Upcoming Google Translate App Update Adds On-the-fly Translations Of Conversations & Signs

I have long been impressed with Google’s Translate app for its ease and overall usefulness, but at the next update, things are going to be taken a step further – some have even compared it to “Star Trek“-like technology.

One of the long-term goals of Google’s Translate service has to be to allow two people to talk to each other in their own respective language. This app update will help take care of that. With two languages selected in the app, it will auto-detect the language as it’s spoken, and then automatically translate it.

Persons dedicated enough have had this sort of ability in the past, but Google takes most of the hassle out of it with this app update, mostly because it’s all-inclusive – you simply select both languages and start speaking.

The other feature to get a boost in this update is translating signs. Before, you would have to snap a photo and then have Google translate it, whereas now, all you have to do is simply point your device’s camera at the sign, and wait for the translation to appear on the same screen. Best part? This can be done while offline.

Overall, this is a major update to Google Translate, and fortunately, you’ll only have to wait a few more days before you can get your hands on it – as long as you’re using iOS or Android. At this point, you shouldn’t expect these two features to be perfect, but they’ll put us further ahead of where we were.