They work surprisingly well… until the Internet fails

A few weeks ago I traveled to China to attend the Beijing Auto Show. If the three or four trips I have made to China have taught me anything, it is that there nobody, practically nobody, speaks English. Communicating is therefore a combination of hand signs, signals and three or four loose words. That, or use a translator like Google Translate, which has several problems:

1. The live interpretation function requires an Internet connection, something that in China, for whatever reason, is not always available.
2. You can download the languages ​​and write to translate, but only they understand you. Your interlocutor is still unable to communicate.
3. You have to be with your phone in your hand all the time, something that is not always possible, comfortable or viable.

Then it dawned on me. The last time I went (not here, but the previous one) I noticed that in all the stores I had entered they had a little gadget from a local brand called iFlyTek that translated in real time. And I thought, what if I try one of their devices in China? And that’s what I did. I took with me the iFlyTek AI Translation AirBudsheadphones with real-time interpretation, to try them out. And very well, until the connection stopped working.

Now I understand everything

The headphones are of the type clip in semi-open formatthat is, they hook to our ear from behind to leave the ear more or less free and bring the microphones closer to our mouth. Because no, they are not headphones for listening to music (which we can do, mind you, but it is not the best experience by any means), but for making calls and talking to people. And there they deliver beautifully.

It’s curious. Almost all the headphones I have tried tend to bend their knees when making calls. The music is very enjoyable, but the calls are a bit meh. These are the complete opposite. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone to listen to music, but I have never tried headphones that pick up my voice better. and the voice of our interlocutor (we will return to this later).

The key to these headphones is that they translate and interpret in real time. Already I tried some from another brand years ago and the experience was mixed, but with these I was frankly surprised. They connect to an app called Bavvo which, as we will see later, I had to test in beta version, but in this case it worked correctly.

The headphones pick up voice very, very well, even in distant and busy environments. In the middle of the BYD hall they were doing a demo with a frozen car and the presenter not only spoke Chinese, but she did it at a somewhat low volume. Added to the hustle and bustle of the hall, it sounded average. Well even there, The headphones were capable of picking up your voice, translating it and interpreting it to Spanish directly in my ear.

The translation takes a while to start, but when it starts it doesn’t stop. The problem is that, by default, the voice is a little slow. I ended up setting it to x1.2, because at x1 I felt like I was falling behind in the conversation. The voice is a bit-quite robotic and makes it not overly pleasant to listen to for a long period of time, but that’s better than… not understanding anything.

Then the connection stopped working and I was left without Internet. For much eSIM with VPN or a lot paid VPN Whatever you wear, the reality is that connectivity in China is a real pain and can fail. When I lost the Internet I was left without simultaneous interpretation. Luckily, it was shortly before I left the event, so it served me well enough.

When I got home, and with a proper connection, I tried them again and, indeed, it is another movie. If in China they knew how to measure up whenever there was a connection, the question was whether they would be able to help me in one of the most tedious tasks you can do in this, our work as tech journalists: attending a conference in Chinese without subtitles or translation. Like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, for example.

Well yes, the answer is that they fulfill their mission with great solvency. By having a nearby audio source in a quiet place, the headphones pick up voice beautifully and translate well. I didn’t watch the entire conference, but the time I watched it I was able to follow it without the slightest problem. It has its things, because Chinese can be very poetic sometimes and the translation is sometimes too literal, but otherwise I must admit that I have no complaints.

If we talk about a conference in English, French or German, three quarters of the same. The interpretation is good and more than enough to follow the thread of a presentation or a talk. I did the exercise of following this TED talk in German without watching the video or activating subtitles, as if it were a podcast and, although the robotic voice that speaks in my ear in Spanish becomes heavy, I have been able to follow it without problem.

It’s also possible to give a headset to another person and translate in real time between headsets, which is fine if the other person is trustworthy, but for me personally, It makes me a little sick. It is true that the headphones do not go into the ear and well, okay, but sharing headphones is, for me, like sharing a toothbrush: just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to do it, and even less so with someone you probably don’t know, as could be the case in an interview. But as power, it is possible.

One nuance: they are not available in Spain

It is important to note that these headphones They are not available in Spainat least officially. The same thing happens with the app: I had to use a beta because since the headphones are not available, neither is the app. They can be obtained unofficially through platforms like AliExpressbut luckily there are alternatives.

A brand that does sell similar devices in Spain is Timekettle. They have the same “problem” as these (they depend on having an Internet connection), but they are not bad. Other more mainstream headphones, such as Galaxy Buds 4 Pro from Samsung or latest Apple AirPods They also offer simultaneous translation, although they are limited to specific products from each company.

In conclusion

The quick summary is that these headphones work great, as long as we have a decent internet connection. They are very comfortable (large, but comfortable and very light) and they pick up a pleasant voice, one of the best I have tried in this field. Not for music, but for calls they are great.

If they could be purchased in Spain, they would be an interesting purchase if we usually have the need to communicate in a language that we do not speak, or if we want the language to stop being a barrier. In more professional environments, where they would also make sense, I would recommend buying two: one for ourselves and one for the interlocutor. That’s why they don’t lend themselves headphones, which is ugly.

In any case, in my daily life they have turned out to be quite frequently used headphones. Not because I have to translate, mind you, I have ever used them, but because they are pure fantasy for calls. There are times when the phone rings and the first thing I do is put them on before accepting it.

A few days ago, a JBL executive told me that having several headphones depending on what contexts was increasingly common. Well, these are the ones that I would always have on hand in an office.

Images | Xataka

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This device has been provided for testing by iFlyTek. You can consult how we do reviews in Xataka and our relations policy with companies.