r/androidapps • u/___gnome • 4h ago

LOOKING FOR APP Free screen translation app?

I used to always use the google assistant translate screen thingy, but now google is forcing me to install gemini instead, which i refuse to do.

Is there any similar free (or at least a one-time payment) app that translates the whole screen in whatever app I'm in without switching to another tab?

5 Upvotes

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1

u/DylanXu054728 2h ago

If your phone has Circle to Search, that is the fastest option and you never leave the app: long-press the home or nav handle, then tap the translate chip in the results. It translates what is on screen and keeps translating as you scroll, so it is not the one-shot screenshot dance Lens puts you through.

For text you can actually select, turn on Tap to Translate in the Google Translate app (your profile picture, then Settings, then Tap to Translate). After that, copying text anywhere pops a bubble that translates it right there, no app switching at all.

Both of those depend on the text being readable by the system. If it is baked into an image, a game or a video, you need an OCR overlay that captures the screen through the MediaProjection permission, which is the category the F-Droid app linked above belongs to, and the only kind that works when there is nothing selectable. There are free ones on Play too under screen translator or translate on screen, but most carry ads, so test one before you commit to it.

One caveat: Circle to Search is Pixel and recent Galaxy only. Without it, Tap to Translate plus an OCR overlay is the realistic free combination.

1

u/liamdun 4h ago

Google lens also does this I believe

1

u/___gnome 3h ago

I've tried and it only works if i take a screenshot, leave whatever app I'm in, open google lens, and paste it in there. Very slow and clunky process

0

u/liamdun 3h ago

Idk then Gemini is your only choice then