Apple’s nifty new feature that lets AirPods translate speech in real time will reportedly become available to EU residents while they’re in Europe next month.
That will put an end to an odd situation: Currently, non-Europeans can use the AirPods Live Translation feature while in Europe, and EU residents can use it when traveling outside the European Union but not within the EU.
EU residents can soon use Live Translation with AirPods
Live Translation with AirPods is a signature feature of the new AirPods Pro 3 (and also works with some earlier Apple earbuds). It enables the user to hear a real-time translation of spoken communication.
However, Europeans are currently blocked from using the translation feature at home. A note on Apple’s website says, “Live Translation with AirPods is not available for EU residents whose device is in the EU and whose Apple Account country or region is also in the EU.”
Fortunately, the limitation looks temporary. On Tuesday, German-language news site Macerkopf wrote, “Apple has officially confirmed a few moments ago that Live Translation with AirPods will come to the EU and thus to Germany next month,” according to a machine translation.
Why the EU-only delay
Apple delayed making the feature available in the European Union due to the region’s Digital Markets Act, sweeping legislation intended to put curbs on Big Tech.
“Apple once again confirms that Live Translation with AirPods for users in the EU has been delayed due to the significant additional development effort required to meet the requirements of the Digital Markets Act,” reports Macerkopf.
This situation mostly concerns Europeans. As the iPhone maker notes, “Apple Intelligence users based in other regions can continue to use Live Translation with AirPods anywhere they travel.”
Still, the change means that an American traveling to the European Union will soon be able to speak English to an EU resident, and the resident can use their AirPods and iPhone as a translator.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
