What if there was a magical gadget that could
translate things for you so that you don’t have to actually learn anything? Oh
wait, Google has already done that. Get ready to meet the Pixel Buds. When
combined with the Pixel or Pixel 2 smartphone and the Google Translate app, the
Buds are essentially a robotic translator which can help locals and tourists
understand each other in up to 40 languages. The idea is that you speak English
into the Pixel Buds, and your phone will say aloud the translated version, and
vice versa.
Although these Buds seem pretty much perfect,
Business Insider performed a test with several different languages such as
Spanish, French, Hindi, and Korean, and found that slang words, idioms, and
long or complicated sentences came out very weird on the other side, but simple
and short phrases were very accurate. So, as long as you’re not asking someone
about their thoughts on the theory of relativity, but rather finding out where
the restroom is instead, then you should be fine.
While it’s unlikely that some of the best and
well-known translation apps already in existence will disappear entirely, these
Pixel Buds do open up a new portal for traveling – one that doesn’t involve
butchering the local dialect with your hastily-learned guidebook phrases.
Furthermore, as this is Google, not some random startup hoping to gain funding
with a new, fancy gadget, we’re bound to see further improvements and
developments with regards to the translation technology and the hardware. As
Google is already working on other types of apps at the same time, one would
hope that the Pixel Buds aren’t a flash in the pan but will stick around to get
better over time. Let’s just say nothing about the failed item that was the
Google Glass.
The Google Pixel Buds retail for around US$ 159, but
when you consider that they are wireless, and can also provide many other
useful functions like playing music, giving directions, and placing phone
calls, then the translation feature could just be the cherry on top for someone
looking for new earphones.
Of course, the correct thing to do before any
vacation is to study the local language and customs, which has admittedly
become a lot easier with language-learning apps such as Duolingo or Babbel, but
if you’re someone doing a two-month long trip through Europe – a continent with
dozens and dozens of varying languages – then the Pixel Buds do seem an
incredibly useful gadget.
