Google Updates Translate App With Awesome New Features

Google was expected to push out a drastically improved version of its translation app in the near future, but it looks like the new version of Google Translate has arrived even sooner than expected. The company revealed the upgraded service for Android and iOS today, introducing a couple of new features that should prove extremely useful for world travelers.

The first improvement is instant text translation, thanks to the overdue integration of Word Lens, which Google bought over the summer. In the past, you could snap a photo of foreign text to get a quick Google translation using the app. Now, you can simply point the viewfinder at the sign in question and get an even faster translation. The new feature works without an Internet connection, though for now it’s limited to just a handful of languages, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Google also added a “conversation mode” that should make it possible to communicate with anyone using your smartphone. Simply tap the microphone icon in the app and start talking. Google Translate will quickly figure out which two languages are being spoken and offer written translations of everything you say.

Google says the update should roll out to both Android and iOS within the next few days. We just checked and the update was not yet available in either Google Play or Apple’s App Store, but you can hit the source links below to see for yourself.

 

If you have some suggestions of your own please let us know in comments!

WhatsApp plans for Voice Calling Update

All the way back in Feb., WhatsApp promised that voice calling was on the way for the popular messaging app. Now, it looks like the Facebook-owned company is finally ready to roll out the new feature after it leaked in a recent update to WhatsApp for Android.

The leak comes directly from WhatsApp’s website, where the company often pushes out new features before they hit the app store, and was uncovered by Dutch tech blog Android World. The latest update doesn’t actually let you make voice calls, but offers details on how it will work. Based on this new information, it looks like you’ll soon be able to make WhatApp calls over 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi, and even record your calls and listen to them again later from inside the app.

Based on all this leaked info, Android World was able to create a handful of images showing what voice calling will look like. Of course, it’s possible WhatsApp isn’t done tweaking the new feature, but the images above look pretty good already.

It’s unclear if WhatsApp voice calling will get an official launch by the end of 2014, which is approaching quickly, though that’s what the company promised earlier this year. Back then, CEO Jan Koum said he was still hammering out deals with the major carriers, so it’s possible that could be holding back the release.