Apple continues to work to make its wireless earbuds much more than just music. The latest news is that a new feature for AirPods that allows real-time language translation during face-to-face conversations could arrive as early as this year. While many details are still unknown, the possibilities are already exciting.
From headphones to an intelligent translation device
Apple’s goal is to make earbuds more than just audio devices, but useful, intelligent companions for everyday life. Recently, for example, AirPods Pro 2 got new hearing enhancement and sound reduction features, and now they want to break down language barriers.
According to Bloomberg, real-time translation is expected to come with a software update as part of iOS 19 later this year. The feature will be bi-directional, meaning that it will be able to translate both speakers’ languages in real time – but it will require not only AirPods, but also an iPhone.
How the translation will work
The iPhone plays the central role: the phone translates the sentences of one of the parties in the conversation and then transmits them in the target language to the user wearing AirPods. The iPhone speaker plays the response back to the other party in their own language. So it’s possible for both parties to understand each other even without knowing the language.
It is not yet known exactly what technology the system will be based on, nor is it clear how many languages will be supported, or whether artificial intelligence will be used to help it work.
While Apple’s innovation is promising, they are not the first to offer real-time translation through headphones. Google Pixel devices have already introduced this feature with Google Translate, currently in 48 languages. In addition, brands such as Earfun AirPro 4+, Mymanu Click and Mars headphones offer similar solutions – some of which have been available since 2017.
Nevertheless, Apple’s introduction could be a major boost to the uptake of the technology, especially if the user experience is delivered in the usual “Apple quality”. Language barriers will certainly become less of a barrier – even through a simple headset.
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