Google unveils Translate app

Often the hardest part of travelling is navigating the local language.

Google Translate can help guide people facing unfamiliar languages and signboards.

"We've updated the Translate app on Android and iOS to transform your mobile device into an even more powerful translation tool," said Barak Turovsky, product lead, Google Translate in a media blog post.

Instant translation with Word Lens
The Translate app already lets users use camera mode to snap a photo of text and get a translation for it in 36 languages. Now, Google says it is taking this to the next level and allowing users instantly translate text using your camera - so it's way easier to navigate street signs in the Italian countryside or decide what to order off a Barcelona menu.

While using the Translate app, users just point the camera at a sign or text and they can see the translated text overlaid on the screen - even if they don't have an internet or data connection.

This instant translation currently works for translation from English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and we're working to expand to more languages.

Have an easier conversation using the Translate app
"When talking with someone in an unfamiliar language, conversations can get... realllllllly... sloowwww. While we've had real-time conversation mode on Android since 2013, our new update makes the conversation flow faster and more naturally," Turovsky's post said.

Users have to simply tap the mic to start speaking in a selected language, then tap the mic again, and the Google Translate app will automatically recognise which of the two languages are being spoken. For the rest of the conversation, you won't need to tap the mic again - it'll be ready as they 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.

Updates will be coming to both Android and iOS, over the next few days. This is the first time some of these advanced features, like camera translations and conversation mode, will be available for iOS users.

More than 500 million people use Google Translate every month, making more than 1 billion translations a day to more easily communicate and access information across languages.