You don’t have to buy the just-announced AirPods Pro 3 just to get Apple’s new Live Translation feature. The AI-powered communication option is coming to older models of wireless earbuds, too.
An iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence is required as well.
Apple’s Live Translation is for AirPods too
We all understand the frustration of trying to communicate with someone who speaks a different language. Apple hopes its AirPods and iPhone can help by acting as a real-time translator.
When someone speaks in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese or English, an AirPods wearer can have what they say translated to their preferred language, as long as it’s one of those five.
The feature was announced along with AirPods Pro 3 during Tuesday’s Awe Dropping event, but it’s not limited to that one model. Apple quietly noted on its website that, “Live Translation with AirPods works on AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation and AirPods Pro 2.”
Newer iPhone also required
The translation process happens on an iPhone, not in the earbuds. And this is a feature of iOS 26, which won’t launch until mid-September. Still, it’s available in beta now.
More than that, Live Translation with AirPods requires an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence. Of current models, that’s iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and all models of the iPhone 16 lineup. Naturally, all the just-announced iPhone 17 series models support it, too.
Apple hopes to foster communication
“To help connect with those near you, we’re bringing the magic of AirPods to the way you communicate across languages with Live Translation powered by Apple Intelligence,” said Kate Bergeron, Apple VP of hardware engineering, during Tuesday’s product-launch event. “Now, when you are together with someone who speaks a different language, like exploring a market abroad, AirPods Pro will help you understand them in your preferred language.”
“It doesn’t just translate individual words. The meaning of each phrase is translated for you,” said Bergeron.
Two people who ordinarily would face a language barrier can use their AirPods and iPhones with the translation feature to communicate, each speaking in their own language and hearing a real-time translation.
When only one person in a conversation has access to the feature, their iPhone can display a written translation of what they say, or can speak it out loud.
As noted, Live Translation on AirPods is available in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Apple promised that support for Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified) will be added “by the end of the year.”
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.
