"AI Translation Earphones" Developed by Chinese Startups
Capture 40% Market Share in North America
Apple announced that it will equip its earphones with real-time translation features in the second half of this year, while reports have emerged that 'AI translation earphones' developed by Chinese startups are gaining attention in the U.S. market.
On the 14th, Yonhap News quoted Chinese state media, reporting that Chinese companies are targeting the U.S. immigrant market with affordable products priced as low as $9.9 (about 15,000 KRW). Chinese startups have also launched premium strategies, expanding their sales channels worldwide.
Review of Chinese simultaneous interpretation earphones posted on TikTok. Chinese community 'Paidai' Yonhap News
China Central Television (CCTV) reported that overseas orders for translation earphones released by TimeKettle, a startup based in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese city, have surged amid the recent AI boom. According to the company, the related products are currently exported to more than 170 countries worldwide, with a 40% market share in North America. It also revealed that a Korean buyer, who has been trading for over five years, plans to order 5,000 units this year.
TimeKettle’s founder, Tian Li, explained in an interview with CCTV, "We developed a proprietary algorithm that identifies sounds based on direction and distance information," adding, "This allows us to filter out unnecessary noise and translate only the necessary content more accurately."
Among TimeKettle’s products, those released for business meetings are priced at around 200,000 KRW. Other companies are launching 'cost-effective products' priced at several tens of thousands of KRW, targeting various immigrants in the U.S. as their main audience.
The ultra-low-priced simultaneous translation earphones priced at $9.9, released through the U.S. branch of the Chinese retailer Miniso, have received various reviews on the U.S. social media platform TikTok. These earphones reportedly sold over $2 million (about 3 billion KRW) worth within a month of their release in the U.S. Miniso.
Slightly more expensive than Miniso’s, Anker’s $24.99 P20i earphones are also popular on Amazon due to their affordable price. Chinese local media linked this to Apple’s AirPods translation feature, reporting, "Is Apple following China’s $9.9 earphones?"
Earlier, reports emerged that Apple plans to add real-time translation features to its wireless earphones, AirPods, following the recent addition of hearing aid functions. On the 13th (local time), Bloomberg reported that Apple aims to remove language barriers by introducing real-time translation features to AirPods.
The feature currently under development by Apple is likely to be added as a software update by the end of this year and will be integrated with the iOS 19 update. The system will apply a two-way translation method, with AirPods and iPhones sharing respective roles.
The iPhone will act as the translation hub, converting language A to language B and transmitting the translated audio to the person wearing the AirPods, while language B will be translated back to language A and delivered to the other party through the iPhone speaker.
Meanwhile, CCTV highlighted the spirit of challenge among young developers by detailing the failures TimeKettle experienced before its success. The company initially developed a portable translator in 2019 and ambitiously produced 200,000 units, but due to inaccurate voice recognition and slow translation speed, actual sales did not follow, forcing them to discard most of the products. However, they did not give up and continued to innovate technologically.
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