Mac + Safari
iPhone + iPad
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Opera
Microsoft EdgeMate vs Apple Translate
Hello madam / sir / gender nonconformer.
Taking a sly guess that you're here wondering which translator to sink your lingual teeth into. You've heard of Mate or perhaps this is your first encounter with it. Apple's got a free solution coming with iOS 14 that's appealing considering Google Translate doesn't give a hoot about your privacy.
Apple's great, fair enough, but we'd like to show our hand here. There's more to Mate than meets the eye. Here's a breakdown of why you might want to give Mate a try over the aluminum fruit.
Where it works
Mate
Everywhere. Mate works all across your Mac, iPhone, and favorite browser. It lives in your menu bar and sharesheet so it's ready at your whim. A beautifully designed Mate window pops up when you need it and then gets out of the way. Unobtrusive, sleek, there for you.
Apple
They'll shoot to integrate their translator but the first go is definitely limited. iOS 14 and Big Sur may see Safari page translation. All else will have to be copy and pasted into the app for now, same as with most run-of-the-mill apps.
Breadth and depth
Mate
103 languages, word genders, synonyms, IPA pronunciation, speak aloud, voice translate, non-Latin transliteration. Translate Netflix subtitles while watching. Save phrases to a personal phrasebook for fast learning. Full-webpage translation.
Apple
11 languages, speak aloud, voice translate, favorites, conversation and attention modes, dictionary, full-webpage translation.
Privacy
Mate
The most privacy-conscious translator on the market. Doesn't track anything whatsoever. Stays away from prying analytics. Option to delete all data upon request. No spam. Your own personal account to sync across devices.
Apple
Notoriously great privacy. As great as it can be for a trillion dollar company. They've had their privacy gaffs.
In sum
We don't deny that Apple's great. They make premium apps, services, and devices. They also monopolize the indie devs.
Team Gikken built Mate from the heart. We love and use different languages every day and needed the perfect tool to make living lingually more pleasant and seamless. Our small team crafted Mate to hit all the right spots for someone who needs to translate frequently and can't be bothered to constantly copy and paste into separate apps.
Mate's got our company philosophy weaved into its code. We're totally against all the tracking, data-grubbing, and privacy-annihilation going on elsewhere. Gikken is a safe haven.
And since we're small, we're agile and attentive. Giving feedback to Apple is like putting a sticky note on the gate of a towering fortress. If you have ideas, criticism, praise, or questions for Mate, give us a shout on Twitter or email us directly. We promise we'll get it, read it, and respond.
Our fortress may be tiny but the fire's warm, grog's sweet, and you're welcome to chill any time.
