The Google Translate mobile app can now instantly translate text in 88 languages into more than 100 when a phone camera lens is pointed at a sign, menu, flyer or even a handwritten note.
Better yet, it continues to work even without Wi-Fi or cellular data if you have downloaded the language to your device.
The app automatically detects and identifies the language of whatever text it is pointed at. It then instantly translates the text into the language selected by the user.
Users also have the option to take a photo and highlight the text they want translated, or they can import photos from their camera roll.
Four South African official languages (Afrikaans, Sesotho, Xhosa and Zulu) are included amongst those from which you can translate.
Other African languages include Swahili, Shona, Yoruba, Sundanese and Malagasy amongst others.
Google warns that translations of small, badly-lit or stylised text could be less accurate.
The feature has been available since 2015, but it could previously only translate 28 languages into English.
Feature image: Google Translate
