Timekettle W4 Pro vs Google Translate: Is premium hardware a step up from the free app?

Timekettle’s AI Interpreter Earbuds aim to usher in a “new era of seamless global business interactions.” That’s a bold goal, but a device that can fluidly translate a two-way conversation in real time might just achieve it. We’ve put the device through its paces by running side-by-side comparisons to see how the Timekettle W4 Pro stacks up against Google Translate’s Conversation Mode, on its own and when paired with the Pixel Buds Pro 2.

The Timekettle W4 Pro is a pair of open-ear AI-powered interpreter earbuds engineered for real-time conversations across languages. Unlike traditional translation apps that rely on and turn-taking, the W4 Pro is built for fluid, two-way speech. With support for 40 languages and 93 accents, and powered by the advanced Babel OS platform, it enables multiple conversation modes. This includes One-on-One, which lets two people speak freely while wearing one earbud each.

Designed for a professional level of clarity and speed, the W4 Pro also supports offline translation, phone call translation, and even real-time subtitles while watching video content.

Google Translate’s Conversation Mode is a solid starting point for multilingual communication. It’s free, easy to use, and can get you through basic interactions. For simple travel phrases or transactional exchanges, it does the job well enough. But like most app-based systems, it’s built around turn-taking. You tap the mic, speak, and wait.

Accuracy is generally good, though it occasionally stumbles over informal phrasing and filler words. The voice output is functional but lacks emotional nuance. Most notably, the app won’t start translating until the speaker has clearly finished, leading to long pauses that can break the flow of conversation.

Adding Pixel Buds Pro 2 into the mix gives the experience a more private feel, at least in theory. In practice, Google Translate still depends entirely on the phone’s mic for voice pickup. When you wear both buds, you can hear translations in your ears, but your responses are only displayed on-screen for the recipient.

Using one bud each, you hear all of the translated speech so both of you listen to the lines intended for the other person. There’s no way to split the audio directionally in this setup, which makes the experience feel messy.

Ultimately, while Google Translate with Pixel Buds adds convenience, it doesn’t change the core experience. You still have to take turns and tap the screen between speakers, and the system lacks the fluidity you’d want in more natural conversation.

The Speaking and Listening modes on the Timekettle W4 Pro are the most familiar options for users coming from translation apps like Google Translate. One person wears both earbuds in these modes, although the input and output methods depend on who’s speaking. In Speaking mode, the wearer of the buds speaks into the three-mic arrays of the W4 Pro, with the translation played from the phone speaker for the other person. In Listening mode, the phone mic will pick up the non-wearer’s dialogue, with the translation delivered privately through the buds.

What sets the W4 Pro apart, even in this more familiar setup, is its responsiveness. It initially awaits an imminent pause, but if the speaker continues uninterrupted, it quickly processes and speaks the translation, helping conversations feel more fluid. In that sense, it’s reminiscent of a high-functioning human interpreter, softly speaking the translation in your ear while simultaneously listening out for the next part of the conversation.

The Vector Noise Cancelation also comes into play for the person wearing the buds, fading the speaker out a little for a more focused experience. It’s like seeing an interviewee talking on a show with the dubbed English translation over the top.

Translation accuracy appears equal to or better than Google Translate in testing, and latency is marginally quicker. The nuance and timbre of the voices (you can choose male or female) on the Timekettle W4 Pro also sound more natural than the robotic tone of Google Translate.

These modes are best suited for situations where one person does most of the talking and the other primarily listens, such as business meetings or presentations. They’re not as good as One-on-One mode for rapid, two-way dialogue, but they’re a clear improvement over Google Translate, where you hear both sides of the translations and may wait long periods before interpretation begins.

This is where the W4 Pro truly stands out. One-on-One Mode enables two people to each wear one earbud and speak freely, without screen taps or even needing the phone in earshot. Each earbud can record and play audio, letting you sit back and focus entirely on the conversation.

This makes a huge difference in practice. Conversations no longer feel like turn-based interactions. You can speak naturally, interject, and even overlap at times. Even if you deliberately try to interrupt each other mid-sentence, the system still manages to separate and translate the essential content accurately. That kind of resilience is what makes the W4 Pro feel less like a gadget and more like a tool.

It also solved one of the core frustrations of other setups: hearing both sides of the conversation. With One-on-One Mode, each person only hears the translation of what the other is saying, and not that of their own speech. It’s easier to focus without needing to filter out audio that wasn’t meant for you mentally, and it adds to the feeling that you each have your own personal translator on your shoulder.

Whether you’re sitting close together or across a table with music in the background, the mic pickup stays consistent. The lack of screen interaction makes it feel like you are speaking directly.

The W4 Pro’s open-ear design doesn’t isolate sound as tightly as in-ear buds, but thanks to directional microphones and noise cancelation, translation quality holds up well even with background chatter, and even continues to deliver strong voice pickup in noisier locations like sports venues.

Alongside its core translation modes, other W4 Pro features add to its versatility:

• Phone calls: Real-time call translation performed well in back-and-forth speech. While overlapping voices created some confusion for the party without the W4 Pro, it’s still a very useful tool if you need to make an important call to someone with whom you don’t share a common tongue.
• Media playback: Watching YouTube with floating translated subtitles from the Timekettle app proved surprisingly effective. Even fast speech and slang-heavy content remained understandable, which would be a huge plus for language learners or casual viewers.
• Offline mode: A downloaded language pack for offline use delivered solid results, with English-Spanish among the 13 packs available. Relying on the device in areas with poor connectivity is a major advantage for travel and business.
• LLM translation: A trial feature in the Timekettle app uses AI to fit translations into a better context. It showed promise in Listening, Speaking, and One-on-One modes, delivering a more natural conversational flow while staying true to the speaker’s message.

Tools like Google Translate are simple to use and fairly effective, especially considering they’re free. They’re great for travel, quick phrases, or one-off conversations. However, when the goal is to hold a fluid, back-and-forth discussion across languages, their limitations start to show.

The Timekettle W4 Pro stands out because, especially in One-on-One Mode, it unlocks the way real multilingual conversation should work. No tapping on screens or overlong pauses while the system waits for the other person to finish. It’s an entirely different experience, particularly for professionals who might otherwise be paying for an interpreter. The $449 retail price is significant, but in that context, it might often prove to be a cost-effective investment. If the goal is to speak naturally and be understood, without tech getting in the way, it’s hard to imagine a more intuitive solution on the market.