Google translate has changed a lot since its launch in 2006 in web version and as an app in 2010. In 2023 it is a swiss army knife of languages that allows you to communicate in writing in 108 languages, handwriting, reproduce the corresponding pronunciation and translate a spoken conversation between two users in real time, among other possibilities. The only thing that can be compared to it when translating written text is ChatGPTwho has revealed himself as an excellent translator with a better understanding of the context than Google’s on many occasions.
But here we are talking about the Google Translate app and its integration with the Android operating system that allows the translator to be used in many applications without having to exit them. In iOS, for example, if a user wants to translate a text with the Google app, they must copy it, access it and paste it to obtain a result. A nuisance.
On Android, the situation is better, although it does not extend to all the apps that you may have installed on your mobile. According to Google, the integration is available with those that allow you to copy text but in practice you can find some cases in which it is not so. In most you interact with the translator through a popup that appears over the app you’re using by pressing the corresponding option, without having to exit it. For cases in which the app does not support this option, the translator has a second option that consists of enabling a floating icon about the app you use. It can be a bit cumbersome but it allows you to always have the translation at hand.
To be able to use the Google translator from other apps, you must follow these steps:
- Open the Google translator and click on the image of your profile in the upper right corner.
- Tap on settings in the popup menu.
- Choose tap to translate.
- Activate the slider in the options Use tap to translate and Automatically translate copied text. If you want to always have the translator available as a floating icon on the application you are using, also activate show floating icon.
From this moment on, you will be able to select a text in an app and in the pop-up menu that is displayed, with the Copy and other options, you will find the Translate. Selecting it opens a translator pop-up window with the selected text and the options provided by the app.
If you prefer to use the floating icon, you will have to copy and select the text to translate. In this case, you do not leave the app you are using either.
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