Engadget: Telegram’s latest update adds real-time message translation. “With its first update of 2023, Telegram is making it easier to communicate with people who might speak a different language than you. The next time someone messages you in a language other than your default language, you’ll see a translate bar at the top of the interface. Tap it to translate their message in real time.”
Engadget: Google Meet is testing live translated captions. “Google Meet’s latest beta feature could help make video conferences with foreign clients, partners, students and employees go more smoothly. The tech giant has started testing live translated captions for the program, which is a step up from Meet’s standard live captions. It will initially support meetings conducted in English that it can translate into Spanish, French, Portuguese and German.”
CNET: Zoom is adding live translation services, more hybrid work features. “Upgrades include live, multilanguage transcription and translation for Zoom calls. The platform will use machine learning and natural language processing to first transcribe the spoken language, and then each participant will be able to translate it to their own language, Zoom executives said during a press call. A beta will be available this month, and the feature should be generally available by the end of the year. The list of languages is not yet final, there will be 30 transcription and 12 translation options by the end of 2022, they added.”
The Verge: Google Translate will transcribe translations in real time on Android. “Google plans to add a live transcription feature to its Google Translate app for Android at some point in the future. The feature will allow users to record audio in one language and have it rendered in another in real time. It’s still in the prototype stage, but Google gave a demonstration of the technology during a series of artificial intelligence demos at its San Francisco office on Tuesday.”
Passenger Terminal Today: JFKIAT announces Google partnership. “Terminal 4 at John F Kennedy International Airport has become the first airport terminal in the world to partner with Google to bring the Google Assistant’s interpreter mode real-time translation technology to travelers.”
Neowin: Google Assistant’s Interpreter Mode is rolling out to phones today. “Google announced Interpreter Mode earlier this year, rolling it out to Google Home and Assistant-powered Smart Displays some time later. As suggested by the name, Interpreter Mode permits users to communicate back and forth when they’re abroad and do not know the local language. Now the company has announced that it is rolling out this feature today to ‘Assistant-enabled Android and iOS phones worldwide.’”
Google Blog: Lost in translation? Try interpreter mode with the Google Assistant. “It’s easier than ever to meet new people and explore new places—but language barriers that prevent us from talking to each other still exist. With the Google Assistant, we’re focused on creating the best way to get things done—regardless of who you’re communicating with or what language you speak. To help you connect with people you’re talking to, we recently introduced a new feature called interpreter mode that translates your conversations in real time.”
Wired: Google’s New Interpreter Mode Translates Your Conversation. “…Google is trying to outsource another human-to-human interaction: the kind that occurs between a person who works in hospitality and a guest who speaks a different language. A new feature in Google Assistant, called Interpreter Mode, turns the virtual assistant into a real-time language translator between two people who are trying to chat in the same physical space. It starts rolling out today on Google-powered smart displays and smart speakers.”
CNBC: China’s Baidu challenges Google with A.I. that translates languages in real-time. “Internet giant Baidu unveiled an artificial intelligence-powered tool on Wednesday that can translate English into Chinese and German in real time, in move to challenge a rival product from Google.”
TechCrunch: Google’s Airpods competitor do real-time language translation. “One of the surprises we got today from Google’s hardware event were a pair of bluetooth headphones called Pixel Buds. They’re wired behind the neck but they’re every bit a competitor to Apple’s AirPods. They’re $159, they’re available in November and they’ll let you understand 40 different languages. Seriously.”
eWeek: New Microsoft PowerPoint Add-in Translates in Real-Time. “Microsoft Garage, the software giant’s experimental app unit, released Presentation Translator this week, an Office add-in for the Windows version of PowerPoint that provides real-time translation services. The software is powered by Microsoft Translator and the company’s Cognitive Services slate, a collection of AI-enabled APIs.”
The Next Web: Skype will now translate Japanese for you in real-time. “Microsoft and Skype will now help you converse in real time with Japanese speaker — even if you don’t speak Japanese yourself. Skype announced this week that it was adding Japanese to its real-time translation software, which it introduced in 2014.”
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