Google Assistant on phones and tablets also gets real-time translation

Google has made its live translations feature available in Google Assistant, including iOS. Until now, the feature was limited to certain devices. Google Assistant also gets smart replies here, in which likely responses are suggested.

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Users can activate the feature with “OK Google, be my English translator”, then Assistant will be ready to translate. Google’s assistant already has the ability to listen to two languages ​​at the same time, so it doesn’t matter who starts speaking and whether they put the assistant to work multiple times in a row. In total, Assistant supports 44 languages.

The smart replies are obvious responses that appear as a button in the screen when Assistant thinks they are useful. By pressing that, users don’t have to say the phrase first, which should provide a smoother experience. Furthermore, there is also the option of direct translation via text input, if necessary. The output is therefore in text, with the option to have it pronounced.

The feature was already available in the 2017 Pixel Buds and came to all Assistant-compatible earbuds in 2018. In January of this year, smart speakers and displays were added to that list. So now the feature is available for all devices equipped with Google Assistant, including iOS devices.

The feature was already in Google Translate, but Google says it wants to make the experience easier by removing the need to download an extra app. A trial with the Translate app also resulted in much lower quality voices being used, for reasons that are unclear.