Google’s new headphones translate as you speak

Google has launched wireless headphones that translate what you say, and what others say to you – in real time. Called Pixel Buds (pictured), they translate up to 40 languages when linked to the Google Translate app on the company’s Pixel phones.

Google demonstrated the headphones in early October during an event in San Francisco, translating short phrases between English and Swedish. They cost £159 from Google’s store ( www.snipca.com/25896), though there is a waiting list.

Writing on Google’s blog ( www.snipca.com/25895) product manager Adam Champy said the experience is “like you’ve got your own personal translator with you everywhere you go”. He explained that you need to press down on the right earbud then say, ‘Help me speak Italian’ (or other language of choice). The phone’s speaker then translates what you say.

The Pixel Buds aren’t the first headphones to translate in real time. In May, German company Bragi launched the Dash Pro earbuds ( www.bragi.com/thedashpro), which translate 40 languages using the itranslate app ( www. itranslate.com) on iphones. They cost €349.

By sitting in the ear and translating in real time, both headphones have been compared to the Babel fish from Douglas Adams’ book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (see image above from the 1981 TV series).

Unlike the Babel fish, however, the headphones don’t work by feeding on brain-wave energy, using artificial intelligence instead.