Google Assistant's new 'interpreter mode' can translate speech in 44 languages

Just point your phone at the person you're talking to, and Google will translate

A tourist.
(Image credit: Poike/iStock)

Each week, we spotlight a cool innovation recommended by some of the industry's top tech writers. This week's pick is a virtual translator.

Google's new "interpreter mode" makes it easier to strike up a conversation abroad, said Julian Chokkattu at Wired​. The company has "updated Google Assistant so that it supports translating languages in real time" on your phone. That means that if you're traveling in a foreign country, "just say 'Hey Google, be my [insert language here] translator' and point your phone at the person you're talking to."

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