DeepMind Brings Real-Time Sign Language Translation to Pixel 11

DeepMind has released SL2T (Sign-Language-to-Text) — a model that translates sign language gestures into text in real time, directly on a smartphone with no internet connection required. Starting August 12, 2026, it is built into the Gboard keyboard and the Live Transcribe app on Pixel 11: just hold your phone and sign — text appears instantly, for free.

1How It Works

The model does not record video or send it to the cloud: the device tracks only hand poses via MediaPipe Holistic — an algorithm that converts movements into numbers. This addresses privacy concerns. The system works for left-handed users and for those signing one-handed while holding the phone — which is critical for composing text with signs.

SL2T was trained on more than 100,000 hours of video covering 50+ sign languages (roughly 25% American Sign Language, ASL). On the industry benchmark FLEURS-ASL, the model scores 70 in zero-shot mode — with no fine-tuning for an individual user. This is significantly higher than any previously published result.

2Why This Matters

For the first time, sign language translation has become a built-in keyboard feature rather than a separate app or an expensive dedicated device. For roughly 70 million deaf people worldwide, this means that typing a message or searching the web can now be done by signing — without any special hardware or additional cost.