Google Introduces Translator Ear Buds

The days of traveling to foreign countries and carrying around pocket language translators are long gone. Now travelers who visit nations where their mother tongue is not spoken can rely on the convenience of a mobile app, like Google Translate, to fit in and communicate with the locals. But Google hasn’t stopped at its easy-to-use translator app; the tech company is experimenting with a set of headphones that may translate language in real time and deliver a translated word or phrase directly into the ear.

Google Pixel Buds were introduced at the company’s Pixel 2 launch event in October. To use the ear buds, the wearer would press and hold down the right earbud to turn on the Google Assistant. This system must be connected to a nearby Pixel 2 mobile phone; thus, the ear buds must work in conjunction with the aforementioned app. When the wearer needs to translate a phrase into the local language, he would say the phrase in his native language and the translated phrase would generate on the screen of the translator app and then be played audibly for the foreign speaker to hear.

When the foreign speaker wants to reply, he can simply press the microphone button on the mobile phone and answer in his native language. The ear buds then play the translated phrase directly to the wearer via the ear buds.

Although this may seem like a lot of work to simply exchange basic information between two people who don’t share the same language, it takes one step out of the former utility of Google Translate that involves passing the phone back and forth.

The Google Pixel Buds will only work with Google Pixel phones and can be pre-ordered for $59.