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Updated: 2026-09-17 · 6 min read · Independent comparison
Both are app-based AI translation earbuds that promise real-time two-way interpreting in under a second, and both are pitched at travel, business and study. The difference is in the engineering priorities: ANFIER leans into an open-ear hook design, a long-life charging case and a four-mode translation system, while MINISO leans into noise cancelling, Bluetooth 5.4 and a bigger language count. Here is how they actually compare.
• ANFIER Translation Earbuds Real-Time biggest strength: 144-language real-time translation with a claimed 0.5-second response and 98% accuracy, plus up to 5 hours per charge and up to 40 hours total from the charging case.
• ANFIER Translation Earbuds Real-Time biggest trade-off: No active noise cancellation is listed, and the open-ear hook design means it does not seal your ear canal the way an in-ear bud does.
• MINISO MS105 biggest strength: 165-language support, active noise cancellation and Bluetooth 5.4 with a 30-metre wireless range.
• MINISO MS105 biggest trade-off: Translation depends entirely on the Saymi app, and no battery capacity or playtime figures are published.
• Who should pick ANFIER: Anyone who wears earbuds for hours at a time and wants all-day comfort plus a case that keeps going.
• Who should pick MINISO: Anyone who translates in noisy places — stations, streets, trade shows, open offices — and wants the noise floor pushed down.
The AF56 is a three-in-one device. It translates, it plays music, and it takes calls over Bluetooth. The headline number is 144 languages with a stated 0.5-second turnaround and a claimed 98% accuracy rate. Those are manufacturer figures, not independent lab results, but they tell you the intended use: fast back-and-forth conversation rather than careful written translation.
What stands out to me is the mode list. Free Talk Mode keeps translating continuously while you speak, so nobody has to pass a phone back and forth. Speaker Mode puts the earbuds on one person while the other listens to the app out loud — genuinely useful for a small group or a shop counter. Touch Mode has both people wearing a bud and tapping to start and stop. Photo Translation handles printed text through the camera. That spread of modes covers most real travel scenarios: ordering food, asking directions, reading a menu or a sign.
Then there is the fit. ANFIER says the shape was designed around more than 10,000 ear shapes, and the ear-hanging hook sits over the ear rather than plugging the canal. In my opinion that is the real selling point for long sessions — an interpreter conversation can run an hour, and open-ear designs are less likely to feel stuffed or sore. The battery backs this up: a 500mAh cell gives up to 5 hours of translation or music, and the case extends that to about 40 hours.
Who should skip it? If your main translation happens in loud environments, the lack of active noise cancellation is a real limitation — an open-ear bud lets outside sound in by design. And if you want the newest Bluetooth generation, this one does not list a version.
The MS105 attacks the same problem from a different angle. It claims under-0.5-second translation at up to 98% accuracy, and it supports 165 languages — a wider list than the AF56, with Spanish, Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, German and French explicitly named. It also adds an AI question-and-answer layer, so you can ask the assistant something and get a response, not just a translated sentence.
The mode count is the other differentiator. MINISO lists seven: hands-free real-time communication, dual-ear control by tapping, live photo translation, an AI conversation mode, a conference mode for multilingual meetings, a dual mode that runs music and translation in parallel, and voice memos that transcribe automatically. That last one is easy to overlook and quite practical — recording a lecture or a meeting and getting text out of it.
The hardware is where MINISO pulls clearly ahead of ANFIER on paper. Active noise cancellation is listed, which matters enormously for translation: if the microphone and the speaker are fighting street noise or a crowded room, accuracy in the real world drops. Bluetooth 5.4 with a 30-metre range is the newer standard and gives you more room to walk away from your phone. In-ear fit with metal and plastic housing, a dynamic driver covering 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, and app-based controls round it out.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for language coverage → MINISO MS105. 165 languages versus 144, with the AI Q&A layer on top.
• Best for battery confidence → ANFIER Translation Earbuds Real-Time. Published figures of 5 hours per charge and up to 40 hours total with the case.
• Best for noisy environments → MINISO MS105. Active noise cancellation is listed; ANFIER lists none.
• Best for long-wear comfort → ANFIER Translation Earbuds Real-Time. The open-ear hook design avoids plugging the ear canal for hours.
• Best for one-on-one interpreting → ANFIER Translation Earbuds Real-Time. Free Talk Mode and Touch Mode are built for exactly that.
• Best for meetings and lectures → MINISO MS105. Conference mode, voice memo transcription and noise cancelling all point at indoor group use.
• Best for connectivity range → MINISO MS105. Bluetooth 5.4 with a 30-metre range.
• Best for casual listening and calls → Either. Both work as ordinary Bluetooth earbuds for music and phone calls.
If I were buying for myself, I would pick the MINISO MS105. In my opinion the active noise cancellation and Bluetooth 5.4 matter more than anything else on this list, because translation earbuds live or die on whether they can hear you and be heard in a real, noisy room — a café, a station, a conference hall. The 165-language list and the voice memo transcription are useful extras on top. I would only switch to the ANFIER Translation Earbuds Real-Time if comfort over very long sessions and a known 40-hour case are the things that would keep me using the device at all. Comfort you can plan for; noise you cannot.
MINISO MS105 supports 165 languages; ANFIER AF56 supports 144. Both claim under-0.5-second translation at up to 98% accuracy, so the gap is coverage rather than speed.
MINISO states the Saymi app offers permanent free translation with no subscription. ANFIER lists "no subscriptions" among its features and translation runs through its own app. Both still require the app to be installed to translate.
No active noise cancellation is listed for the AF56. It uses an open-ear hook design, which deliberately lets ambient sound in. The MINISO MS105 does list active noise cancellation.
ANFIER publishes up to 5 hours of translation or music per charge from a 500mAh battery, extendable to roughly 40 hours with the charging case. MINISO does not publish battery capacity or runtime figures for the MS105, so you would want to check the current listing details on Amazon before deciding.
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