Google’s got two big new upgrades for Translate on Android and iOS

Google shares Translate’s latest tools for breaking down language barriers. Google’s got two big new upgrades for Translate on Android and iOS. Google Translate gets Live Translate background mode.

Apple users are getting access to Translate’s “listening mode” for no-earbud-needed translations. Being able to act as a real-time interpreter is one of Google Translate’s greatest strengths, thanks to its impressive Live Translate mode. Today the company shares the latest ways it’s making that already powerful mode even better.

When you’re trying to do something when traveling like check into a hotel, or get information from someone about a destination on a map, it’s easy to run into a bit of a problem — you want to use Live Translate to help you quickly understand the person you’re talking to, but you also need to keep checking info from another app on your phone. Wouldn’t it be great if Live Translate could simply run in the background, so you didn’t need to keep the Translate app on top. Google has finally realized the benefit of this arrangement, and is introducing background Live Translate on Android.