Microsoft's Garage project has been developing many experimental apps for some time now. Their latest release is a new app called Group Transcribe. This app lets you transcribe and translate real-time conversations on your smartphones.
How the Group Transcribe App Works
While most translation and transcription apps are aimed at helping you process your recorded content, Microsoft's Group Transcribe lets you work with real-time conversations.
As noted on the Garage blog, when you're speaking to someone and you have issues understanding what they're saying, you can fire-up the Group Transcribe app on your phone to get real-time transcriptions and translations for your conversations with that person.
Phones You Can Use Group Transcribe On
This app is currently offered for free for all iOS users. You can hit up the App Store, download the app, and start using it right away.
If you're an Android user, there's currently no news as to when the app will become available for your phone. However, it wouldn't be too long before you can use the app on Android, too.
Things You Should Know About Group Transcribe
Group Transcribe brings with it several features to make communicating in various languages easier for you. It provides translations and transcriptions with higher-accuracy and allows people to join these conversations from their own phones.
The app shows the name of the speaker on the transcriptions and translations, so you know who's said what. It currently supports over 37 languages and 82 distinct dialects, covering most major languages spoken around the world.
While you can use this app with as many people as you want, Microsoft suggests that it works best when you're using it with up to four people.
How to Start Using Group Transcribe on Your Phone
Unlike many other apps, you don't need to create an account to be able to use the app. You simply install the app on your phone and it starts working.
Grab the app from the App Store, install it, specify your name and your preferred language, and you're all set. You can then invite other people to join your conversations using a numeric code or a QR code.
On the privacy side of things, keep in mind your recordings are sent to the cloud for processing. However, these recordings won't be used to help the company improve its products without your consent.
Understanding Various Languages Gets Easier With Group Transcribe
If you often find yourself struggling to understand what someone said in a specific language, Group Transcribe will help you out by showing real-time transcriptions and translations of your in-person meetings.
