Timekettle WT2 Edge / W3

Timekettle WT2 Edge earbuds support translation in 40 languages online and 13 offline language pairs, although most offline options are limited to combinations with English or Chinese. They offer several modes, including Simul Mode for real-time conversations and Listen Mode for lectures. However, the device relies entirely on your smartphone’s internet or Wi-Fi connection, with no data package included — something to bear in mind when travelling abroad due to potential roaming charges. In practice, the earbuds struggle with speech recognition in noisy environments and often experience noticeable delays in translation. The additional cost for offline language access (around £10 per pair) is another drawback.

Review

Upon unboxing the Timekettle WT2 Edge, the earbuds’ minimalist design and the compact, convenient charging case immediately stood out. The earbuds are lightweight and small, making them ideal for travel, although they may not fit comfortably for those with smaller ears. Setting up seemed straightforward at first — simply download the Timekettle app, register, and remove the earbuds from the case to automatically connect to your phone.

However, our first hiccup came during setup. The app requires users to register and complete a survey before the device can be used. This initial survey, along with the app and tutorials, is only available in a handful of languages, which may pose difficulties for some users during configuration.

A significant drawback is that the earbuds depend entirely on the phone’s internet connection. Unlike some competitors, the manufacturer does not provide any initial data package. This means when travelling abroad, users must be mindful of potentially expensive data roaming charges, which greatly reduces the device’s practicality for its intended use. In areas without Wi-Fi or with poor mobile coverage, many of the device’s features become unusable.

Functions and Operating Modes

During our testing, we explored all the available modes:

• Simul Mode – this is marketed as the most advanced feature, allowing two people to converse freely without needing to press any buttons. However, in practice, we noticed issues with language detection — the earbuds occasionally mixed up which person was speaking and which language was being used. Under ideal conditions, with slow and clear speech, it performed well, but it’s difficult to truly call it a seamless conversation.

• Touch Mode – this requires tapping the earbud before speaking a phrase and proved more reliable than Simul Mode. While not the most convenient to use, at least it didn’t confuse the languages.

• Speaker Mode – similar to Touch Mode, but the translation is played through the phone’s speaker. This is handy when only one person is wearing earbuds.

• Listen Mode – designed for listening to lectures or presentations, though during our tests it often struggled to grasp the context and caused noticeable delays, even when the speaker was clear and spoke slowly. Translation accuracy was also lacking.

The manufacturer claims the WT2 Edge offers translation speeds of 0.5 seconds in online mode, which is impressive under perfect conditions. However, in real-life situations — especially with longer sentences or background noise — the delays were significantly longer.

Both earbuds have built-in microphones, which is standard for devices in this category and should theoretically improve voice pickup and noise reduction. Unfortunately, in noisy environments, the noise cancellation fell short of expectations.

Languages and Translations

The WT2 Edge supports 40 languages online with accuracy of around 95%. Offline, it offers 8 languages, but these are primarily language pairs involving either Chinese or English as the base, which limits the device’s usefulness for those not fluent in these tongues.

Additionally, each offline language pair must be purchased separately, costing 5 “fish coins” (the origin of this term is unclear), which is roughly equivalent to £10 or $12.50. This microtransaction system might be considered pricey by some users.

Comfort and Ergonomics

The in-ear design of the earbuds raises hygiene concerns, particularly when sharing them during conversations. The manufacturer supplies four plastic covers intended to maintain cleanliness, but these are insufficient for frequent use — they wear out quickly, are easily misplaced, and fitting them can be fiddly.

The earbuds themselves are fairly bulky, which may cause discomfort for those with smaller ears during extended wear. The two included attachments designed to prevent the earbuds from falling out are quite small and tricky to fit. In our tests, they were difficult to attach and didn’t noticeably improve comfort.

The charging case is convenient and provides an extra 12 hours of use. The earbuds themselves deliver up to 3 hours of continuous translation, which our testing confirmed.

Translation Quality

The online translation quality is generally good for straightforward, everyday conversations. In ideal conditions — with slow, clear speech — the device performs very well. However, difficulties arise in noisy environments where the noise reduction feature proves ineffective, resulting in frequent errors in speech recognition.

When dealing with specialised subjects such as finance or medicine, translations tend to be more generic, which can be problematic for professional or medical use. The Listen Mode often struggles to grasp context and experiences notable delays, making it less effective for translating lectures or lengthy speeches.

Summary

The device presents some innovative features, such as rapid online translation and versatile operating modes tailored to various situations. Translation quality in quiet settings with clear speech is generally satisfactory, particularly for everyday, straightforward conversations. Its compact design and convenient case are definite plus points for travellers.

However, there are notable drawbacks — reliance on the user’s phone internet without any included data package from the manufacturer, limited language options for the interface, difficulties with translations in noisy environments, the need to keep the phone and app active while using the device, and a micropayment system for offline language pairs. For users fluent in English who require simple translations in controlled conditions and have reliable internet access, the Timekettle WT2 Edge can be a useful tool for basic communication when travelling.