Now you can talk to Google voice search in multiple languages at the same time

By Malarie Gokey August 15, 2014

google voice multiple languages simultaneous — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Good news, bilingual and multilingual folks! Google voice search for Android will now understand your queries as you switch from English to Spanish to German, and so on. The app lets users set up to five languages for the default language setting, so that you no longer have to go into settings to change your language setting every time you want to use the voice search function.

Previously, users could only choose one language for the default, which made life difficult for those who wanted to make searches in multiple languages on the fly. You can also switch between languages in the middle for a query, which is great for when you need to search for a term or phrase in another language.

Google Voice Search Languages — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Related: Which virtual assistant would you hire? Google Now, Cortana, or Siri?

Although you’re limited to five default languages only, you do have access to the entire Google catalogue of languages, including specific variations, such as Colombian Spanish, Australian, and so on. This new feature is great for multilingual users who like to switch it up from time to time.

The only thing that Google hasn’t perfected is searches initiated with the words, “OK, Google.” When you utter this magic phrase, you’re still stuck with English as your default language. Hopefully Google will fix this soon. The update is currently rolling out to Android users, though it’s not clear which phones have received the update yet, but Android Police got its hands on a few screenshots of the function in action.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…

Mobile

Google Calendar’s ‘Focus Time’ can now deny unwanted meetings for you

google calendar focus time android

Google Calendar is getting a new Focus Time feature that will be useful for people who get a lot of meeting invites and don't have the time to attend all of them. Focus Time will now automatically deny meetings for you in a selected time slot. The feature works by indicating the working status of users, making it easier to block out time for focused individual work.

In a blog post, Google wrote that it hopes to make it easier to create dedicated time for thinking and core work for users. Focus time is said to function a lot like an Out of Office event. You can now set Focus Time on Google Calendar. It is indicated by a small headphones icon, which can be customized in terms of color so each entry looks different from one and another.

Mobile

Google now wants you to scroll forever on its Search for mobile

google search mobile

Continuous scrolling is synonymous with social media sites seeking to keep you on their app/website. Whether it's Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook -- all of them offer continuous scrolling so that you stay on their service for as long as possible. Now, Google wants you to endlessly scroll search results on its Search page for mobile. The company says the new change will make "browsing search results more seamless and intuitive."

From the explanation that Google has provided on its blog, it looks like Search on mobile will showcase more related results to open-ended questions like "What to cook with potatoes?" instead of simply showing you the results from the second page of the Search.

Mobile

The Moto 360 and other older Wear OS watches can now download YouTube Music

Moto 360 watch face

Google is further expanding YouTube Music's availability on Wear OS to even more older watches. The company initially launched the app on Wear OS 3, with exclusivity to the Galaxy Watch 4, but rolled it out to a selection of older smartwatches powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform last month. A new report notes that smartwatches like the Moto 360 can now get it, too.

Google has confirmed the expanded selection, but the company did not share exactly which watches were eligible. Instead, Wear OS users are encouraged to check the Play Store and see if their device is eligible. As it has been seen on the Moto 360 and TAG Heuer Connected watches, 9to5Google speculates it could be rolling out to watches powered by the Snapdragon Wear 3100. This should encompass quite a few Wear OS watches, including the Fossil Gen 5, the Montblanc Summit, and the Suunto 7.