Live text translation now rolling out to Google Lens

What you need to know

  • Google Lens is getting live text translation and new restaurant menu features.
  • The features are rolling out to everyone over the coming week.
  • They're coming to ARCore-compatible Android phones and all iOS devices.

This year's Google I/O was home to more than a few announcements, with one of the focuses being Google Lens. On May 28, Google announced that it's now rolling out two of the Lens features it revealed at the annual developer conference.

First on the list, Lens has a new tool for you to use the next time you go out for dinner. Open Google Lens, point the viewfinder at your menu, and Lens will highlight certain dishes that are particularly popular. When you tap on the dish, you can see pictures of it and people's reviews from Google Maps.

Also new is something that's been available in Google Translate for a while — live text translation.

With this, you'll point your camera at foreign text, and right in front of you, Lens will convert the words to your language of choice on top of the original text. At launch, it'll work with over 100 different languages.

These goodies are rolling out to Google Lens starting today and will be available to everyone over this coming week. All you need is an ARCore-compatible Android phone or an iOS device.

Google I/O 2019: Top 12 announcements!

Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.