Headphones can also translate speech, the AI race of Big Tech is getting more and more exciting

During the iPhone 17 launch event, Apple showed a video that played out the dream scenario of many travelers. The video shows an English-speaking tourist shopping for flowers in an unnamed Spanish-speaking country. The florist speaks Spanish to the tourist, but what the tourist hears is clear, coherent English.

“All red carnations are 50% off today,” the tourist heard in English through the headset, almost simultaneously with the employee speaking.

The video is a promotional material for Apple's latest AirPods Pro 3, but the feature is already present in many similar products from other tech companies, including Alphabet — Google's parent company — and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram.

Apple brings live translation feature to airpods headphones. (Photo: Apple)

Technological advances spurred by the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022 ushered in the era of generative AI. Nearly three years later, those advances are leading to real-time language translation tools.

For Apple, Live Translation is a big highlight of the AirPods Pro 3, which the company announced on Tuesday. The new $250 earbuds will be available next week, and with Live Translation, users will be able to hear languages like French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish translated into English in real time. Live Translation will also be coming to the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2.

When two people wearing AirPods talk to each other, the conversation can be translated two-way at the same time right inside each person's headphones. (Photo: MacRumors)

Analysts say the feature could mark a major step forward in Apple’s AI strategy, and will need to be paired with a new iPhone capable of running Apple Intelligence, Apple’s AI software suite.

“If we can actually use AirPods to translate directly, that would be a feature that would make people want to upgrade their devices,” said analyst Gil Luria of DA Davidson.

Exciting translation device race

Over the past year, Google and Meta have also launched hardware products with real-time translation capabilities.

Google's Pixel 10 phones have a feature that can translate what a person is saying into the other person's language during calls. The feature, called Voice Translate, is also designed to preserve the speaker's intonation. Voice Translate will start rolling out to users' phones via a software update next Monday.

Host Jimmy Fallon holds up a Pixel 10 Pro Fold foldable phone with Voice Translate, which translates calls in real time and preserves the speaker's voice. (Photo: Reuters)

During Google's live demonstration in August, Voice Translate translated a quote from Jimmy Fallon into Spanish while still maintaining his signature accent. Apple's feature, meanwhile, doesn't attempt to mimic a user's voice.

Meanwhile, Meta announced in May that its Ray-Ban Meta glasses will be able to translate speech into other languages through the device's speakers, and the conversational party will be able to view translated responses recorded on the user's phone.

Meta is holding its own product launch event next week, CNBC reported in August, where it is expected to unveil its next generation of smart glasses that will feature a small screen on one of the lenses. It’s unclear whether Meta will introduce new translation features.

Ray-Ban Meta glasses let you listen to and see translations on your phone.

In recent years, a range of dedicated translation devices have emerged on the market, taking advantage of global high-speed mobile networks and improved online translation services, creating compact devices or headphones with built-in translation functions for just a few hundred dollars.

“What I like about Apple is that they really highlight the urgency of this issue,” said Joe Miller, US managing director of Pocketalk, which makes a $299 translation device that can translate conversations between two people speaking different languages in both audio and text.

With Apple selling around 18 million wireless headphones in the first quarter of this year alone, according to Canalys, Apple's entry into the market will give more customers access to advances in translation technology.

Even though Apple has entered the market, dedicated device makers argue that a focus on accuracy and linguistic knowledge will yield better translation results than what a new phone can provide for free.

“We actually hired linguists, ” said Aleksander Alski, head of the US and Canada division of Vasco Electronics, which is launching translation earbuds that mimic the user’s voice, similar to Google’s feature. “We combine AI with human input, and we get much higher accuracy in all the languages we offer.”

Specialty equipment makers also have a home-field advantage. Vasco Electronics’ biggest market is Europe, while Apple’s Live Translation feature is not yet available to EU users, according to the company’s website.

Some new products from tech companies are still limited, supporting only a certain number of languages. Apple only offers this feature in five languages, while Pocketalk supports up to 95 languages.

Ngoc Nguyen (CNBC)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/tai-nghe-cung-biet-dich-noi-cuoc-dua-ai-cua-cac-big-tech-ngay-cang-soi-dong-ar965160.html