Google Translate gains dominion over Gboard temporarily

Google Translate has long been one of Google’s most user-friendly and comprehensive experiences. The latest update to the more-than-just-translation utility sees it becoming even more intuitive and integrated into the general landscape of your Android device. Google Translate will now change your built-in Google keyboard’s input language to match the language you’re translating from. 

This latest feature integration between Google’s built-in Gboard and its Translate utility makes the apps even more intuitive as the input into one, will change the layout and landscape of the other. As an easy example, if you wish to translate a Spanish phrase or word into English, you’ll notice that your built-in Gboard interface will change to represent Spanish characters as opposed to the usual English letters. This makes typing in the input language much easier.

Previously, any keyboard language alterations needed for Gboard could only be accessed through the utility’s settings and had to be toggled intentionally by the user. Now, that process has been automated as your Gboard language within the Translate environment will depend on the language you have set as the input language, in this case, Spanish. 

Your space bar was, and is still a quick access tool to your language settings, as long-pressing the spacebar within the Gboard interface triggers the selection of your favorite languages. You’ll also notice a globe icon appearing next to your space bar in the new update. This icon makes it easier to switch back to your device’s native language. Your device will also now switch back to its native language automatically when you exit the Google Translate environment. 

Currently, the updated versions of Gboard and Google Translate are in beta testing, and the new features don’t appear on phones running the previous versions of the apps, versions 11.5 and 6.30, respectively. This new feature is similar to when Google Translate received an A.I. boost a few years ago.