Google Assistant for KaiOS gets Google Lens-like text translation feature

The translate feature is currently available for English and several Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil

Google on Tuesday announced Google Lens-like text translation feature to its Google Assistant for KaiOS. In retrospective, Google announced camera-based translation feature to Google Lens at its I/O 2019. The feature allow users to translate text just by pointing the phone’s camera at text. This feature has since then be adopted in multiple Google services, including Google Go. Now, the feature is available with Google Assistant for KaiOS powered phones, including Reliance JioPhone, JioPhone 2 and Nokia 8110.

“From Assistant, they (users) can click the camera icon to simply point their phone at real-world text (like a product label, street sign, or document, for example,) and have it read back in their preferred language, translated, or defined. Just long press the center button from the home screen to get started with Assistant,” said Google in a statement.

The translate feature for Google Assistant is currently available for English and several Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil. It will soon be available in Kannada and Gujarati, too. Press the right soft key once within Google Assistant interface to access and use this feature.

“This is another step in our commitment to make language more accessible to everyone, and we hope this will enable millions of KaiOS users across the country to have a more seamless language experience,” the statement added.

Launched in India in 2017, Google Assistant for KaiOS brings features like integrated voice typing, voice-based language selection, and support for Indian languages to help first-time internet users overcome barriers to literacy and interact with technology and their devices more naturally.