March 18, 2025, 9:04 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Apple users can expect a number of major innovations this fall. AirPods owners will also get their money’s worth.
Apple is by far the largest headphone manufacturer in the world, with a 22 percent market share (source: Statista). JBL and Sony share a distant second place with 7 percent. The company owes the success of its headphones, above all, to the deep integration into its ecosystem — above all, the iPhone. This enables advanced functions such as seamless switching between devices, 3D audio, and conversation recognition. New features are also constantly being added via updates. According to insiders, AirPods with iOS 19 will soon also enable live translation.
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Apple has just made the AirPods Pro 2 an officially recognized hearing aid with the release of iOS 18. Now, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, the company is working on another major update: live translation.
Users of Google’s Pixel Buds have been able to use this function for years. The headphones translate five supported languages directly into the wearer’s ear and transcribe the spoken word in text form on the smartphone. Live translation should also be possible with the AirPods, as Gurman writes, citing people familiar with the matter. However, the other person also needs AirPods to be able to translate answers directly into their ear in real time. Alternatively, the translator app on the iPhone can be used; the phone has supported the feature since its launch in 2020.
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AirPods Only Get Live Translation Via iPhones with iOS 19
The update is to be part of iOS 19 and, therefore, requires an iPhone compatible with the new version. Also, only the current AirPods models (AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2) are likely to get the function. If the AirPods Pro 3 are launched on the market in 2025 as expected, they will also receive the update.
Apple is planning to fundamentally redesign the iPhone user experience with iOS 19. The look and feel are strongly based on visionOS. The operating system of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset stands out with its striking depth effects in windows, buttons, and content and is in stark contrast to the flat iOS interface.