Report

Global language translation devices market has reached a value of USD 1.21 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach USD 2.48 billion by 2031, projecting a CAGR of 9.4% during the forecast period 2024-2031. Due to their precise language conversion capabilities, these gadgets are growing in popularity among a variety of users, including all sorts of travellers, from tourists to professionals. They can be advantageous in a variety of other ways in addition to aiding with linguistic barriers.
In recent times, there has been a significant surge in the usage of language translation technologies, which has facilitated communication between those who speak different languages. These devices can be found in many different forms, such as portable electronics and mobile apps that can be downloaded and connect to tablets or smartphones. Users may talk straight into the devices and have their words quickly translated into the target language due to their superior features, which include voice recognition technology.
Key market players offer various options catering to different consumer preferences. The availability of distinct features further fuels the market's growth. The market is expanding due to the adoption of mobile phones and other devices in different regions and the incorporation of language translation software to overcome the language barrier challenge. Language translation is becoming one of the practical and widely available technologies.
Japan based electronics manufacturer, Kyocera Corporation, launched a transparent screen, Cotopat in August 2023, which translate speech into on-screen text in real time for travelers. The product was for foreign travellers and regional governments, without resorting to smartphone apps or other devices. It offers a user-friendly interface with a display system which has been tested extensively by Kyocera. It understands spoken words in the real-time and provides a display of the translated text, including the corresponding live subtitles. Currently, the device can translate into six languages, namely, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, English, Korean, Portuguese, and Vietnamese.
Due to growing globalization, technology breakthroughs, and demand for efficient multilingual communication, the language translation devices market is predicted to rise steadily in the coming years.
Globalization and Tourism Driving the Growth of the Market
The demand for good language translation devices is skyrocketing with the international travels and globalization. These devices help in eliminating language barriers, thus, facilitating easier communication and elevating user experiences across different domains like tourism, healthcare, hospitality, and business. With the internet and globalization making people more connected and bringing them together, language translation devices efficiently break down language and cultural barriers between people from diverse backgrounds, leading to a more unified planet.
Witnessing the robust growth of language translation market, many startups are entering the market. One such company is Waverly Labs, which decided to cater the real time translation by launching Forum in January 2023, a web, and mobile based application. The company aimed to remove all sorts of language barriers and enable the consumers to get the translations either through text or audios on their mobile phones or web connected to the computers. It provides a full transcript of the conversation had by the consumer in the end of the translation session. It is equipped with 20 languages and 42 dialects, creating a wave in the market.
Technological Advancements and Introduction of AI Boost the Market Growth
The technological advancement in artificial intelligence is directing the capabilities of language translation devices. The continual advancement enables more accurate translations, resulting in greater adoption of these devices among the users.
The AI and IT industry have become the backbones of language translation devices and software to produce quality content in local languages that local population can understand and relate to. It drives the growth of language translation industry.
Pocketalk Corporation and SoftBank Corp. announced an alliance on July 25, 2023. Under the collaboration, they are marketing "Pocketalk" translation solutions for customers in Japan and global markets to expand their businesses further. SoftBank has been expanding its business beyond telecommunications and using advanced technologies like AI, IoT, and 5G to expand its business. Under the alliance, both the companies aimed to sell one million units of "Pocketalk" series in a span of three years.
Inaccuracy of Language Translation Devices Create Hindrance in its Growth
Generally, language translation devices are accurate, but they are not completely faultless. They might find a difficulty in translating the complex sentences, idioms or specific words that may not have a specific word in the chosen language. Certain industries like, translating instructions for medical equipment, legal documents, aviation manuals and various other kinds of technical content requires 100% accuracy. In these cases, mistakes can be hazardous and can cost lives, huge amounts of money and damage to the company's image. Thus, the substitution of words done by language translation devices can be risky at times and the results cannot be completely reliable.
In a US immigration and asylum case in 2019, a man from Brazil, Carlos was separated from his family and detained in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center. The authorities took help of an AI-powered language translation device to interpret Carlos' language, but the system failed to understand his regional accent. Hence, Carlos had to spend half a year in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, being unable to successfully communicate with anyone.
Online Language Translation Devices to Promote the Market Growth
Online language translation devices hold a greater market share in comparison to the offline language translation devices. The reason behind the dominance is online language translation devices allowing the consumers to have access to translation in real time, without any delay. Moreover, these translators enjoy a competitive edge as they have the data of around most of the languages spoken globally. They allow the users to translate phrases and words easily and quickly to a foreign language which makes it easier for the users to have an effortless and smoother communication with each other, breaking all the language barriers. They help people in conveying their thoughts conveniently to one another.
Additionally, these language translation devices are cheap and cost-effective, as they are either free of cost and need just an internet connection or are available at low subscription prices, making them very affordable and accessible. In August 2023, Meta Platforms, Inc., the parent company of Facebook announced the launch of an AI-powered translation engine, Seamless M4T, which translates languages easily across all sorts of text and speech. Seamless M4T has technology like speech recognition for about 100 languages, speech-to-speech translation which supports about 36 output and 100 input languages, speech-to-text translation for about 100 output and input languages, text-to-text translation for about 100 languages, and text-to-speech translation which supports about 35 output languages and 100 input languages.
Key Players Landscape and Outlook
Global language translation devices market features a competitive landscape with several key players. These players have established a strong presence in the market with a wide variety of language translation devices to cater to various consumer preferences. The outlook for these key players is positive, driven by a growing market worldwide. As the market expands, innovation in language translation devices has become pivotal for maintaining a competitive edge. Additionally, marketing strategies focus on attracting new segment of consumers and continuous product development are crucial in shaping the market landscape and brand positioning.
The Timekettle team announced the launch of cross-species language translation through its self-developed translation engine on April 1, 2022. Not just for humans or aliens, the company launched its new language translation device with the feature of dog and cat voice translation. Timekettle Translator earbuds recorded the sound of the animals and then attempted to identify the meaning. The technology then translates pet's voices instantly, and a human voice speaks through the earbuds, presenting the layout on Timekettle APP.
Later, Timekettle, in May 2023, launched, instant message translation in 40 Languages in Beta version of Chat Mode in its devices. The features of translation was initially released in October 2020, and was introduced to the users as an additional feature of M2 Translator Earbuds Campaign on Indiegogo. The upgraded version was then released in December 2021, with the Android system. And now in 2023, the iOS system was developed by the company to solve the problem of communication for more consumers.