Google Translate splits its features into handy one-tap widgets

If you're visiting a different country, trying to learn a new language, or just in a part of your town where signs and speech all look and sound a little different and foreign, you know how important a seamless translation experience is.

There are hundreds of good translation apps out there, but most of us still rely on the good 'ol trusty.

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By  Jon Gilbert

Google Translate receives regular updates that power new features. For example, in late February, the tool added new buttons to handle the nuance in translations. This was followed by Google working on making it easier to access your most-needed languages via language pinning.

Now, with the app's latest update, Google is making it much easier to quickly hop into the translation mode of your choice, and that too, right from your home and lock screens, as pointed out by the folks over at 9to5Google.

5 new tiles for quick translations

The app is gaining several new widgets. The primary one here is the new 3x1/5x1 Translate Text widget that lets you hop into a text translation session with one tap.

More interestingly, the update also introduces 5 new 1x1 widgets that lead to different areas of the app. As seen in the screenshot above, the new widgets include:

• Camera: Translate text using your camera.
• Voice: Translate text using your voice.
• Live Translate: Translate audio into any language.
• Clipboard: Translate text from your clipboard.
• Practice: Tailored listening and speaking practice sessions.

The new widgets reportedly rolled out with version 10.8 of the Google Translate Android app. I have access to the widgets with an older 10.7 build too, but I'd suggest updating to the latest version regardless.

Similar additions have not made their way to the Google Translate iOS app.