Update Wednesday has rolled around once again, and this time Google is getting both Android and iOS users in on the fun.
The Google Translate apps for Android and iOS are getting major updates today that bring two big features. First up is Word Lens, the same technology that was in the app that Google acquired in 2014. Word Lens lets you point your smartphones camera at some text that you want translated and BOOM, it’ll show you the translated text on your screen without making you take a photo. It’ll even work when you don’t have an internet or data connection.
Google says that World Lens can translate from English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Additional languages will be added later on.
The second major new feature coming to Google Translate today is improved conversation translation. With this update, you simply need to tap the mic on-screen and begin speaking, and Google Translate will recognize which languages are being spoken and translate in real-time.
This Google Translate update is huge and shows how smartphones can really improve our lives. This update can help people get around in foreign places without forcing them to totally understand a different language, and it can also help them communicate with people in other languages without having to constantly interrupt the conversation to tape your phone.