Google is upgrading one of Android’s most useful tools, Circle to Search, by fixing a long-standing annoyance with translations. The new feature, “scroll and translate,” allows users to keep translating text as they scroll through a page—something that wasn’t possible before without repeatedly restarting the process.
Circle to Search, first launched in early 2024 with the Pixel 8 series and Samsung’s Galaxy S24 phones, lets users draw a circle around anything on their screen to instantly search for it. Translation quickly became one of the most popular uses, but translating a long menu or article meant circling, translating, scrolling, and then starting over—clunky and time-consuming.
With the new update, users can long-press the navigation bar, tap the Translate icon, and choose “scroll and translate.” From there, translation continues automatically as you scroll, even carrying over between apps. In practice, that means you can read through a foreign-language menu or multi-page document without constant interruptions.
Google says the feature will begin rolling out this week, starting with select Samsung Galaxy models before expanding more widely. Pixel devices, even those running the latest Android 16 beta, will have to wait a little longer.
This isn’t the first recent upgrade to Circle to Search. Earlier this year, Google added song recognition and the ability to translate entire pages at once. The new scrolling option complements that by handling situations where content doesn’t all fit on one screen, making translations more seamless.
For travelers, students, or anyone navigating multilingual content on their phones, this update removes one of Circle to Search’s biggest pain points. Instead of translating appetizers, entrées, and desserts one screen at a time, Android users can now swipe smoothly from start to finish.
