AirPods might get a live translation feature soon
Apple could bring a live translation feature to its AirPods earbuds when this year’s iOS 19 update arrives sometime in the fall.
Mark Gurman described the feature in his Bloomberg piece as being able to translate live in-person conversations from one language to another. If that sounds a lot like the Babel Fish, it’s because it does. There are already earbuds with similar functionality on the market, like Google’s Pixel Buds and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds.
It doesn’t look like new AirPods hardware will be required; Gurman claims that live translation will arrive to existing AirPods models as part of the iOS 19 update later this year. He didn’t say which models might be compatible, but we imagine only H2-powered AirPods have enough processing power to support live translation.
Rumor: Live translation coming to AirPods
From the Bloomberg article:
The move promises to bring a Star Trek-like experience to AirPods users. The capability will work like this: If an English speaker is hearing someone talk in Spanish, the iPhone will translate the speech and relay it to the user’s AirPods in English. The English speaker’s words, meanwhile, will be translated into Spanish and played back by the iPhone.
This feature sounds like a no-brainer because Apple already has all the necessary technological pieces to make it work. The built-in Translate app handles translation well, and AirPods are deeply integrated into iOS. What’s required to support live translation on AirPods is new logic and some glue to hold everything together.
While live translation may not require new AirPod hardware, another rumored feature certainly will: AirPods with cameras. According to Gurman’s earlier reporting, Apple is actively working on putting cameras in your ears that could be used for Apple Intelligence features such as visual intelligence. He also reiterrated that the iPhone maker is still working on a third-generation version of the AirPods Pro that could have health functions such as heart rate monitoring.
iOS 19 coming this fall
Apple is apparently planning major changes to its operating systems this fall. iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 15 will significantly redesign the iPhone, iPad, and Mac user interfaces. The goal is to make moving between devices easier via a unified interface. The redesign is said to include Vision Pro-inspired menus, buttons, updated icon styles and other changes. In June, Apple will preview iOS 19 and other OS updates at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference.
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