At Google I/O 2019, the company introduced a new feature in Google Lens to help users instantly translate text just by pointing their smartphone's camera at it. The feature included support for over 100 languages and greatly simplified translation for users. The feature was then added to Google Go later in the year, allowing users with budget Android devices to experience its capabilities. Now, in a bid to bring the feature to even more users, Google has extended camera-based translation to KaiOS powered feature phones in India.

For the unaware, KaiOS is a Linux-based mobile operating system for feature phones that offers a few features that you would otherwise only find on smartphones, including Google Maps, YouTube, and the Google Assistant. The operating system also includes support for messaging apps like WhatsApp. With the recent announcement, Google is now adding support for camera-based translation to KaiOS powered devices like the popular JioPhone.

To utilize the new translation capabilities in a KaiOS powered device, you will have to open the Google Assistant by long-pressing the center button and then click on the camera icon. Then it's just a matter of pointing your phone's camera at the text you wish to translate and the Assistant will read it back to you in your preferred language. The feature currently only supports English and a few Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, and Tamil. However, Google plans to add support for more languages, like Kannada and Gujarati, soon.


Source: Google India Blog