AirPods allegedly get live translation
Apple's wireless earphones are set to receive a translation function in the course of 2025. This could play back conversations in other languages in real time.
(Image: Apple)
Apple is reportedly planning a live translation function for the AirPods. In future, the wireless earphones will be able to translate conversations into other languages in real time. According to a media report, the software update required for this is to be released this year.
As the US financial news agency Bloomberg reports, the function will only be possible in conjunction with an iPhone with iOS 19 installed. This will do the translation work and then transmit the result to the AirPods. iOS 19 is expected to be presented in June at the World Developer Conference WWDC and is expected in September. The report, which cites anonymous sources at Apple, does not mention which AirPods models will be able to use the function. In 2024, Apple released a small update of the AirPods Max with USB-C and the AirPods 4.
Other manufacturers were quicker
Other manufacturers have been offering corresponding functions for years. Google, for example, integrated a translation function into its Pixel Buds back in 2018. Live translations, reminiscent of the universal translator in the TV series Star Trek, were also promised by the now discontinued AI Pin, which performed this task with the help of AI.
It is not clear from the Bloomberg report how exactly Apple intends to implement its AirPods translations. Artificial intelligence is likely to play an important role here. However, it is unclear whether this can also be done in local processing on the device or only in the cloud. Among other things, the latency times that users have to be prepared for depend on this.
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Major revision in iOS 19
The AirPods extension is said to be part of a major overhaul of Apple's operating systems. Among other things, a more extensive redesign of iOS 19 is also being discussed. Apple is also working on new AirPods hardware in parallel. There are rumors of third-generation AirPods Pro. There has also been repeated talk of models with a built-in camera.
Enhancements to the AirPods via software updates are already a tradition at Apple. Most recently, a hearing aid function and hearing tests were added to the second-generation AirPods Pro.
(mki)
