Google is rolling out a beta version that lets you listen to real-time translations on your headphones, the company announced Friday. The tech giant is also introducing advanced Gemini features to Google Translate, expanding the translation app’s language learning tools.
Google says its new real-time headphone translation experience keeps each speaker’s tone, emphasis, and rhythm intact, making it easier to understand conversations and know who’s saying what. This new feature essentially turns any headphone into a real-time, one-way translation device.
“Whether you’re having a conversation in another language, listening to a speech or lecture abroad, or watching a TV show or movie in another language, you can put on your headphones, open the Translate app, tap Live Translate, and hear a real-time translation in your preferred language,” Rose Yao, Google’s vice president of product management, vertical search, said in a blog post.
This beta is currently rolling out in the Translator app on Android in the US, Mexico, and India. This feature works with any headphones and supports over 70 languages.
The company plans to bring this feature to iOS and other countries in 2026.
Regarding Gemini’s advanced features coming to Translate, Google says it will enable smarter, more natural, and accurate text translation. It also improves the translation of phrases with more nuanced meanings, such as slang, idioms, and regional expressions.
For example, if you’re trying to translate an English idiom like “steal your thunder,” Gemini will parse the context to figure out what the idiom actually means, giving you a more accurate translation instead of a literal word-for-word translation.
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The update is currently rolling out in the US and India, and translates between English and approximately 20 languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and German. This update is available for the Translator app on Android, iOS, and the web.
Google is also expanding its language learning tools to about 20 new countries, including Germany, India, Sweden, and Taiwan. English speakers can now practice German, and speakers of Bengali, Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, German, Hindi, Italian, Romanian, and Swedish can now practice English.
The tech giant has also added improved feedback so you can get helpful tips based on your speaking practice.
Additionally, Google is adding the ability to track consecutive days of study, making it easier to see your progress and maintain consistency. These tools are already designed to compete with Duolingo, but this new feature brings the experience even closer to the popular language learning app.
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