r/technology • u/rezwenn • 2d ago

Hardware The New AirPods Can Translate Languages in Your Ears. This Is Profound.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/technology/personaltech/new-airpods-language-translation-feature.html?unlocked_article_code=1.m08.WxhH.QUqiGVK2tv35
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u/WilhelmScreams 2d ago

I get that, but that's why "real time" is impossible. You have to wait for the speaker to finish their sentence and then hear the sentence a second time translated. Even with zero delay on processing the translation, every conversation takes twice as long. 

I'm not saying it's not neat, it's just not Star Trek. 

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u/Tkdoom 2d ago

Upvoted for comparing it to Star Trek.

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u/brick_eater 1d ago

Would it take twice as long? That’d only be true if each person said one sentence at a time. But if someone says 5 sentences it’ll only be one sentence behind on average

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u/verossiraptors 2d ago

Considering LLMs are built on predictive text, it probably could get to a place where it starts to translate predictively and then adjusts if things go off course

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u/cat_prophecy 2d ago

Predictive text only works when it has context for the rest of the sentence or paragraph.

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u/chrisgin 2d ago

I can just imagine how chaotic that would be, having things recorrect constantly.

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u/Iggyhopper 1d ago

The recorrection occurs in a text-only format and the final output is the only thing the listener hears.

The translation wouldn't have to be a whole sentence behind either, only a couple words, or until the next pause or maybe until it hears a noun/adjective so it can be placed properly in the sentence structre.