After visiting my local Chinese takeout spot, I grabbed a few pieces of candy from the small jar that they had near their cash register. Unsure of what they were, I was curious to uncover a delightfully fruity piece of hard candy that awaited inside the wrapper, but I was sad to see that I couldn’t read a single piece of information on said wrapper. Everything was in Chinese, a language that I am not fluent in by any means.
So, I wanted to test something. Using Gemini on my phone, I asked it to help me discover what the candy was. In a matter of moments, I had all the information that I could ask for, and had a bag of them on the way shortly after. This could help on trips, when trying new snacks, and everything in between.
Using Gemini to break the language barrier is great
I love trying new things, and now? I can find out more about them
As Google Assistant was slowly being phased out in favor of Gemini in 2025, I started using it to learn more about the local flora and fauna in my backyard. Asking it questions about what kind of flower something was, or if it was a weed or not, proved to be incredibly helpful. That’s what made me curious about whether it would work with something in a foreign language in the first place, as it was incredibly quick at deciphering plants and flowers.
What I didn’t expect, though? It was a detailed list that broke down the name, origin, place of manufacture, and everything in between. Maybe it’s because I don’t use any AI outside of Gemini and Alexa, or maybe it’s just because I’m easily impressed. But I could see this being a major game-changer for people going on trips outside the country, especially if they find something they’d love to have in their own home.
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Android
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Google
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Subscription
It takes less than 10 seconds to find out information
Plus, I can only imagine the good it can do for accessibility purposes for different folks
Now, enter the candy in question that sparked my interest so highly that I wanted to learn more about it. From the outside, its shiny green packaging was eye-catching, but it was the treat inside that had me wanting more. Sure, it’s a good excuse to keep going back to my local takeout joint, but after finding out that they’re a Guava candy from Hongyuan, I could quickly browse the net and get my hands on a bag for like $6.
It’s also incredibly simple — all I needed to do was open the Gemini app, take a picture of the wrapper, and ask “What is this?”, and I was given more information than I could have ever imagined. Plus, I learned that this particular company makes other flavors of snacks, and now I’m on a quest to use my entire next paycheck to buy all of them. I’m just kidding, but I know I’m going to at least snag a few more bags.
I’m curious to try this out with more things in the future
Maybe my copy of Like a Dragon: Kenzan could finally be playable with these tools
While I still don’t have a particular use for ChatGPT or other generative AI features, I am slowly starting to appreciate what Gemini has to offer, and what it can do for people who are venturing around the world or just want to learn more about their favorite house pet. I was quick to remove Copilot from my PC as quickly as I could, but I also know how AI models like this can genuinely help people with disabilities or those who just want to know more about the world around them. That’s the future of AI that I would love to see, rather than AI-generated videos that are sapping up natural resources.
It’s also interesting to see what this can do to help preserve or expand classic media, like video games, movies, books, and more. While AI translation isn’t exactly perfect, it can give curious individuals who want to try something new a chance to experience it. It may take longer to get through something, especially if you have to take photos of everything you want to translate, but maybe someday live translation will be available directly through the app. Some headphones (and even mobile carriers) already have this feature, but I haven’t had a chance to try it out for myself.
The 5 Best Google Gemini Features You Must Try
Let Gemini wow you with these awesome functions.
Google Translate has been doing this forever
But I love that I can snap a picture of something and learn everything I could ever want
Google Translate is a tool that I’ve been using for what feels like forever. Even before the dawn of the AI bubble, Google Translate has been helping me discover what other people are saying with just a few clicks. How is this any different, really? Well, for starters, you couldn’t upload a picture to Google Translate, but you could copy and paste text. This feels like the next evolutionary step in the process, especially as people start to try new things.
Imagine going to a restaurant overseas and not knowing what the menu has to say. Or if you find yourself lost in a city, using Gemini and asking for more information could help you navigate your way around much more easily. Tools like this have been around for a while, as I remember using an older Samsung phone to do something similar years ago. But this iteration of it feels much more advanced, and I’m curious to see how they’ll continue to advance it from here.
Try it for yourself to see how nicely it works
My next trip to World Market is going to be a blast and a half
Many people may have known about this Gemini trick already, but if you didn’t? I hope that it makes your life all the more exciting. Finding the name of a food that you’ve fallen in love with, learning more about local history in a different country, or finding your way around town can be made much, much easier with this underrated and potentially unknown Gemini feature.
I see a lot of folks making pictures with Nano Banana and not really doing much else with Gemini. At this point, I’m intrigued enough to learn more about what it can do on my phone, especially if it can point me in the right direction on where to get my hands on more taiyaki in my local area.
