Google Translate, the app that allows you to translate between 103 different languages, has a small but important update rolling out in the Play Store today. The update is version 5.15.0.RC08 for those keeping score at home and should be hitting everyone’s devices via an OTA update this week.
The new version brings offline translation support to seven new languages from English. These translations also include the instant camera translations. If you aren’t familiar with the instant camera feature of the app, this is where you can point your phone’s camera at a sign in a foreign language and it will be translated into your native tongue. The new offline translation languages supported are:
- Bengali
- Gujarati
- Kannada
- Marathi
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Urdu
In order for the offline translations to work, you will need to make sure you download these languages as well as others to your phone. Most of the translation packs are less than 50MB in size.
As you would expect, Google’s goal with offline translations is to limit the requirement for you to be online to translate words and signs. This can be quite costly in many countries around the world.
In addition to the offline language support, this update also brings minor bug fixes and overall stability improvements to the app. As is Google’s normal mode of operation, what exactly was addressed in these bug fixes and stability improvements is a mystery.
If you are looking for a translation app and haven’t tried Google’s, give it a go. It works exceptionally well and, like other Google apps, it is a free download in the Play Store.
