How do translation earbuds actually work?

Translation earbuds convert spoken language through three stages: speech recognition, machine translation, and text-to-speech synthesis. Devices like Apple AirPods Pro perform all steps on the iPhone with downloaded language packs, while Google Pixel Buds rely on cloud processing that requires internet. Accuracy peaks at about 95-99% only under near-ideal conditions, and delays or background noise can cause lag and occasional mistranslations.