels where in shophouses, they all looked similar (with white tiles on the front), and then there's this thing that there are several names for a hotel, and it's in Chinese characters so there's another obstacle.
Asking did help, people pointed out their finger/Arms but I almost always went past the Hotel, asked again further down the road, and back again, and so on.

You translated into the wrong form of written Chinese also

 

[mudflap]

Right now Siri can't even understand basic english

"Open Safari"
(cuts off after open: WHAT YOU SAY? OPEN WHA?)
"Open Safari"
"There is no app called 'open safari' ..."

That's just you. I say HEY SIRI, OPEN SAFARI and Safari opens on my iPhone 7.

 

[Floris]

That's just you. I say HEY SIRI, OPEN SAFARI and Safari opens on my iPhone 7.

You have no idea how long i just spent trying to find the screenshot on my device, but ala, can't find it.

Well, guess it just happens to me in real world situations.. It's just one example, if you're telling me siri is never responding with the dumbest things at least x out of y times, then either you're in a great room, or you have a marvelous voice.
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Works each and every time I try it.
(and btw I am Dutch as well, so we could have more or less the same English with a tiny Dutch accent?)

People always think i am from america, when they talk to me, they sometimes say 'really, .. you're dutch?'

 

[mudflap]

You have no idea how long i just spent trying to find the screenshot on my device, but ala, can't find it.

Why can't you find the screenshot on your device? It's always the newest photo in your photo library.