Gmail on computers has long been able to translate messages, but this feature was missing on the phone app, which also lacked some advanced functions.
When people wanted to translate emails on their phones, they had to copy the text and paste it into Google Translate. But now, Gmail is finally adding built-in translation to its mobile app.
Google recently announced on its Workspace Updates blog that it’s adding translation to the Gmail phone app. Here’s how it works: when you open an email in a different language, the app will offer to translate it for you.
Just like Google Translate, Gmail will figure out the email’s language and give you a translation. Right now, the app can translate in 100 languages, the same as the computer version.
If the app doesn’t automatically offer to translate, you can do it manually from the menu with three dots. And if you don’t want translations for certain languages, you can turn this feature off in settings. You can also tell the app to always translate specific languages.
This translation feature is being added to Gmail on phones all over the world, but it might take up to two weeks before you see it on your device.