Google Translate is coming to Gmail on mobile devices
Google is rolling out translation support in the mobile Gmail applications for Android and iOS. The integration of Google Translate in the official Gmail application adds the much-requested feature, which has been available on desktop for years.
Email users may sometimes receive email messages written in languages that they can't read. While that is often a sign of spam or malicious intent, it may not be always the case. Maybe you ordered something from a store abroad or have received a request from someone in another country.
Up until now, Gmail users on mobile could use copy and paste to translate the content of an email in another app or using a translation service on the web. The change adds a banner to Gmail emails that are not in the system's language.
All it takes is to select the "translate to" button in the banner to translate it to the selected language. The implementation of Google Translate in the Gmail apps supports automatic translate functionality for specific languages and also picking a different output language for the translate job.
When automatic translate is selected, emails with the selected language are translated immediately and without requiring user action.
Gmail users may also dismiss the banner to free room on the screen for the actual message. They may also instruct Gmail to never translate a specific language, so that the banner is not displayed when emails written in that language arrive in the inbox.
Gmail users have the option to translate emails manually as well, if needed, according to Google's announcement. This option is available in the three-dots menu in the Gmail application.
Google has started the rollout of the feature on Android on August 8, 2023. The rollout of native Google Translate functionality on iOS starts on August 21, 2023. Google notes that the rollout may take up to 15 days to complete for both operating systems.
Google notes that there is no admin control for the feature.
Closing Words
Native translate functionality is a highly requested feature according to Google. It improves the accessibility of foreign language emails in Gmail on mobile and introduces feature parity with the desktop version.
Now You: does your email client support translate functionality?
