“Their English is as good as my French – which is non-existent,” he says. Additional members of the family only speak Khmer, adding to the language complexities. Apps and manual translations have filled the gap for years, but Live Translate on Google’s Pixel phones have changed everything. It automatically translates messages as they arrive on his phone, no separate app needed.¹

“It’s life-changing for me,” Hoeun says. “We can text without having to switch in and out of different apps… and translate in no time.”

Even if you don’t have family in another country, our global world means you may find yourself needing to speak across languages. 

Live Translate on Pixel phones makes real-time translation possible – not just text-based language but also spoken words, interpreting live audio from one speaker to another – with no app needed.²And thanks to Google Tensor, the new processor made by Google, it puts state-of-the-art speech recognition and language translation in your pocket so it can run on-device rather than through a network and server – no internet connection required.

On Pixel phones, Live Translate works across text, camera, videos, podcasts, phone calls, video calls, and audio messages¹. That means you can read text in another language by pointing the camera at a sign or a menu, or watch a video that isn’t in your native tongue with Live Caption. 

In interpreter mode, things get even more fun. Pixel turns your spoken words into audio in another language, and turns the responses in that other language into audio in your original language, so both sides understand each other. Pixel Buds make things even more seamless, as translated audio is piped into your ears – which means less multi-language crosstalk going on in the room.³

Live Translate has improved communication with tenants for Stacie Clymo, who works as a leasing and resident manager at an apartment and townhouse community, and whose primary language is English. “Our residents are often from outside the US and some do not speak English fluently,” she says. Clymo likes to be able to get to know the people living in the community, but she doesn’t speak any of their languages. Clymo started using Live Translate¹ once she got her Pixel phone, which has helped streamline her work and let her talk freely with just about everyone. “My residents tell me the translation is spot on” she says. Whether she’s making a phone call, or chatting face to face or over text, she says that dialogue is now “much easier and more personable.”

Yasat Hoeun and Stacie Clymo are official Pixel Superfans, Google's community for people who love Pixel products.