Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
User consensusAlternativesIs it worth it?
The verdict on

Google Translate

45
User verdict / 100 High confidence Divided

Recent updates to Google Translate have introduced significant usability issues and performance problems, particularly with conversation and camera translation modes, despite some users still finding it a valuable tool for simple translations.

4.3★ lifetime (83,197) Free + in-app purchases since 2011 by Google LLC updated 0.2 mo ago recent negative 56% 120 reviews across 4 regions
Usability Issues Conversation Mode Problems Translation Accuracy Camera Translation Issues Performance & Stability Voice & Audio Quality Language Support & Features
5★226
4★97
3★114
2★135
1★428
recent reviews across 4 regions, vs the 4.3★ lifetime average

Google Translate, a widely used reference app, is experiencing a decline in user satisfaction due to recent updates. Many users report new difficulties with core features like conversation and camera translation, alongside issues with translation accuracy and interface changes. While some still praise its utility for basic translation, the overall trajectory is negative.

What users like

  • Effective for simple, word-for-word translationsR67R32
  • Helpful for travel and learning new languagesR44R70R4
  • Offers a wide range of languages, with some users requesting more specific dialects or less common languagesR21R53R49R7
  • Free to use, making it accessible to manyR70

What users complain about

  • Conversation mode is frequently broken, cutting off speakers, providing delayed translations, or failing to work at allR15R35R43R64
  • Camera translation often freezes, is unclear for small text, or requires taking a photo instead of real-time translationR12R16R55R59
  • Translations are often inaccurate, unnatural, or fail to differentiate between dialects (e.g., British vs. American English, different Spanish dialects)R8R69R91R41
  • User interface changes are making the app harder to use, with features like reverse translation or language selection requiring extra stepsR1R14R50R85
  • Voice output is often robotic, too fast, or lacks options for different genders or single-word playbackR102R85R78R249
  • App experiences frequent bugs, freezing, or failure to load/work, sometimes requiring device restartsR5R29R51R227
  • Some users report issues with text color, auto-correct, or downloaded languages randomly deletingR11R18R62R40

Latest update · v10.27.271

What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):

• Several bug fixes and usability improvements

Recurring themes

Usability Issues negative
Many users report that recent updates have made the app harder to use, with interface changes that add extra steps for common functions like reversing languages or selecting translation options. Buttons move around, and the overall design is perceived as less intuitive.R1R14R50R85
Translation Accuracy negative
A significant number of reviews indicate that translations are often incorrect, unnatural, or 'AI sounding.' The app struggles with synonyms, differentiating between dialects (e.g., British vs. American English, various Spanish dialects), and providing contextually appropriate translations.R8R69R91R41
Conversation Mode Problems negative
The conversation mode is widely criticized for being broken. Users report it frequently cuts off speakers, provides delayed or incorrect translations, or simply fails to work. The auto-detection is too aggressive, and the lack of manual control is a common complaint. This contradicts the developer's notes about 'usability improvements.'R15R35R43R64
Camera Translation Issues negative
The camera translation feature is reported to freeze frequently, especially when trying to auto-translate in real-time. It struggles with small text, often requiring users to take a photo instead of live translation, which is seen as a downgrade.R12R16R55R59
Performance & Stability negative
Many users experience the app freezing, not downloading, or simply not working after updates, sometimes requiring device restarts. This indicates underlying bugs and stability issues. This contradicts the developer's notes about 'bug fixes.'R5R29R51R227
Voice & Audio Quality negative
Reviewers frequently complain about the robotic, unnatural, or excessively fast voice output. There's a desire for male voice options, better pronunciation, and the ability to control playback speed or listen to translations word-by-word.R102R85R78R249
Language Support & Features mixed
While the app supports many languages, users frequently request more specific dialects (e.g., Latin American Spanish, Arabic dialects) or less common languages. Some also ask for features like synonyms, gender of nouns, or the ability to practice specific languages.R7R21R53R17

Who it's for

This app is for users who need simple, basic word or phrase translations and find value in its extensive language support R67R44R70. It is particularly useful for travelers for quick lookups R44R70. It is NOT for users who require highly accurate, nuanced, or dialect-specific translations, or those who rely heavily on conversation or camera translation modes, as these features are currently unreliable R15R35R43R59.

