Google Translate can now be set as the default translation app on the iPhone and iPad
Users of iOS 18.4 or iPadOS 18.4 worldwide can now switch their default translation app from Apple’s stock one to Google’s. Here’s how to do it.
Apple introduced the ability to change default email and browsers with iOS 14 back in 2020. It subsequently added more options until in iOS 18.2, it included Messages and others.
But from iOS 18.4 in March 2025 Apple added the option to change the default translation app. Now according to the app’s release notes in the App Store, Google Translate users can take advantage of this.
It’s not clear what Google had to do to its app to enable this, but Apple documentation does say that developers have to specifically support the feature. So far, Google Translate is the only third-party app to have added such support, meaning only it and Apple Translate are available.
How to switch to Google Translate as the default translation app on iPhone
- Go to Settings
- Choose Apps at the bottom of the screen
- Tap on Default Apps
- Choose Translation
- Tick to switch to Google Translate
Apple has been under increasing pressure to allow users to select alternative default apps, especially from the European Union. However, this new change to iOS and iPadOS is immediately effective worldwide.
