Google translate
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Google uses AI to add 110 new languages to Translate
Google Translate is using PaLM 2 for its 110 language expansion.
Sarah Fielding06.27.2024
Google can now translate text from images on the web
Google Translate on the web can now convert text from images. It uses the same tech as the AR Translate tool for Google Lens, which performs real-time translations on smartphones.
Will Shanklin03.08.2023
Google Translate should soon offer better suggestions for words with multiple meanings
The app should do a better job of taking context into account when it offers translation suggestions..
Kris Holt02.08.2023
Google Translate adds support for 24 new languages
Google is adding support for 24 new languages to its Translate tool.
Igor Bonifacic05.11.2022
Google Pixel Buds review (2020): Truly smart earbuds
Google’s 2017 Pixels Buds were Bluetooth, but not completely wireless -- and for the most part they felt incomplete. Like the first model, the new Pixel Buds offer hands-free access to Google Assistant. Google says it designed the new Pixel Buds case to look and feel like a river stone.
Billy Steele04.27.2020
Google's redesigned Pixel Buds are now available for $179
If you’ve been waiting since October to get your hands on Google’s retooled Pixel Buds, today is your chance.
Billy Steele04.27.2020
Google Translate adds languages for the first time in four years
Believe it or not, Google hasn't added languages to Translate since 2016 -- it's not clear why, but the company is making up for that apparent omission. It's adding five languages, including Kinyarwanda (Rwanda), Odia (India), Tata, Turkmen and, notably, Uyghur. It may be difficult for Uyghurs to use this service when China both blocks Google services and has been targeting their population, but this could help outsiders understand the community
Jon Fingas02.26.2020
Google Translate is getting a transcribe mode for lectures, speeches
In the future, Google Translate will be able to transcribe long lectures while translating it into another language in real time. The tech giant has demonstrated the upcoming feature at an event in San Francisco where it demoed some of its artificial intelligence projects. Google previously introduced an interpreter mode for the app, but that one was designed for conversations while this is more for long-form speech. Transcribe mode will give you a way to, say, attend lectures in other languages or watch foreign movies without subtitles and get the gist of what's being said.
Mariella Moon01.28.2020
Google Assistant's interpreter mode is coming to iOS and Android
Early this year, Google brought its real-time translation feature, interpreter mode, to Assistant-enabled smart displays and speakers. Now, the feature is rolling out to Assistant-enabled Android and iOS phones worldwide.
Christine Fisher12.12.2019
Google Maps can pronounce place names in local languages
Navigation apps can be helpful for getting around an unfamiliar country... up until you need to ask someone for directions and can't say a place name. Google thinks it can help. It's rolling out an update to Google Maps on Android and iOS that can speak place names in the local language. You can point a driver to a Japanese cultural center or a Spanish tapas bar without having to point frantically at the screen. And if you do need more than that translation to get around, there's a direct link to Google Translate if you have it installed.
Jon Fingas11.13.2019
Google Translate's camera now works with more than 100 languages
Google Translate's instant camera feature will now make translating a foreign street sign as easy as aiming your phone -- even if your native language isn't English. The company today unveiled a set of new updates to its translation tool, including the ability for instant camera to translate between any of more than one hundred languages supported by Google Translate. In other words, English no longer needs to be one of the languages used. This means users can translate from Bengali to French, or from Catalan to Polish or many other combinations.
Amrita Khalid07.10.2019
Google's Translatotron can translate speech in the speaker's voice
Speaking another language may be getting easier. Google is showing off Translatotron, a first-of-its-kind translation model that can directly convert speech from one language into another while maintaining a speaker's voice and cadence. The tool forgoes the usual step of translating speech to text and back to speech, which can often lead to errors along the way. Instead, the end-to-end technique directly translates a speaker's voice into another language. The company is hoping the development will open up future developments using the direct translation model.
AJ Dellinger05.15.2019
Google Search adds AR and big Lens upgrades
Google is going to start displaying search results in augmented reality, the company announced today at its I/O 2019 developers conference. "Sometimes what's most helpful in understanding the world," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on stage, "is being able to see it visually." The idea, he added, is to bring visual information directly into search by letting users take advantage of their smartphone's camera. Google said it will use a combination of computer vision and augmented reality to turn your phone into a powerful search tool, whether you're looking to shop or wanting to learn more about the Solar System.
Edgar Alvarez05.07.2019
Google's iOS keyboard can translate text into more than 100 languages
If you use Google's iOS keyboard Gboard, you can now translate to and from all languages supported by Google Translate -- that's currently 103. This means you can effectively type and translate in any supported language, in any app on your iPhone. The feature is a welcome addition, but it's a bit overdue. Gboard has supported translation on Android since 2017.
