New Google ear buds offer real-time translation of spoken conversations

SAN FRANCISCO – Google on Wednesday introduced new Pixel ear buds that the company says are capable of real-time translation of conversations in different languages. A demonstration given as Google unveiled a host of new products infused with its digital Assistant smarts got people playfully referring to Pixel Buds as an internet-Age version of the alien "Babel Fish" depicted in famed science fiction work "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." In the literature, inserting a Babel Fish in an ear enabled a person to understand anything spoken in any language. Pixel Buds, synced to freshly introduced second-generation Pixel smartphones, promise real-time translations of conversations involving any of 40 languages. However, on Android phones, the Google Assistant currently is available in only five languages: English, French, German, Japanese and Portuguese.