Evidence note: The evidence for negative points is very strong, with multiple reviews across different regions reporting similar issues. The positive points are less detailed and often refer to the app's general utility rather than specific features, or are older reviews. The recent negative sentiment (0.563) aligns with the prevalence of cons.

Frequently asked

Are there issues with Google Translate's conversation mode?
Yes, many users report significant issues with Google Translate's conversation mode, stating it frequently cuts off speakers, provides delayed or incorrect translations, and lacks manual control, making it frustrating and often unusable R15R35R43R64.
Is Google Translate's camera translation reliable?
No, many users find Google Translate's camera translation unreliable, reporting that it often freezes, struggles to clearly translate small text, and frequently requires taking a static photo instead of providing real-time translation R12R16R55R59.
Has the user interface of Google Translate changed recently?
Yes, recent updates have changed the user interface, with many users finding it less intuitive and harder to use, citing extra steps for common actions like reversing languages or selecting translation options R1R14R50R85.
How accurate are Google Translate's translations?
While useful for simple words, many users report that Google Translate's accuracy deteriorates for longer, more complex phrases, often producing unnatural, 'AI sounding' translations that don't differentiate between regional dialects R8R69R91R41.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R67] 5/5 · US Great for simple translations: Great for very simple translations. The accuracy deteriorates on longer, more complex translations.
  2. [R32] 5/5 · US Top tier: Great app function ability and translations
  3. [R44] 5/5 · US Really valuable tool!: This app helped me *immensely* when I traveled to Mexico & needed to translate things. I love that you can use talk to text so I could translate other people‘s messages in real time. I also appreciate the bookmark feature so that I could easily access translations easily. Really thankful this exists!
  4. [R70] 5/5 · US MOST USEFUL APP EVER: Best app ever, recently took a trip to Poland and this helped immensely. Better than other translation apps because it requires no fees of any sort! I highly recommend it to you and everyone else!
  5. [R4] 5/5 · US Nice: I learned some Albania from this app
  6. [R21] 5/5 · US Very useful: So besides the app being very useful I have four languages that hopefully can get on the list and they are- 1.Ingush: Similar to Chechen, closest relative to Chechen. 2.Adyghe: Spoken in Adyge Republic in Russia. 3.Gagauz: Spoken in southern Moldova, but is almost extinct, it is a Turkic language. 4.Dargin: Spoken in Russia, Dagestan. And these are the four languages that hopefull
  7. [R53] 4/5 · US You should really keep it up with your 1000+ language plans.: I think you said you were going to add a thousand languages to your application, and I’m definitely rooting for you on this plan, please add more Native American languages, a language called Romansh, and others to complete it.
  8. [R49] 5/5 · US Greek: It has Greek yay
  9. [R7] 5/5 · US I love learning Spanish, but…: I love learning this for Spanish languages, but it won’t let me know what kind of Spanish I wanna use, like for example, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin American), Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Chile), and Spanish (Argentina). It just randomly does it for me. I don’t understand this at all. So next time you do the update in the future, can you put like all the AI Spanis
  10. [R15] 3/5 · US Great tool, but Conversation Mode is broken. Bring back manual control!: The auto-detection in Conversation Mode is too aggressive. When sharing one phone with a friend, the app constantly cuts me off and blasts out translations while I'm still talking. It causes a confusing overlap of audio that ruins the conversation. Please bring back the manual recording controls and give us an option to disab
  11. [R35] 1/5 · US Getting worse: This app is getting worse each update. I can no longer use the live conversation feature as it wants to stop before the person is done speaking. Also getting more words incorrect now. I used to depend on this app a lot, but now it’s time to find something more reliable
  12. [R43] 1/5 · US Listening issues: They need to improve the app to not stop the listening option until the person is finished speaking. For both regular translating and the live conversation editor, it would stop randomly and translate when the person wasn’t even finished with what they’re saying. I feel like it should not pause and translate until the person finishes speaking. It also provides completely incorrec
  13. [R64] 1/5 · US Disappointing: It’s so bad it keeps cutting off mid sentence whenever someone is talking so annoying please fix this google. How yall a billion dollar company but have stupid bugs like this, crazy. 🤦🤦
