I just tested this $699 translator that supports 40 languages — here’s what happened

When I travel, I rely heavily on Google Translate. And while it has helped me a lot, it hasn’t always been the most accurate when translating, say, Norwegian to English and vice versa. But AI is constantly evolving, and you can get specific translation devices now. I’m talking about the new Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub.

Timekettle, a Chinese manufacturer, creates translation-focused devices, and the X1 AI Interpreter Hub is its latest creation — and also its most expensive one. Primarily aimed at businesses, this translator supports 40 languages and 93 accents, and features five modes for every scenario, including bi-directional translation for one-on-one conversations. It’s mostly accurate, and the device itself is compact and feels premium.

But be prepared to experience some lag and errors in translation. Read my full Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub review for the complete breakdown.

Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub review: Specs

Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? An AI-powered translator that supports 40 languages and 93 accents
• Who is it for? For businesspersons and hardcore travelers
• How much does it cost? A lot. The Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub is available for $699 / £699 / AU$1,060
• What do we like? The premium build, compact and portable body, support for numerous languages and accents, (mostly) accurate translations, and multiple translation modes
• What don’t we like? There are some translation inaccuracies, it lags, and it might burn a hole through your pocket

Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub review: Price & availability

The Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub was announced at CES 2024 and is available for $699 / £699 / AU$1,060. If you’re buying directly from Timekettle, you can get up to five units together for business use at a discounted rate. Timekettle has been in the translation business for a while now, and the X1 AI Interpreter Hub is its most expensive product.

Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub review: Design

Encased in a rectangular metallic box that looks and feels premium, the Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub measures 5.03 x 1.77 x 1.18 inches — slightly smaller than my Google Pixel 7 Pro. It weighs just 0.44 ounces, so it’s easy to slip into your pocket and carry around.

The translator features a 3.4-inch HD touchscreen which, in my testing, was very responsive. Scroll through the menu and you’ll see the different translation modes available, which I’ll dive into in the next section. Next to the touchscreen is a circular button which you need to press to start translating what you’re speaking. On the top of the translator, you’ll find the power and volume buttons.

On the charging side is a drawer which, when pushed, ejects and reveals two earbuds. If you want to have a one-on-one conversation in real-time, pop an earbud in and give the second to the other person.

The earbuds themselves are comfortable, with a drop-stem design. They come with ear hooks to ensure they don’t fall out of your ears, and three sets of eartips.

Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub review: Features

The Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub is chock-full of features. The translator currently supports 40 languages and 93 accents. This includes some Indian regional languages too, such as Tamil and Telugu, which is nice to see, as they have a relatively small number of speakers.

Timekettle’s offering supports multiple translation modes: one-on-one (share the earbuds to converse face-to-face), listen and play (real-time translation for meeting attendees), ask and go (record, translate, speak, translate). Additionally, if you have multiple devices or know someone who has one, you can call them on their device and have a translated conversation. You can also use multiple devices for up to 20 users to engage in translated conversations, successfully translating five different languages.

At its core, the X1 AI Interpreter Hub runs a translation AI model that was trained on multiple languages and language pairs. It also used speech recognition AI models and text-to-speech for voice translation. It’s AI end-to-end.

Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub review: Performance

I tested a single unit so I couldn’t test features such as voice call and multi-person translation. Therefore, I tested the one-on-one, listen and play, and ask and go modes. Having grown up in India, I speak Hindi and Punjabi. I can also speak a bit of Spanish and, of course, I’m fluent in English.

The Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub doesn’t support Punjabi (yet) so I tried the other three languages. Hindi is a complicated language and English can’t always translate everything, so it was the perfect tongue to put the X1 AI Interpreter Hub through its paces. To start with, you need a Wi-Fi or hotspot connection, or you can download 14 language pairs for offline use. The connection was stable and the translator had no issues over my home and office Wi-Fi and my Google Pixel 7 Pro’s hotspot.

