Google is rolling out a beta experience that lets you hear real-time translations through your headphones. This new feature keeps each speaker’s tone, emphasis, and cadence intact, making it easier to follow a conversation and distinguish who is speaking. Essentially, it turns any pair of headphones into a real-time, one-way translation device.
Whether you are having a conversation in a different language, listening to a speech abroad, or watching foreign media, you can now put on your headphones, open the Translate app, tap ‘Live translate,’ and hear a real-time translation in your preferred language.
The beta is available now in the Translate app on Android in the U.S., Mexico, and India. It works with any headphones and supports more than 70 languages. Google plans to bring the capability to iOS and more countries in 2026.
Separately, Google is bringing advanced Gemini capabilities to Translate. These will enable smarter, more natural, and accurate text translations. They also improve the translation of phrases with nuanced meanings, like slang, idioms, or local expressions.
For example, if you translate an English idiom like “stealing my thunder,” you will now get a more accurate translation instead of a literal word-for-word version, as Gemini parses the context to capture the true meaning.
This Gemini update is rolling out now in the U.S. and India, translating between English and nearly 20 languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and German. It is available in the Translate app on Android, iOS, and the web.
Google is also expanding its language learning tools to almost 20 new countries, including Germany, India, Sweden, and Taiwan. English speakers can now practice German, while speakers of Bengali, Mandarin Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, German, Hindi, Italian, Romanian, and Swedish can practice English.
The company is adding improved feedback to provide helpful tips based on your speaking practice. A new feature will also track how many days in a row you have been learning, making it easier to see your progress and stay consistent.
While these tools were already designed to compete with Duolingo, this new tracking feature brings the experience even closer to the popular language-learning app.