iOS 19 will introduce significant updates for iPhone users, including a new live translation feature for AirPods. According to Bloomberg News, this feature will enable users to have in-person conversations translated in real-time. The AirPods will work with paired iPhones to provide translations directly through the earbuds, while also allowing the wearer to respond in their language, which the iPhone will convert for the other person. Competing brands, like Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds3, already have similar capabilities. Additionally, Apple is developing a new generation of AirPods Pro and another model with built-in cameras for enhanced environmental analysis.
iOS 19 is being promoted as one of the most significant software updates for iPhones in recent memory, and it will also introduce a new feature for AirPods users. According to a recent report from Bloomberg News, Apple plans to integrate live translation capabilities into its wireless earbuds.
The report indicates that AirPods will now be able to translate in-person conversations, functioning collaboratively with paired iPhones that are upgraded to iOS 19. This new feature will enable the wearer of the AirPods to receive real-time translations of foreign languages through the earbuds. The user can then respond in their native language, which will be translated and played back through the loudspeakers of the paired iPhone for the other participant in the conversation.
Similar interpreter modes are already available on Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds3 and Buds3 Pro.
The report does not specify which AirPods models will receive this new update. The Translate app for iOS was launched in 2020 and currently supports 19 languages.
Additionally, the report mentions that Apple is developing its third generation of AirPods Pro, as well as another model that will feature built-in cameras and Apple Intelligence, designed to analyze the user’s surroundings using visual intelligence.
Source (paywall)