First up: one-on-one. This might be my favorite thing about the X1 AI Interpreter Hub. Featuring bi-directional translation, you wear an earbud and another person wears the second earbud. When you talk, the translator will translate the language you’re speaking and the other person will hear it through the earbud. I tested this with my partner where I spoke in Hindi and she heard it back in English, and vice versa.

There were some translation inaccuracies as the X1 AI Interpreter Hub struggled to understand my accent (an Indian accent with a touch of English and Welsh, as my coworkers described it), but it had no issues understanding and translating my partner’s strong regional English accent. Similarly, translating Hindi to Spanish and vice versa wasn’t a problem for this device. A trick to ensuring the device translates as accurately as possible is to not use any slang or informal speech. But even Google Translate struggles with informal terms, as does ChatGPT Advanced Voice.

Next: listen and play. This does what it says on the tin. Wear both earbuds and let the device translate for you. I tried this in two ways: listening to my colleagues have a conversation in English, and then watching a Hindi movie and listening to the translation. The first scenario worked fine, but the translator struggled to translate my favorite Hindi comedy movie, “Welcome” and a lot of jokes were lost in translation. On the other hand, it translated English to Hindi easily when I put on an episode of “Modern Family.”

It’s important to note that while Timekettle says all translations happen in real-time, it’s not exactly real-time. The device requires a small pause between sentences to translate. While watching “Modern Family,” it took the device quite a while to translate long sentences, so the next scene would start playing and I’d still be waiting for the dialogue to translate. This isn’t a deal breaker as AI isn’t perfect, and it comes close to real-time translation, but it’s a while away. It’s important to note that the X1 AI Interpreter Hub has a higher degree of security compared to other translation tools, so encrypting data causes further processing delays.

Finally: ask and go. Think of this like Google Translate — which I use constantly when I’m traveling. I translated simple sentences like, “My name is Nikita and I’m a staff writer” from English to Hindi and the translation was flawless. I then translated a complex sentence, borrowed from my Kodak Mini Shot 4 Era review: “There isn’t a lot going on in terms of controls. On the top of the Kodak Mini Shot 4 Era, you’ll find a bright red shutter button which has a nice tactile feel to it. And on the back, you have your LCD screen, power, print and navigation buttons as I mentioned before.” And lo and behold, the Hindi translation was perfect once again.

The translator is a little finicky too. For instance, my coworker Erin speaks Korean and she tried to translate “My name is Erin” from Korean to English but the translator said her name was “LN” instead. She then tried it with a Korean name, “My name is Jisung” and it was translated perfectly into English. The X1 AI Interpreter Hub didn’t pick up my coworker Eve’s name either when she tried to translate Japanese into English. Clearly, AI still has a lot to learn.

Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub review: Battery life

Equipped with a 3,200mAh battery, Timekettle claims the X1 AI Interpreter Hub can last up to nine hours continuously on a single charge — an accurate claim as that’s precisely how long it took for it to die. In standby mode, it should last up to seven days. Charging can be done either via a USB-C cable or wirelessly. The translator also supports fast charging, so if you charge the unit for five minutes, you’ll squeeze up to 120 minutes of juice out of it.

I charged the translator using a 30W USB-A to USB-C charger and it took just under two hours to go from zero to 100%.

Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub review: Verdict

For businesspersons who deal with international clients — and hardcore travelers with a disposable income — and need a dedicated translator, the Timekettle X1 AI Interpreter Hub is worth considering. With support for 40 languages and 93 accents, the translator features five modes, three of which work on a singular device. In my testing, translations from Hindi to Spanish or Hindi to English and vice versa were mostly accurate. The device itself is compact and portable and has a premium feel to it.

But it’s important to note that there’s a lag in translation, especially when it’s translating a long sentence as the device needs a short pause to begin translating. Also, I noticed inaccuracies in translation, as did my coworkers. Not to mention that the X1 AI Interpreter Hub will burn a hole through your pocket with its hefty $699 price tag.

If you’re happy to overlook these shortcomings and can make peace with the inaccuracies, then the X1 AI Interpreter Hub is for you.