CES 2017: Meet the hearable that's ready to change the way you communicate
Remember Pilot, the real time translation hearable that raised over $4 million on Indiegogo? Well UK-based startup Mymanu is offering an alternative and is set to become the first smart earbuds to make conversations in multiple languages easier with the Clik.
The Clik pack in a microphone and a microprocessor that does the brain work and promises to translate 37 different languages in real time. While the hearable raised just around $350,00 through crowdfunding, it’s launching the £155 hearable in February at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Shipping for crowdfund backers was set for May 2017.
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So how does it work? Once you’ve got your buds and grabbed the Mymanu companion smartphone app you’ll be able to download 9 language packs. These contain the 37 different languages including French, Spanish and Japanese. These can be synced and stored on the truly wireless in-ears.
Once you’ve chosen what language you want to hear it will automatically detect the language being spoken and doesn’t require any data connection. If you’re speaking to somebody that’s in another country or you’re on a conference call where several different people are speaking different languages, then you’ll need to use the cloud to provide the translation.
The bud will wait until there’s been one sentence before it starts to translate to get the context of what you are trying to say. We’re told that the maximum waiting time for translation is 5-10 seconds.
Clik has been in the works for four years and is the startup’s second product after launching a wireless Bluetooth speaker, which helped provide the funds to create its first hearable. If you’re sceptical of Mymanu’s credentials, the team told us that it has already spoken to Google about helping with its own translation platform. It’s also worked with Apple and partnered with Spotify for its Mymanu Play music app.
Aside from translating they’ll also stream music with Bragi-style touch controls on the outside of the buds. As has become the standard with smart earbuds, it comes with a wireless charging case to keep them powered up.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get time to demo the buds, but with just a short wait until they are ready to try out, we’d definitely be keen to see whether these are going to be an essential travelling companion. Hey, we did tell you it was going to be a big year for hearables.
