Tushar Mehta / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The translation feature in Circle to Search now supports continuous scrolling.
- With Scroll and translate, you can continue to use your phone while it translates what’s on the screen.
- The feature has been limited to Samsung devices since it first launched in September, but is now rolling out to Pixel 6 and newer Pixel devices.
Google started pushing the second quarterly Android 16 — QPR2 — update to the Pixel 6 and newer Pixels earlier this week. As with the first quarterly update, there is a significant emphasis on visual improvements. The Android QPR2 brings support for force-theming icons, a forced dark mode for apps that don’t inherently support it, additional accessibility features for better screen visibility, and more. One more feature that may have flown under the radar is the improvements the update brings to Circle to Search, and particularly how it handles translations.
Until now, if you had to use Circle to Search for translations, it required capturing a screen and then waiting for translations. However, the new update includes a “Scroll and translate” option, allowing Circle to Search to translate text while you scroll continuously. Since the feature relies on translating the content on the screen, not just the text, it can translate images and other media from different languages nearly instantly. It can work equally well on social media and apps such as YouTube and TikTok.
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority?
Although Scroll and translate was announced back in September, it remained exclusive to Samsung devices. However, it is now available on a broader range of devices, and the list now also includes Pixel devices, as mentioned on android.com (via 9to5Google). However, Google notes that the feature may be available to a select few devices, may be limited to specific languages, and may not render translations in some scenarios, presumably with some fancy font styles. It does not reveal the exact list of supported languages.
We can already see it working on our Pixel devices, including a Pixel 10 running the latest QPR2 update, as well as a Pixel 6a with QPR2 Beta 3.3. The entire range in between should presumably support it too. However, devices from other manufacturers, such as OnePlus, still show the older language selection screen, indicating it may take a while before being more widely available across all devices.
To start using Scroll and translate on your Pixel, long-press the home button or the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen, and this brings up the Circle to Search interface. Now tap the Translate (rightmost) button, following which, you will see a dedicated option for Scroll and translate.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.
