Google Translate update to v6.2 fixes ‘Tap to Translate’ on Android 10, but brings another annoying bug

Google Translate has been around for years offering users on various platforms an easy way to translate stuff from one language to another – one that they can understand better.

The service, like many others from Google, is so full of nifty little features that you might not even realize the power it brings to your hand.

As if that’s not enough, the search giant keeps improving the service with new features and functions through regular software updates, but with the update to Android Q beta, all was not well for those who heavily rely on the Google Translate app.

During the Q beta testing window, the “Tap to Translate” feature in Google Translate was broken. When enabled via the Translate app’s settings, a chat bubble with the Google Translate icon pops up when you copy or cut any text. This function was first introduced in 3rd-party apps in 2016.

Also, when enabled, you’ll see a Google Translate icon in the notification area that you can tap on to reveal more options when the shade is pulled down. The icon also tells you that the service is active in the background.

Tapping on this little bubble brings up a new window with the text you copied already filled in. But with Android Q beta, the little floating icon that appears after copying text was MIA, meaning one was forced to manually find the Translate app and paste the copied text.

Following the launch of Android 10 last week, Google released a new update for the Translate app that bumps the version to v6.2.0.RC07.268294262 and apparently, it brings back the missing Tap to Translate floating icon, just like Google had promised.

Here’s what the company had to say about the missing Tap to Translate pop up icon.

Hello! Yes, the bubble should be back with Translate 6.2 — albeit it’s now persistent on Android 10 due to new clipboard restrictions (as Dimos and Liran in this thread have noticed).

To sum up: Tap to Translate’s “pop up” is convenient for users, but it relies on Android’s “clipboard watcher” feature. While Translate used clipboard watching for good, for Android as a whole, it’s a security concern that any app can watch the text on your clipboard. Translate is an Android app like any other, we get no special privileges. If we can do it, any other app can do it.

With sensitive things like passwords and more passing through clipboards — Android 10 disables the clipboard watcher feature that allowed Translate to “pop up” the bubble. We agree it worked nicer in the old way, though in this case Android’s priority is the overall security and privacy of the clipboard.
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Unfortunately, it seems this new Google Translate update not only fixes the Tap to Translate bug, but also introduces another annoying bug. Apparently, the floating Tap to Translate icon doesn’t disappear from the screen after tapping on it with seemingly no way to get rid of it.

The latest update fixes the bug where tap to translate did not work for those running Android 10. However, I just noticed another bug. The floating tap to translate button remains on screen with seemingly no way to get rid of it after you are done translating stuff. It just stays on your screen. Long pressing it and dragging to the bottom does not dismiss it, and it seems like you can only get rid of it if you force close Google Translate.

Anyone else experiencing this as well?
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Yes just updated. New annoying bug ?
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One of the affected users claims the issue can be temporarily fixed by force-closing the Google Translate app and by all means, this is no workaround many people want. Our hope is that Google will work on fixing this issue ASAP in the next update.

NOTE: We have more Google-related coverage here.

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