Microsoft’s Skype Translator app now arrives on its Skype for Windows desktop app, the company announced today in a blog post.
The new built-in translator feature supports six voice languages that include English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Mandarin. In addition, the real-time translation feature also offers support for 50 different messaging languages. The messaging app essentially allows users to translate ‘one-on-one voice or video chats in real-time, in both directions. Option to only hear or only view the transcript is also available to users.
Skype Translator will be rolling out to users gradually over the next couple of weeks.
It’ll be initially available on Windows desktops i.e Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10, while the company says that it might take a while before it arrives on OS X, Android, iOS and other Skype platforms.
The company says that the rollout process could take several weeks, after which users will see ‘NEW Skype Translator icons’ within the updated app, which can be found on the top right corner of a user’s conversation windows.
“Now, you have even more reasons to chat with people around the world — bringing together family, friends, and students. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities to do even more together across not only distances, but also languages,” reads the company’s blog post.
The company also adds that Skype Translator can adapt and get smarter with more usage. Early adopters of the preview announced back in May have really helped improve the technology, and will further help the feature progress in the coming future.
Tech giants are now finding ways to eliminate language barriers, and the Skype Translator is a worthy progression towards removing such hassles to universal communication. Google for instance also has a language translator for any webpage, which allows users to translate any webpage they come across in their own native language.
