Google announced the debut of free machine translation for Android apps at the Google for Gaming Conference. This will make it easier for developers to release apps in seven different languages. To automatically translate in-app text (through XML or CSV files), store listings, and product descriptions into other languages, the translations will probably use the same technology that powers Google Translate. This will allow Android developers to save time and money that would otherwise be spent on traditional translation.
This isn’t the first time Google has attempted to assist developers in reaching a larger global audience. The company now provides a premium translation service in which developers pay per word translated. While a paid translation will almost always be superior to a machine translation, it’s fantastic to see Google provide a free alternative.
There are three advantages here. Developers can save money while still making their apps available to people in other countries. Even if the translations are inadequate, end users can experience more programs in their local language. Google will be able to create a more robust and worldwide app environment for Android.
To use the new machine translation capabilities, Android developers will simply submit the strings from their app in their primary language and then select the languages they want to convert into. Google will then automatically translate the texts into the languages you have chosen. After the results are finished, developers can download them and incorporate them into their programs.
Google offers free translation in seven languages at launch, with ambitions to extend to more in the future:
- Chinese (Simplified) – zh-CN
- French (France) – fr-FR
- German – de-DE
- Indonesian – id
- Japanese – ja-JP
- Portuguese (Brazil) – pt-BR
For the time being, not all developers have access to the machine translation feature. You must instead apply for the early access program.