Google is extending its camera-based translation features to KaiOs-based mobile phones in India.

The tech giant had introduced camera-based translation to Google Lens in 2019. The feature helps users translate information that they see in real time. They can point their camera at a particular piece of text and translate it into more than 100 languages with the feature.

“Lens can even speak the words out loud in your preferred language. We brought these Lens capabilities to Google Go, too, so even those on the most affordable smartphones can access them,” Google said in an official blog post.

The company is now extending these capabilities to Google Assistant users on KaiOS devices in India. A lot of affordable phones from brands including Nokia are based on KaiOS.

Google Assistant users on the OS can click the camera icon from Assistant to access the feature and translate a particular text. They can press the right soft key within Google Assitant once to access and utilise this feature.

“They can click the camera icon to simply point their phone at the real-world text (like a product label, street sign, or document, for example,) and have it read back in their preferred language, translated, or defined. Just long-press the centre button from the home screen to get started with Assistant,” Google explained.

The feature is currently available for English and several Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil. It will be available in two more regional languages, Kannada and Gujarati.

“This is another step in our commitment to make language more accessible to everyone, and we hope this will enable millions of KaiOS users across the country to have a more seamless language experience,” Google said.

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