Google launches Gemini 3.5 Live Translate with continuous speech-to-speech in 70+ languages

Google announced Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, a speech-to-speech translation model that detects over 70 languages and generates continuous translated audio while preserving intonation, pacing, and pitch.

Technical approach

Unlike turn-by-turn translation systems that wait for speakers to finish before responding, Gemini 3.5 Live Translate generates speech continuously. According to Google, this produces "fluid audio without awkward pauses" and stays just a few seconds behind the speaker throughout the session. The model balances the trade-off between waiting for context to improve quality and translating immediately to maintain synchronization.

Google Translate rollout

Gemini 3.5 Live Translate is available now in Google Translate on Android and iOS. Users tap "Live translate" in the bottom-left corner while wearing headphones to activate the feature.

The Android app adds a new "listening mode" that routes translations through the phone's earpiece when headphones are unavailable. Users hold the phone to their ear like a regular call.

Google Meet expansion

Gemini 3.5 Live Translate is coming to Google Meet with significantly expanded language support. Google Meet previously supported speech translation in just five languages. The new model enables "2000+ language combinations in one meeting, expanding from the previous state of only translating to and from English."

The web version of Meet adds a button in the control row to start speech translation immediately. The feature enters private preview this month for select Google Workspace business customers, with a broader rollout planned for later this year.

Developer access and safety

Developers can access Gemini 3.5 Live Translate in public preview through the Gemini Live API and Google AI Studio. Pricing details were not disclosed.

All generated audio includes SynthID watermarking. According to Google, this "imperceptible watermark is woven directly into the audio output, ensuring AI-generated content remains detectable to help prevent misinformation."

What this means

Gemini 3.5 Live Translate represents a shift from sequential to continuous speech translation, directly addressing the latency issues that have made real-time translation systems feel unnatural. The expansion from 5 to 70+ languages in Google Meet—enabling 2000+ language pairs—makes multilingual meetings viable without requiring English as an intermediary language. The immediate rollout to consumer apps and API access suggests Google is confident in the model's reliability, though the staged Workspace deployment indicates enterprise use cases require additional validation.