Android Police: mobile version of Google Translate will be able to translate typed text and speech in real time

Universal translator Star Trek, designed to translate the speech of alien races.

Technical observers Android Police claim that they have received screenshots of the Google Translate mobile application, which should receive a significant update. The most noticeable, probably, will be such: the application will be able to translate both the interlocutor's speech in real time and the text in the photos.

A few months ago, the search giant acquired WordLens (it became free), the functionality of which is to translate printed text from signs, business cards, menus, and other such things. The meaning of this acquisition, obviously, was to integrate this interesting feature into its own application, which has not received significant updates for a long time.

The screenshots below show an example of an English menu (under the spoiler) and translate it into Spanish in Live Translation mode. The word “live” means that the translation takes place, as they say, “on the fly” - without delay or taking photographs, and in one of the application’s assemblies, the Russian language was also supported:
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The second remarkable feature of the update is expected to be the ability to translate speech in a foreign language - the application “listens” to the audio stream in one language and automatically translates it into another. It is not quite clear exactly how the translation will take place - individual words or, nevertheless, words in the context of a sentence (which may not be completely clear at the time the phrase is pronounced), but nevertheless a “live” translation without having to type a word in the translator or try to pronounce it in an unfamiliar language for the voice engine should be a serious step for the development of the application.

The research group Microsoft Reasearch also last year demonstrated a “live” translation from one language to another during the Skype video call, however, as in the case of Google, the specific time of the release of the update is not yet known.