  14. [R12] 1/5 · US Stopped working: It stopped translating from camera photos!!! · translated
  15. [R16] 1/5 · US Lens blurry when recognizing small text: The lens is blurry when recognizing small text (e.g., small text on food packaging), making it completely unusable. At the same distance, my phone camera can capture small text clearly, so this isn't an Apple phone hardware issue. Frankly, I don't know what the problem is, it's just been bothering me for a long time. My other phone is a very cheap Android, and it performs surprisingly well at recognizing and translating small text. I have to say, I'm disappointed. Maybe I should carry my Android phone instead of my Apple phone when I go out, after all, the products outside all have text I can't understand. · translated
  16. [R55] 1/5 · US latest update makes the camera freeze: Never had my camera freeze before while translating
  17. [R59] 2/5 · US Unusable Camera Translator: GT has been my go-to for auto translating as I read text in Japanese for some time. But recently, the camera is freezing constantly and forcing you to take a picture. The auto-translate as I go is essential, and this update has made reading in real time next to impossible. Too bad, since the translations are decent. Additionally, its ability to detect languages has ste
  18. [R8] 1/5 · US Ai made it worse: It used to be decent. Now it just gives unnatural ai sounding translations that doesn’t translate word for word your original input.
  19. [R69] 3/5 · US Useful but not fully understood: Though the translator works but not all of them are are correct For instance pero means but not yet
  20. [R91] 3/5 · US Ok but not reliable: Especially for English because it can't differentiate between British and American. I have to retranslate because I don't know British words. Google should fix this.
  21. [R41] 1/5 · US Incorrect translations: I find most of the translations, especially for Japanese, are plain wrong! A simple google search offers correct translations.
  22. [R1] 4/5 · US I don’t understand why they moved the reverse translation.: It’s no longer simple to use; I don’t understand the change.
  23. [R14] 2/5 · US They made the app worse and harder to use: You used to be able to switch back and forth between the original language and translation with a touch of a button. Now they have added extra steps, and made it harder. Nice job.
  24. [R50] 1/5 · US Incompetent Design: The buttons move around all the time. It's different every time I use the app. Doesn't make any sense.
  25. [R85] 2/5 · US Improvements I would recommend: 1. It should be simple to reverse the languages being translated. It is not. 2. The should be a setting foe speed of the spoken translatio. Not only is there not; the spoken language is unnaturally fast! It defeats the point.
  26. [R102] 3/5 · US Poor voice quality: Why is the voice still robotic in this ubiquitous AI era?
  27. [R78] 1/5 · US Translation Voice feedback: There is no option for a MALE voice audio translation feedback; just an obnoxious teenage girl voice
  28. [R249] 3/5 · US ⭐️⭐️⭐️: The app would be better if we could choose between a male and female voice.
  29. [R5] 1/5 · US Really: Not downloading
  30. [R29] 1/5 · US It always fails me, everywhere/он подводил меня везде: If you want a translator that will randomly stop working and give all possible errors, this is for you. · translated
  31. [R51] 1/5 · US Thank God the update came AFTER our trip to Japan!: It was great and reliable before the update, but it is barely functional now. Something broke. It’s like it just freezes anytime you want it to do anything.
  32. [R227] 3/5 · US It’s not working most of the time!: It’s keep not working until I restart my iPhone again and again… it’s frustrating! I updated the App and it continues its behavior.
  33. [R11] 1/5 · US App SUCKS! Text color impossible to read: When copying a translation to an email it copies it with a light gray text that is impossible to read ! Perhaps this is due to the app being in dark mode? But after over ten minutes of looking i cannot got the app to regular mode- regardless: the copying should create black text
  34. [R18] 4/5 · US Please fix this one issue: My only problem with the app is if I’m typing a word, an auto correct or suggestion might pop up and I can’t stop it from changing the word. It can be very frustrating to constantly have to retype words and there’s no way to turn it off.
  35. [R62] 1/5 · US Tricky: Unfortunately, downloaded languages randomly delete, which is unacceptable to a world traveler who often goes off grid. Why can’t these big companies let you own anything??? My ancient tomtom gps still works with 10+ year old maps lol…
  36. [R40] 4/5 · US One annoying glitch: Update: An annoying glitch persists where “starred” translations are kept FOREVER. Sure it lets you delete them, but they simply reappear the next time I use the app.
  37. [R17] 5/5 · US Gender of nouny: Please give either the article or gender of nouns. Thank you

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store