Translation app companies are continually developing new features that will better facilitate experiences abroad for users. Microsoft Translator’s Auto mode is the latest addition to its UX design.

For travelers and expatriates planning their post-COVID journeys abroad, using the right translation app will play a major role in communicating for directions, housing arrangements, contracts, conversations with new friends, and just about anything involving language.

Choosing which translation app will work best for communicating is a very personal choice that depends on several variables and necessities. Among considerations like number of languages, ability to translate both audio and text, and user interface, user expedience often takes precedence. After all, conversations rarely seem worth the effort when each party needs to spend time waiting for the app to process speech or literature.

With convenience one of the keys to successful translation apps, many companies are seeking the best ways to create and update their translation app with the new features and machine translation software to aid in the process. Some translation apps like Google Translate have special features that allow users to snap pictures of text that the app will then translate.

Microsoft Translator also recently announced a new functionality called Auto mode that will remove a step in the translation process. The app’s designers recognized that for many relying on their phones to translate conversations, the phone can create as many problems as it solves.

For example, users often must speak into a translation app, tap translate, and await the results. The process leaves users obsessing over the functionality of the app, rather than keeping the focus on the conversation itself.

The new Auto mode feature will allow users to choose the languages and tap the microphone only once. Auto mode will then register each party’s speech, and turn green to signal it is ready for a response. Removing the need to tap translate with each new statement, the app may provide conversational users a more convenient way to make friends or ask for directions while traveling abroad.

While the update is currently available only for iOS users, Microsoft is working on a version that will be compatible for Android users as well.