The folks at XDA are now revealing some images of this feature in action. The screenshots were reportedly accessed from a source with a Pixel 6 Pro, suggesting that the feature will be built into the upcoming flagship.
The feature will make its debut with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
The source mentioned above also found an unreleased build of the Android System Intelligence app, formerly known as Device Personalization Services. The app manages a bunch of software functions on Pixel devices, including Live Caption. This is where the source also discovered a new service for the Live Translate feature. Live Translate will reportedly make its debut with the Pixel 6 lineup in October. While previous reports have given us some insight into the functioning of Live Translate, there were no images or videos for the feature. But that changes with this leak. These screenshots reveal that Live Translate can translate text messages, text in the camera viewfinder and take on the role of an interpreter. This is in addition to translating captions into other languages. Live Translate can be toggled by heading over to Settings – System when available. Users can download language models over Wi-Fi or cellular data. Each language model has a size of around 50 to 200MB, depending on the language. Since this appears to be a work in progress, some languages don’t have support for all features. As XDA points out, picking Mandarin lets you translate messages and text visible on the camera viewfinder. Meanwhile, the Japanese language supports the translation of messages, camera viewfinder text, and captions.
Live Translate will reportedly work entirely offline
Google said that Live Translate is an offline feature built right into the new Tensor chip on the Pixel 6. The feature appears to be inaccessible on existing Pixel phones. This means it could be an exclusive feature on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Translating text messages may seem complex, but Live Translate can handle it with relative ease. This feature can detect when you receive a message in another language and open a box at the bottom of the screen. It also allows users to “get translations instantly as you chat.” The company clarifies that translations occur on the phone with no data sent to Google. Users will also find an option to “translate all messages in this chat,” making it easier to translate entire conversations. Live Translate for captions can be accessed from Settings – Sound & vibration if you’re on Android 12. However, Google is reportedly adding a new entry here named “Languages & translation.” This section will allow users to pick the languages to trigger the translation of captions. Lastly, text translation via the camera is pretty self-explanatory. This feature could venture into the Google Camera app, popping up a suggestion whenever the viewfinder detects text in another language. Since this feature is based on Google Lens, some of the features included are relatively similar. These features could prove to be the game-changer in terms of modern translation technology. The fact that Google can achieve all this completely offline is crucial since most translation apps require internet access.
