Google has reintroduced its Translate mobile apps to China, where they can now be accessed and used without the need for software to bypass local censorship.
The U.S. tech giant left China more than seven years ago when it redirected its local search engine to Hong Kong and many of its services are censored in the country. Today's low-key relaunch marks the first time it has revived a service specifically for users in China.
Google has maintained a web-based version of Translate that has been accessible since its China exit, but with half of China's 1.4 billion population using the internet on mobile, according to the latest government figures, these apps will give the service wider reach. The iOS version of Translate is available in the Chinese App Store, while Google is directing Android users to a direct download from its servers here. Previously, those in China could only use the app when connected to a VPN to evade the government's internet censorship system.
The apps will be maintained by Google's joint-venture in China, which runs the services it has remaining there, and will be subject to any government issued requests or censorship, Google confirmed.
Google added that users of the Chinese version have full access to the service, which includes Word Lens, the feature that translates text from photos snapped inside the app. Word Lens gained support Chinese last year and Chinese was the first language Google picked for its new machine learning translation technology, which went live last September and hugely advanced the way the service works.
Publicly, at least, Google is saying that the launch of the Chinese version of the app is about giving more options to Chinese internet users, who also have services from Baidu and other Chinese companies available, but today's news marks a notable advance on its China strategy.
Translate won't generate revenue for Google, but it may boost its visibility among Chinese internet users. Potentially, it sets a precedent for introducing China-specific versions of other Google apps and services in the future, although the company declined to comment when we asked it about that directly.
Then there's also the possibility that this launch is a litmus test or precursor to the re-introduction of the Google Play in China.
Google has reintroduced its Translate mobile apps to China, where they can now be accessed and used without the need for software to bypass local censorship.
Google has maintained a web-based version of Translate that has been accessible since its China exit, but with half of China's 1.4 billion population using the internet on mobile, according to the latest government figures, these apps will give the service wider reach. The iOS version of Translate is available in the Chinese App Store, while Google is directing Android users to a direct download from its servers here. Previously, those in China could only use the app when connected to a VPN to evade the government's internet censorship system.
Google added that users of the Chinese version have full access to the service, which includes Word Lens, the feature that translates text from photos snapped inside the app. Word Lens gained support Chinese last year and Chinese was the first language Google picked for its new machine learning translation technology, which went live last September and hugely advanced the way the service works.
