Skip to main content

Google Lens is now available on KaiOS feature phones for visual translations

On Android and iOS, you can point Google Lens at a street sign or document to have it translated and read aloud. Google is now bringing Lens to smart feature phones running KaiOS in India.

Back in 2017, Google introduced Assistant for KaiOS-powered feature phones that have numeric keypads for text entry. Launched via a dedicated ‘voice key,’ Assistant now has a new “Camera translate” button.

This opens Lens and a camera view where you’re prompted to “Take a picture of words.” Users then confirm the crop and Google will analyze the text that appears in the capture.

The translation appears below in English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, or Tamil, with Kannada and Gujarati coming soon. Additionally, the phrase can be read aloud, while any word can be selected to load a definition.

Google Lens for KaiOS is available today. Compared to smartphones, translations are not overlaid over the original work to preserve context. However, the core functionality persists.

Site default logo image

For Google, this visual capability is an extension of its goal to help users “get things done on their devices using their voice.” Other Google-powered KaiOS features include voice typing and voice-based language selection. Meanwhile, apps for Google Maps and YouTube are also available on the feature phones.

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.

This follows a separate Google for India effort last week where it’s partnering with Jio to bring Android and the Play Store to very affordable smartphones.

More about Google Lens:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com