Gemini Brings Live Speech‑to‑Speech Translation to Google Translate

Google Translate now boasts live speech-to-speech translation, thanks to Gemini. This means any pair of headphones—including non-Google sets, like the near-ubiquitous Apple AirPods—can function as real-time translation devices when paired with an Android device.

The beta went live in the US, Mexico, and India on Dec. 12 and works with any wired or wireless headphones connected to the Google Translate app. Users tap "Live translate" in the app to access two translation modes: continuous listening and two-way conversation.

Continuous listening mode translates speech from multiple languages around the user into one target language in real time. Two-way conversation mode, meanwhile, automatically switches output languages based on who is speaking. If an English speaker chats with a Hindi speaker, for example, the English speaker hears English in their headphones, and the phone plays Hindi aloud for the other person.

Gemini's live translation processes speech in over 70 languages ...