POC Card or Apple Translate: and the phone the other person is holding

An interpreter built into the phone you already own is hard to argue with on price. The argument is not about price.

What this page does not do: it does not tell you what Apple Translate can or cannot do, or which devices it runs on. It is not our product and we do not track it. What follows is about where the tool lives, which is a design choice and not a claim about anybody.

Where the tool lives

A built-in translator lives on one make of phone. That is fine when it is your phone and your conversation. It gets awkward the moment the exchange depends on the other person’s device: a customer with a different phone, a colleague who shares a work tablet, a counter where the phone stays on your side.

POC Card lives at a web address. It opens in the browser of any phone — Android or iPhone — and the other person can join from theirs by scanning a QR, without installing or signing into anything.

A button each, and the transcript

Each person holds their own button in their own language; the microphone is closed between turns. The transcript appears before the translation is spoken, so you catch a misheard name before they hear it.

Two languages, and a price

English and Spanish only, and you pay for the minutes you speak. Both are limits and both are stated on purpose.

What it costs: you pay for the minutes you speak, not a subscription. 15 minutes for US$6.99, 30 for US$9.99, two hours for US$24.99. Credits do not expire. Try it free first.

Where not to use it

Not for a medical consultation, a legal proceeding or anything where a mistranslated word has consequences you cannot undo. Those need a sworn or certified human interpreter, and no software replaces one. This is for the counter, the workshop, the site visit and the conversation that would otherwise not happen at all.

Questions people ask before buying.