14 DAY TRIAL // Translating websites as you browse the web is nothing new, as Google Chrome and other browsers have been able to do this for a while already.
But with the release of iOS 14, Apple plans to completely change this concept with a translation feature that comes bundled with Safari.
More specifically, 9to5mac has discovered that iOS 14 would allow Safari translate websites automatically, more like Google Chrome already does. The whole thing is triggered when a page in a different language (other than the ones configured on the device) is loaded, with Safari to prompt users to get the translated version.
As said, Google Chrome users will find this feature rather familiar, as this is exactly how the whole thing currently works in Google’s browser.
Privacy focus
But Apple wants Safari’s translation engine to come with state-of-the-art privacy, so the content won’t just go through a server. The whole task would be performed locally using the built-in Neural Engine.
The main benefit of this thing isn’t only the privacy that users get when translating websites, but also the simple fact that running this process doesn’t require an Internet connection. In other words, translating the content can be done offline, simply because no server connection is required and everything is performed locally.
By the looks of things, users will be able to enable the translation feature in Safari for all websites that include content in a different language, but at the same time, they can also for the service to be triggered per each website as they browse the web.
While the feature is still in the works and is supposed to come with iOS 14 in the fall, a preview could be provided by Apple at the upcoming WWDC conference due later this month. A beta build of iOS 14 is also expected shortly after the event.