Hear the Future. Global Audio Summit 2025, Shanghai, China

Over a period of 10 days, at the end of March 2025, I have visited the vibrant Shanghai region of China following an invitation by the China Audio Industry Association (CAIA) to attend the organization's Global Audio Summit 2025. I have often participated in events promoted by national and international audio industry associations, mostly oriented by scientific, academic, engineering, or trading charters. But this one was one of the most vibrant product development conferences I have ever attended. Here is my report.

Precisely a month since I was at the Barcelona Fira attending the mammoth of a trade show that is Integrated Systems Europe, here I was back in Barcelona for an even bigger and busier event, the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) promoted by the GSMA. 109,000 attendees and 2,900 exhibitors. In this first impressions report I discuss Bluetooth, why there was no Auracast, how Qualcomm made a splash with XPAN, and why are mobile operators obsessed with AI and Robots.

While many Chinese companies have focused on developing true wireless earbuds with a combination of features that emulates the most popular models in the market, the young team of developers at Shenzen-based Timekettle have focused instead on one of the most hyped features for hearables: real time translation. After multiple models and several campaigns on crowdfunding platforms, Timekettle has now confirmed its WT2 Plus model ($239.99 USD) will support offline translation.