Google recently enhanced its Gemini audio models – Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash Text-to-Speech – enabling smoother, more natural conversations and delivering an improved translation experience. As part of rolling out these upgrades across its products, Google has integrated the latest Gemini capabilities into Search and the Translate app.
Google Translate uses advanced Gemini capabilities to improve translations of phrases with nuanced meanings, such as idioms, local expressions, or slang, the company says.
Instead of providing word-for-word translations, when you try to translate an English idiom like “stealing my thunder” via Search, Gemini parses the context to deliver a more helpful translation that captures what the idiom actually means.
Language Learning on Translate App
Google has also expanded its language practice tool on the Translate app. The beta feature can now track your daily streaks, showing how many days in a row you’ve been learning a particular language.
Additionally, Google is extending the beta trial to nearly 20 new countries, including India, Germany, Sweden, and Taiwan. Users can effectively use this tool to refine their language skills, including
- Bengali, Mandarin Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, German, Hindi, Italian, Romanian, and Swedish to English, or
- English to German and Portuguese
Live Translate feature powered by Gemini
Thanks to Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio, the Google Translate app now has the ability to enable streaming speech-to-speech translation for headphones. You can hear real-time translations directly in your headphones by simply tapping “Live Translate” in the Translate app.
This comes in handy in various situations, such as:
- conversing in a different language
- listening to a speech or lecture while abroad
- watching a TV show or film in another language
This is something we’ve already seen on AirPods Pro 3 and other earbuds. Now, Google is bringing it to a much wider audience, as it works with any headphones.
Powered by the latest Gemini models, the new experience preserves the tone, emphasis, and cadence of each speaker, creating more natural translations and making it easier to follow who said what, says Google.
Availability
Starting today, the beta for the ‘Live Translate’ feature is rolling out in the Translate app on Android in the U.S., Mexico, and India; it works with any pair of headphones and supports more than 70 languages, including Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, and more.