On September 18, 2025, the bustling halls of the A80 event in Hanoi became the stage for a remarkable unveiling: LocaTalk, a new multilingual communication app developed by the Vietnamese startup LocaAI, officially made its debut. The application, designed to transform ordinary AirPods into real-time translation devices, promises to redefine the way people communicate across language barriers—especially for Vietnamese speakers eager to connect with the world without leaving their mother tongue behind.
LocaTalk arrives at a moment when the demand for seamless, on-the-go translation is higher than ever. With global travel and cross-border business on the rise, the ability to converse naturally in multiple languages has shifted from a luxury to a necessity. According to GenK, the app supports two-way translation between ten major languages right out of the gate: Vietnamese, English, Chinese, Taiwanese (China), Korean, Japanese, French, German, Czech, and Swedish. These languages were selected for their prevalence in tourism, trade, and education—fields where communication hurdles can be make-or-break.
But what truly sets LocaTalk apart from the giants of the industry—think Google Translate or Microsoft Translator—is its ability to operate completely offline. No Internet? No problem. LocaTalk processes language in real time directly on the device, freeing users from the anxiety of dropped connections or overloaded networks. This was put to the test at the A80 exhibition, where heavy Internet traffic left many apps struggling. Yet, as reported by GenK, international visitors and local vendors alike were able to hold fluid conversations using LocaTalk, even when the Wi-Fi was all but unusable. It was a real-world trial that showcased the system’s stability and practicality.
LocaAI’s founder, Quyết Vũ, explained the company’s vision in an interview with VNExpress. "We want to provide a solution so that Vietnamese people can go anywhere in the world and still use Vietnamese to communicate," he said. The app currently runs on iOS, integrating seamlessly with AirPods and iPhones. But there’s more on the horizon: support for Android and other operating systems is in the works, a move that could open the door to millions more users worldwide.
One of the most impressive technical feats of LocaTalk is its nuanced recognition of the Vietnamese language. Vietnamese is spoken in three distinct regional accents—Northern, Central, and Southern—and accurate recognition across these dialects is no small task. Yet, as both GenK and VNExpress note, LocaTalk’s engine identifies and translates all three with remarkable precision. This is more than a technical curiosity; it’s a lifeline for the global Vietnamese community, many of whom have long struggled to make themselves understood in their native tongue while abroad.
For users, the experience is refreshingly straightforward. If two people, each speaking a different language, both wear AirPods connected to LocaTalk, the app translates and delivers each message in real time—no manual button presses, no awkward pauses. The translated text is displayed on the screen for one party to read, while the other can listen to the translation through their earphones. This hands-free, natural flow is a leap forward from the "stop-and-go" rhythm of older translation apps, which often require users to tap a button for each utterance or rely on a steady Internet connection.
LocaTalk’s Biz Talk feature is another clever innovation. Designed with business and retail environments in mind, it allows store staff and customers—or meeting participants from different countries—to converse smoothly. A quick scan of a QR code and a language selection, and customers can immediately hear translations and respond in their own language. It’s easy to imagine this feature becoming indispensable in international airports, tourist hotspots, and global offices.
Currently, LocaTalk is available as a free beta on the App Store, inviting users to test its capabilities and provide feedback. The focus, according to GenK, is on optimizing voice recognition accuracy and ensuring the bilingual communication experience is as smooth as possible. It’s a sensible move; real-world use is the surest way to iron out quirks and meet the diverse needs of a global user base.
And the ambitions don’t stop here. LocaAI has plans to expand LocaTalk’s language repertoire to over 50 languages in the near future. This would place the app among the most versatile AI translation tools available, with the potential to serve not only Vietnamese speakers but a much broader international audience. As Quyết Vũ put it, the hope is for LocaTalk to become "one of the most popular AI applications worldwide."
The technical backbone of LocaTalk is as impressive as its ambitions. By leveraging the processing power of modern smartphones and the ubiquity of AirPods—nearly 600 million of which are in use globally, according to GenK—the app eliminates the need for specialized hardware. Users can simply download the app and start translating, making LocaTalk both accessible and cost-effective. The company has also signaled its intent to support additional wireless earphones and devices, broadening its reach even further.
In the crowded field of translation technology, LocaTalk’s offline capability is a game-changer. Google Live Translate and Microsoft Translator have made significant strides, but both typically require either an active Internet connection or manual interaction for each translation. LocaTalk’s "Talk Offline" feature, which allows for natural, uninterrupted conversation without network access or button presses, is a direct response to these limitations. As VNExpress observes, this improvement could make LocaTalk the preferred choice for travelers, businesspeople, and anyone who finds themselves navigating multilingual environments on the fly.
For now, the app’s core audience is Vietnamese speakers eager to bridge linguistic divides without sacrificing the comfort and nuance of their native language. But as the technology matures and the language list grows, LocaTalk could well become a staple for globetrotters of every stripe. Its debut at a major tech event in Hanoi, just days after Apple announced new translation features for its AirPods Pro 3, underscores the fierce competition—and rapid innovation—defining the translation tech sector today.
As the world becomes more interconnected and the need for instant, accurate translation grows, tools like LocaTalk may soon be as common as the smartphones we carry. For now, this Vietnamese startup has set a new standard for what’s possible when local ingenuity meets global ambition.
