Navigation apps can be helpful for getting around an unfamiliar country… up until you need to ask someone for directions and can’t say a place name. Google thinks it can help. It’s rolling out an update to Google Maps on Android and iOS that can speak place names in the local language. You can point a driver to a Japanese cultural center or a Spanish tapas bar without having to point frantically at the screen. And if you do need more than that translation to get around, there’s a direct link to Google Translate if you have it installed.
The translation features should reach your device sometime in November. It won’t be useful for every language at first — there will be ‘just’ 50 to start. More are on the way, though. So long as it does fit the bill, you’ll hopefully spend less time trying to share your destinations with locals and more time actually visiting them.
