Here is our review of the LiveTalk AI Translation Earbuds.
Talk to almost anyone, almost anywhere with the Timekettle LiveTalk AI Translation Earbuds, designed for travellers, students and professionals who need to understand and be understood. Enjoy translation across 54 languages and 108 regional accents, powered by Babel OS 3.0, which automatically chooses the best translation engine for wherever you happen to be.
Switch between four translation modes – Face-to-Face, Live Listening, Voice Call and Multi-Media – so one pair of earbuds covers conversations, lectures, phone calls and videos. Stay on top of every meeting with real-time bilingual transcription and AI summaries with timestamps, and sound more polished with AI Refine smoothing out your phrasing as you go.
With 35 hours of total battery life and a quick charge that gives you 2.5 hours of use in just 10 minutes, LiveTalk keeps up with a full day on the move. Enjoy all-day comfort with a lightweight open-ear design, dual-device connection, 25 offline language pairs for when the Wi-Fi gives up, IPX4 water resistance and encrypted translations that are never stored.
Features
- Four translation modes for chats, lectures, calls and media.
- 54 languages and 108 accents supported online.
- 25 offline language pairs for travelling without a signal.
- Babel OS 3.0 picks the best engine for speed and accuracy.
- AI Refine, live transcription and timestamped summaries.
- Open-ear design weighing approx. 6.9g per earbud.
- Up to 35 hours total battery, 2.5 hours from a 10-minute charge.
- Connect to two devices at the same time.
What’s in the box?
The box contains the Earbuds, Charging Case and a Type-C USB Charging Cable.
A Closer Look
Final Thoughts
The LiveTalk earbuds are very lightweight (around 6.9g each) and feel really comfortable to wear even for extended periods of time. Because they hook over your ear and rest on the outside rather than sitting in your ear canal, you can still hear what is going on around you, which is exactly what you want when you are trying to have a conversation.
When fully charged, the earbuds and case give you up to 35 hours of total battery life, with around 16 hours of that available for translation. In a pinch you can charge for about 10 minutes and get around 2.5 hours of use. Don’t worry, that is more than enough to get you through a meeting or a long taxi ride.
Pairing LiveTalk with your phone is really simple and quick – the Timekettle App takes you straight to the pairing screen the first time you open it, and iPhone users just finish things off in Bluetooth settings. You can also stay connected to two devices at once, so you can join a Zoom or Teams call on your laptop while your phone handles the translation, without installing anything on the computer.
There are four distinct modes you can choose from – Face-to-Face, Live Listening, Voice Call and Multi-Media – they all work really well and they are easy to select in the app. Face-to-Face uses your phone’s microphone to pick up the other person, so there is no passing your phone back and forth. Voice Call translates both sides of a phone call and the person on the other end doesn’t need to install anything. Multi-Media puts translated subtitles on your screen for videos and podcasts. One thing to note is that you need both earbuds in for any of the translation modes, although a single earbud is fine for music and calls.
The AI features are where LiveTalk really stands out. Live Listening transcribes everything into bilingual text in real time and then builds a summary with timestamps, which is great for lectures and conferences. AI Refine tidies up your wording so you come across as more professional, and all of your transcripts and notes are saved locally on your phone rather than in the cloud. Translations are encrypted, never stored and never used for AI training, which is reassuring if you are using them for work.
If you are heading somewhere with a dodgy signal, you can download offline language pairs before you go – there are 25 pairs available, covering languages such as English, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish.
They are not just for translating either. There are 6 preset EQs for music, and when you switch into translation mode a dedicated Translation EQ kicks in automatically to boost voices and cut out background rumble. The touch controls can also be customised in the app, apart from the call gestures, which stay fixed so you don’t accidentally hang up on someone.
You get 200 minutes of online translation every month for free, which resets on the 1st and covers all four modes – definitely enough for most people. If you need more, the Pro plan adds 300 minutes per billing cycle (or unlimited minutes on the Unlimited plan), and Booster Packs give you 600 minutes that never expire. Nicely, if you run out of minutes mid-conversation the translation carries on until the session ends.
The LiveTalk AI Translation Earbuds are available now priced around $129 (currently on offer at $109) and are available in Deep Sea Blue, Star Silver (the pair we reviewed here) or Polar Black. They also come with a 12-month warranty.
