- Live translation is reportedly planned for iOS 19 later this year
- Real-time translation between two speakers
- No details of which AirPods will be supported
It looks like Apple is following in the footsteps of footsteps of Samsung and Google in their attempts to bridge language barriers: a new report says that live translation is coming to AirPods in iOS 19, which will launch this Fall.
Apple’s a bit late to this one – Google put live translation in the Pixel Buds back in 2017 and rolled it out to more Google Assistant-enabled phones the following year – but perhaps it’s been more focused on adding hearing health features to its premium earbuds and attempting to stick cameras in theres.
But at last, Apple appears to be making The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’s Babel Fish a reality for AirPods buyers.
Real-time translation in AirPods: what to expect
The news comes via the well-connected Mark Gurman at Bloomberg (paywall), who says that it’ll deliver a “Star Trek-like experience to AirPods users”.
According to the report, the feature will make use of your AirPods as well as your iPhone. Your phone will translate the other person’s speech and play that translation in your AirPods; it’ll then take your speech, translate it and play that to the other person via your iPhone’s speaker.
The feature will be tied to iOS 19, which should be widely compatible with iPhones going back several years – though if the feature is billed as being part of Apple Intelligence, it may be limited to only newer devices.
And if it’s made available to every model of AirPods, I’ll be amazed: I suspect it’ll be reserved for Apple’s more premium earbuds with active noise cancellation, to make sure you can be focused on people’s voices.
But perhaps I’ll be wrong and it’ll be a nice upgrade for all the best AirPods – after all, the iPhone seems to be doing the heavy lifting.
With AirPods Pro 3 expected later this year, it’s possible Apple will decide to make the feature exclusive to its newest buds, though I think that’s unlikely.
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