Microsoft announced on Thursday it will start rolling out the new built-in, real-time translator tool that will now be featured in the Skype desktop app for all Windows users.
The Skype Translator offers six languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin and Spanish, as well as 50 languages to send messages in, which include Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Hebrew.
With its built-in integration, Skype users will now be able to see translations in real-time during audio and video calls, and in their instant messages when clicking on the new translator button. The translator analyzes snippets of sound to recognize the language, then translates it into the user's preferred language. Microsoft hired a team of linguists to train the app to understand all the nuances of the languages, including slang and colloquialisms. Over time, the app will learn from conversations it translates and continue to improve. The translations are displayed on-screen and are also read by the computer when using the voice call feature. Skype Translator will break down existing barriers to help users communicate who speak different languages, as well as help those who are hearing-impaired.
The Microsoft-owned company first released a preview of Skype Translator in December 2014; however, it was only offered as a standalone app and could only translate English and Spanish at first. Over time more languages have been added, but this Windows desktop integration is its biggest expansion to date. The company then released a preview on the tool for Windows 8.1 devices in December 2014.
Microsoft previously announced in June that it will integrate this functionality into the desktop app starting at Windows 7 and above. Better late then never, but there is no word yet when the tool will be integrated on other platforms such as for Mac or mobile.
The Skype Translator feature is now available for desktop, laptop and Surface tablet users with Windows 7, 8, and 10.
Via: Skype
