Translate Speech With iPhone's Action Button

Ah, yes, now obnoxious US tourists can shove their phones in locals' faces the world over!

"I SAID DO YOU HAVE COFFEE??? MY PHONE JUST SAID IT IN YOUR LANGUAGE. ARE YOU DEAF AND ALSO STUPID???"

This is woefully inadequate. As an expat and a frequent traveller, I was really looking forward to it. However:
[LIST=1]
* It only translates one way and does not listen for a reply.
* You cannot even press it again to reverse the translation direction. You have to enter the app.
* About 1/3 of the time it simply fails to work (it "listens" but does not respond). That is not due to the internet because I have the languages downloaded as well.
* The autoplay of the translation to sound never works the first time. After it "plays" it automatically, you then have to press repeat play manually, and only then you can hear it.
* There is no locked screen override, so if you press it on a locked screen it turns itself off after a few seconds, so you have to unlock the screen before use which is ridiculous.
* If you want to speak again after the first translation you have to enter the app or long press it off and then long press it back on again.

I am astounded this is the best they can do... If you devote an actual button to it, it should have more functionality and simply work better. I cannot believe whoever was responsible for this thinks it is good enough. Was it actually tested by people who have experience of needing/using translation aids in real life rather than a quick test be someone clueless in Cupertino? If they could make it work properly it would be great and an example of a really good use of the button. If you are in a stressful situation with live conversation, you don't want to be finding and opening the app. You want to be "on it" immediately. Doing it all from one button would be superb. Come on Apple - sort it out please!

Ah, yes, now obnoxious US tourists can shove their phones in locals' faces the world over!

"I SAID DO YOU HAVE COFFEE??? MY PHONE JUST SAID IT IN YOUR LANGUAGE. ARE YOU DEAF AND ALSO STUPID???"

Maybe Apple will also add a "shouting mode" to the speech output for Americans? ;-)

But most importantly…. Can I get that wallpaper lol

I was a bit confused by this when I first started playing with it too. However, it’s linked to whether you’re in silent mode or not: with silent mode turned off it’ll speak the translation the first time, without you needing to hit the play button.

I actually tried that and it didn't seem to make any difference, but I'll try again. Thanks for the reply.

This is woefully inadequate. As an expat and a frequent traveller, I was really looking forward to it. However:
[LIST=1]
* It only translates one way and does not listen for a reply.
* You cannot even press it again to reverse the translation direction. You have to enter the app.
* About 1/3 of the time it simply fails to work (it "listens" but does not respond). That is not due to the internet because I have the languages downloaded as well.
* The autoplay of the translation to sound never works the first time. After it "plays" it automatically, you then have to press repeat play manually, and only then you can hear it.
* There is no locked screen override, so if you press it on a locked screen it turns itself off after a few seconds, so you have to unlock the screen before use which is ridiculous.
* If you want to speak again after the first translation you have to enter the app or long press it off and then long press it back on again.

I am astounded this is the best they can do... If you devote an actual button to it, it should have more functionality and simply work better. I cannot believe whoever was responsible for this thinks it is good enough. Was it actually tested by people who have experience of needing/using translation aids in real life rather than a quick test be someone clueless in Cupertino? If they could make it work properly it would be great and an example of a really good use of the button. If you are in a stressful situation with live conversation, you don't want to be finding and opening the app. You want to be "on it" immediately. Doing it all from one button would be superb. Come on Apple - sort it out please!

Wow. Apple translate was poor in comparison to Google translate when I tried that, but recent updates have made Google translator on iOS more of a pain to use too...