Malcolm Owen
Google has updated Gboard, its third-party keyboard for iOS, adding the ability to take advantage of Google Translate to write text in another language directly from the keyboard itself, without requiring users to access the separate Google Translate app or the website version.
Updated to version 1.41.0, the latest iteration of Google's Gboard for iOS gains the translation feature, which is described in the release notes to use "all the languages supported by Google Translate. At present, Google Translate offers support for over 100 languages, with the keyboard able to translate to and from each of them when required.
The translation option appears in the suggestion strip of the keyboard, or alternately by selecting the onscreen Google button. The keyboard will attempt to detect the language manually, but users can also select what they wish to translate to or from manually.
While the addition of Google Translate support has only just arrived on iOS, it has been available on the Android version of the keyboard for some time. Android users were first able to use the feature in March 2017, at the same time GIF and emoji suggestions and improved voice typing.
Google Translate is not the only language addition made to Gboard in recent months. The list of the most recent updates includes language support for Albanian, Lao, Mongolian, Thai, and Khmer, while other features added include new camera effects for the Make a GIF feature, enabling haptic feedback on key presses, and an optimization of assets to reduce the app's overall size.
Introduced in 2016, Gboard provides users with access to a variety of Google-driven services from the keyboard. Along with searches and Translate, users are able to search YouTube, bring up Google Maps, search for contacts, and summon Google Assistant, among other tasks.
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
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Christine McKee
8 Comments
And what about those b... add support for iOS Action Extension. It is only translating app that is not supporting it.
I was excited from third party keyboards at beginning but returned to system based back again as I switch many language keyboards often and third party are pain in ass as you can not directly to switch to other keyboard from them.
So support in Gboard is low interest if any.
Only thing I am awaiting from Google is ability to send text in picture for recognition and translation via action extension from any app or screenshot editor or generally approach GT via Shortcuts action. But it seems is not going to happen.
Appleinsider lately there's more and more Android written news stuff here, wazzup? It's Appleinsider remember? Even your banners display Shamsung Galaxy misery. Like Ariana Grande sings: I Don't Care 🎼
OT but language related ... I was playing with that amazing web site Radio Garden yesterday and came across a radio station on the outer Hebrides and they were speaking Gaelic. The chatter was fascinating as it was about 10% English intermixed. So to me, it was unintelligible then all of a sudden I'd hear "So ... fifty-fifty... thumbs up ... internet" and so on.