Timekettle has announced a new pair of real-time translation headphones called the W4 AI Interpreter Earbuds. They use bone conduction technology that helps improve accuracy in loud environments.
Available now for $349 in navy blue and sandy gold color options, the earbuds are a more affordable alternative to the company’s $449 over-the-ear W4 Pro released earlier this year that looked like the clunky Bluetooth headsets that were popular a few decades ago. Timekettle says its new W4 AI are instead “optimized for casual use” with a design that looks more like modern wireless earbuds, but with a much larger stem.
The reason the W4 AI aren’t as compact as other wireless earbuds like Apple’s AirPods is because they contain additional electronics to run Timekettle’s Babel OS 2.0 real-time translation software that’s powered by AI LLM models. The company says the system “instantly converts speech between 42 languages and 95 accents” with up to 98 percent accuracy thanks to its ability to understand and anticipate the context of what you’re saying so it can differentiate between similar sounding words. As with the W4 Pro, you can also create your own custom lexicon for the new W4 AI so it doesn’t get confused when talking to someone about skibidi toilets.
To further improve its translation accuracy the W4 AI includes a new feature not seen on Timekettle’s other products. The earbuds use a combination of a standard microphone and a sensor that detects voice vibrations through the bones in your head to more accurately recognize what you’re saying, even in loud environments. The bone conduction sensor also improves sensitivity so you can talk quieter, potentially allowing for more discreet conversations when talking in public.
Battery life is rated at up to four hours of continuous translation or up to 10 hours when paired with the W4 AI’s charging case that splits in two with an earbud on either side. They can also be used as standard wireless earbuds when you just want to listen to music which boosts battery life to up to eight hours, or 18 with a top-off in their charging case.