Guides
Longer pieces on what iOS does and does not allow, what the built-in features cover, and where this app fits — written to be accurate about the limits as well as the capabilities.
How to get translated subtitles for Hong Kong dramas and Cantonese video on iPhone
Hong Kong dramas, TVB shows and Cantonese videos often come with Chinese subtitles only, or none. How to watch them on iPhone with live subtitles in English, Mandarin Chinese or another language, translated from the Cantonese audio on the device.
Read the guideCan Google Translate, Papago or Apple Translate translate a video on iPhone?
All three translate what you type, photograph or say into the microphone. None of them can hear a video or livestream playing in another app on your iPhone. What each one does, the workaround people use, and what translates the video itself.
Read the guideCan iPhone Live Captions translate? What to use instead
Live Captions writes down what is said, in the language it is said in — it does not translate. What each built-in option does with a Japanese, Korean or English video on iPhone, and how to get translated subtitles on top of it.
Read the guideCan iPhone Live Translation or AirPods translate a video?
Live Translation translates calls, FaceTime, Messages and the person in front of you with AirPods — not a YouTube video or a livestream playing on your iPhone. What it covers, what it needs, where it is not available, and what translates a video instead.
Read the guideNo subtitles in your language on iPhone? What to try, in order
The video's own subtitles, YouTube's auto-translate, Safari, Live Captions, Live Translation and iOS 27's generated subtitles — what each one can do for a video or livestream on iPhone, and what to use when none of them can.
Read the guideWhich live translation apps keep your audio on the iPhone?
Some apps that translate videos and livestreams on iPhone run speech recognition and translation on the device; many send the audio to a cloud service. How to tell which is which, why it matters, and what stays on your phone with Hono Translate.
Read the guideHow to record a livestream with translated subtitles on iPhone
iOS screen recording stops working while another app is sharing audio for live translation. How to save a clip of a livestream or video with the translated subtitles in it, on one iPhone, and what to expect from the result.
Read the guideHow to translate any video you watch on iPhone
There is no iOS setting for this — Live Captions writes the audio down, but in the language it was spoken. Four steps to get a translated subtitle floating over a video playing in any app, and the honest limits.
Read the guideHow to translate an Instagram Live on iPhone in real time
Instagram translates captions, comments and bios, and can auto-caption Reels — but not the speech of a Live. How to get translated subtitles over an Instagram Live on iPhone.
Read the guideHow to get live translated subtitles on any livestream on iPhone (one phone, free to try)
Translate a TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Twitch or Weverse livestream on iPhone as it airs: the Hono Translate app turns the stream's audio into live translated subtitles that float over it. One iPhone, no second device, free to try.
Read the guideHow to translate a TikTok LIVE on iPhone in real time (one phone, free to try)
TikTok does not translate what a LIVE host is saying. The Hono Translate app does: it turns the LIVE's audio into translated subtitles that float over TikTok on the same iPhone. No second device, free to try.
Read the guideHow to watch TVer, ABEMA and SHOWROOM with translated subtitles on iPhone
Japanese TV catch-up on TVer, ABEMA's channels and SHOWROOM idol lives are in Japanese, with no subtitles in other languages. How to follow them on iPhone in your own language as they play, and what translates well.
Read the guideHow to get live translated captions on a Twitch stream on iPhone
Twitch shows captions only when the streamer sends them, and never translates the speech for you. How to follow a Twitch stream in another language on iPhone, with translated subtitles floating over the Twitch app.
Read the guideHow to watch hololive and other VTuber streams with subtitles on iPhone
Translated clips come out after the stream, and only for the best moments. How to follow a Japanese VTuber stream live on iPhone with translated subtitles, what works well, and what voice effects, singing and game audio do to it.
Read the guideHow to get translated subtitles on a Weverse live on iPhone (one phone, with or without membership)
Weverse's own live subtitles need Digital Membership and only cover lives in Korean. The Hono Translate app translates a Weverse live in Korean, Japanese, English or Chinese into subtitles that float over Weverse on the same iPhone. Free to try.
Read the guideHow to translate a YouTube video or live stream on iPhone, even with no captions (free to try)
YouTube's Auto-translate needs a caption track. When a YouTube video or live stream has none in your language, the Hono Translate app translates its audio into subtitles that float over YouTube on the same iPhone: no link to copy, no second device, free to try. Plus the picture-in-picture setting that gets in the way.
Read the guideTranslated video subtitles in Arabic, Vietnamese, Spanish and more on iPhone
Which languages Hono Translate can listen to and write subtitles in, and what it does for each one — right-to-left Arabic next to a left-to-right original, Thai without spaces, Vietnamese, Turkish, Russian and Indonesian video recognised on the iPhone, and an app and website in 16 languages.
Read the guideNo fansub yet? Watch a raw Japanese or Korean stream with live subtitles on iPhone (one phone, free to try)
Fansubs of an idol live, a variety show or a VTuber stream arrive hours or days later, and many never do. The Hono Translate app translates the raw broadcast as it airs — on YouTube, TikTok, Weverse, SHOWROOM or any other app — with subtitles floating over it on the same iPhone. Free to try.
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