AhaRoam

Read any Chinese app like it was written for you

Taobao, Alipay, Ctrip, DiDi, WeChat mini programs. Drag the lens over the part you cannot read, double-tap, and it is in English.

Get early access

Android 8.0 and up. No account. Free while in testing.

The AhaRoam lens open over Ctrip's Chinese home screen, with Hotels, Guides/Attractions, Tickets/Activities and B&Bs/Inns shown in English over the original Chinese labels.
Ctrip, untouched. English only where the lens is.

The screen everyone gets stuck on

You are booking a train, paying a bill, or checking whether a hotel takes foreign cards. The button you need is four characters long, and your phone's translator cannot see it, because it is inside another app.

Screenshots are slow

Take one, switch apps, crop, wait, switch back, and hope the screen has not moved on.

Camera translation cannot help

It points at the world, not at the phone in your hand.

Half the text is a picture

Chinese shopping apps put whole product descriptions inside images, where ordinary translation never reaches.

How it works

Six steps, and the sixth is putting it away.

1

Start AhaRoam

Allow screen sharing once. Android asks every time the lens starts fresh.

2

Open the Chinese app

AhaRoam sits on top of whatever you are already using.

3

Drag the lens over the words

A small blue circle. Move it, resize it, put it where you are stuck.

4

Double-tap

The English appears in place, over the original, keeping the layout.

5

Double-tap again

Back to the Chinese, in case you want to compare or copy a name.

6

Tap the ✕

Closes the lens and stops screen sharing. Just stepping away? Tap Hide on the notification instead, and Resume brings it straight back.

The same Ctrip screen before translating, showing the lens outline and its three controls: the round handle, the resize arrows and the close cross.
Before the double-tap. Three controls: move, resize, close.

Built for the apps you actually open

Not a dictionary. A translator that understands it is looking at an interface.

Text inside images

Reads the picture-based product descriptions Chinese shopping apps are full of.

Mini programs

Works inside WeChat and Alipay mini apps, where most translators stop.

Slang and emoji

Reads reviews and chats the way a person would, not word by word.

Instant on repeat

Screens you have seen before come back with no wait at all.

18 languages, including English, Russian, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Arabic and Turkish.

Try it before everyone else

AhaRoam is in closed testing. Join and you get it free for the whole test, and your feedback shapes what ships.

Join the test on Google Play

Replace this link with the Play Console opt-in URL once the closed test exists.

Questions

Does it see everything on my screen?

It reads only what is inside the lens box you position. That text is sent to our server to be translated. Images never leave your phone. Keep the box away from passwords and card numbers.

Which apps does it work in?

Any Android app. It reads the screen itself, so it does not matter whether the text is a button, a photo, or a mini program inside WeChat or Alipay.

Do I need an account?

No. There is no sign-up and nothing to log into.

Does it work offline?

Screens you have already translated come back instantly with no connection. New text needs the internet.

Will it drain my battery?

The lens only reads the screen at the moment you double-tap. Between taps it does nothing.

What does it cost?

Free during the closed test. Pricing after that has not been set.