GoKawiilThe beta program for T-Mobile's Live Translation feature is now open, letting customers who sign up for the test phase talk to people in over 50 languages, with AI translating the conversation in real time. No human translator in the middle, no specific phone model required (yes, even a basic dumb phone will work).
Real-time translation is already available through services such as Google Translate on Android phones and Apple AirPods Pro 3 when paired with an iPhone.
What makes T-Mobile's Live Translation feature different is that operates at the network level rather than on a specific device. The beta is open to subscribers of any post-paid T-Mobile plan, such as the Essentials, Experience More, Experience Beyond and Better Value plans. Customers who have already signed up for the beta will start receiving notices that the feature is available on a rolling basis.
"We want to make voice cool again," said John Saw, T-Mobile chief technology officer, citing that its customers make 6 billion international calls per year, and 40% of those people travel internationally. "Live translation is a real breakthrough in innovation by introducing the latest AI models into our voice network."
Just as it did during the beta of what became the T-Satellite service, T-Mobile has not yet decided which plans will include the live translation calling feature. It also hasn't decided what, if any, cost there will be. T-Satellite is currently included in the Experience Beyond and Better Value plans and available on other plans as a $10 add-on. It's also open to customers of other providers for $10 a month.
I look forward to testing T-Mobile's live translation soon.
How live translation will work
You have to dial *87* to turn on T-Mobile's live translation calling tool. Kevin Heinz/CNET
To turn on live translation during a call, the T-Mobile subscriber presses *87* (star-eight-seven-star), which activates the AI agent. Only one participant on the call needs to be a T-Mobile subscriber, and it will also work when the customer is roaming.
T-Mobile says there's no setup, no voice training and no need to specify which languages to translate. The AI agent detects which languages are being spoken in real time and speaks the translation when a person stops speaking.
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