Google Translate received yet another update from its creator. This time, the update allows the app to take advantage of one of the new features Google is bringing to Android via Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Version 4.3 of Google Translate for Android will be using Marshmallow's contextual selection feature to allow users to easily select text anywhere on their system and have the app translate it for them.
In earlier versions of both the app and the operating system, users have to copy the portions of text they want to have translated, switch the screen to the Translate app, and paste the text in there. This takes up a lot of time, and it is unwieldy for users to have to carry over blocks of text from one app to another. However, the update should make it extremely easier for users to use Translate as long as the app is running quietly in the background.
The new update, which was first spotted by Android Police, is now available for download through the Google Play Store. However, for now, it is limited to devices that are actually running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which is still on developer preview. Until then, most users will have to wait for Google to launch the new OS and their wireless carriers to push out the software upgrade to their smartphones.
The latest update comes hot on the heels of a recent update pushed by Google to make Translate for Android Wear, providing a built-in text and voice translation tool for users who have Android Wear smartwatches.
Most recently for the mobile app, Google added support for additional languages, which now includes more than 90 languages from around the world. Speech-to-speech translation was also given a boost, and the feature now supports more than 40 languages than can be translated via speech. The first language pair to receive speech-to-speech translation in 2011 was English and Spanish.
In 2014, Google acquired a startup called Quest Digital and incorporated the company's Word Lens product into Translate. The relatively new feature allows users to take a picture of text and have the app translate it for them, a handy feature for people travelling abroad.