Christine Fisher03.15.2019
The Google Translate iOS app is about to get a lot smarter
Google Translate has always seemed a little bit like magic - perhaps a little flawed magic when it doesn't translate something properly - but it's been getting better as time goes on. Now the iOS app is about to get a very big update that will make almost as useful as Star Trek's universal translator. First, Google Translate will now use the amazing Word Lens capability acquired in 2014 to do visual translations (see image above). By just pointing your iPhone's camera at a sign, menu or other written material, you'll get an instant translation even without a Wi-Fi or data connection. This is working for English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and Google says it is working on expanding to more languages soon. But the biggest change is in terms of getting spoken language translations. The updated app works like this: Starting today, simply tap the mic to start speaking in a selected language, then tap the mic again, and the Google Translate app will automatically recognize which of the two languages are being spoken, letting you have a more fluid conversation. For the rest of the conversation, you won't need to tap the mic again-it'll be ready as you need it. Asking for directions to the Rive Gauche, ordering bacalhau in Lisbon, or chatting with your grandmother in her native Spanish just got a lot faster. As Google notes, the updates "take us one step closer to turning your phone into a universal translator and to a world where language is no longer a barrier to discovering information or connecting with each other." Expect to see the iOS update in the next few days. Now if we could just get inexpensive and ubiquitous data service for our phones when we're in a different country...
Steve Sande01.14.2015
Google Translate iOS app updated with new UI, handwriting support
International travelers just got one more reason to update to iOS 7: Google's Translate app. Mountain View's machine translation service is already the go-to language conversion tool for many users, but the app's latest iOS update packs in a few killer features. In addition to a modern UI overhaul, the iPhone app no supports seven additional languages (bringing its total up to 70) and touch-based handwriting input. The latter feature hit the service's homepage earlier this summer, and converts the user's woeful imitations of foreign script into translatable characters. It's clean looking, useful and brand new. What more can you ask for?
Sean Buckley09.20.2013
Google releases Google Translate 2.0 with handwriting support
Google has released a major update to its Translate app, which has been neglected for some time. With today's Google Translate 2.0 release, the app finally sees support for the iPhone 5. Google has also updated the app with an iOS 7-inspired design and added an additional seven languages including Bosnian, Cebuano, Hmong, Javanese, Khmer, Lao and Marathi. However, the biggest update to Google Translate 2.0 is handwriting recognition. Users can now write words with their finger to enter text in 49 languages, which the app will then translate on the fly. Other features of Google Translate 2.0 include support for 70 languages, speech translation and audio pronunciation of your translations. Google Translate 2.0 is a free download.
Michael Grothaus09.19.2013
Phrasebook for Google Translate lets you save important words for later reference
Google Translate has been steadily gaining new features, most recently adding translations from cameras and suggesting synonyms for your searched-for words. The latest addition, Phrasebook, lets you save translations for later reference. In practice, it's quite similar to starring items in your Gmail inbox; simply click the star icon under your translated text, and the sentence (or words) in question will be saved to your Phrasebook. To view all your saved translations, you simply click on the "Show Phrasebook" icon located in the top-right, and hovering over the text will give you the option to listen to each phrase. Controls let you search the saved phrases by language pairing or by searching specific phrases. We don't know about you, but we're already hard at work memorizing "Welcome to San Francisco!" in 50-some languages ahead of Engadget Expand this weekend.
Sarah Silbert03.14.2013
Google Translate gets new features, makes sure you choose the right words
Google has added functionality to the web version of its Translate service, now making it even easier for us to use and understand foreign tongues. Instead of a single result, you'll be presented with a list of the most common translations, ordered and labeled by how frequently each one is used. What's more, synonyms are also displayed next to the assortment of results, but this particular feature only works when translating into English, although more languages are expected to be supported soon. We've had a quick play around with it, and suggest you head over to the Google Translate page and try out the new elements for yourself. Now, if only the website translator could make those Japanese pages a little easier to read.
Jamie Rigg11.02.2012
Google Translate app gets weighty update, will translate signs through your smartphone camera
Google's multi-lingual translation app decided that (online) words were not enough. Beyond digital text, a new update to Translate will let Google's bots translate what you're looking at, whether that's hand-written directions or a sign saying, "wrong way." Though its not the first time we've seen an app that translates text from the camera (not even for Google) the update includes a convenient touch-guided interface that allows you to draw over the text you'd like converted into English -- it seemed to master our beginners' Spanish textbook with ease. The update also adds improvements to its voice translations, with new dialect preferences and improved handwriting recognition for Japanese input. Grab the download before you board that flight abroad this summer -- just ensure it's on a WiFi-only connection once you get there.
Mat Smith08.09.2012