According to AppleInsider, Apple plans to bring Live Translation to AirPods users in the European Union by the end of 2025 after earlier delays tied to the Digital Markets Act. The feature will likely arrive with iOS 26.2 in mid-December and requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer capable of running Apple Intelligence. Users will need AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, though AirPods Max won’t support the feature. Currently, Live Translation supports eight languages including Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. The rollout was originally planned to launch simultaneously worldwide but got held up by DMA compliance issues in Europe.
<h2 id="europe-catch-up”>Europe Finally Gets the Feature
Here’s the thing about the Digital Markets Act – it’s creating all sorts of interesting delays and complications for tech giants. Apple had this cool translation feature ready to go, but European regulations meant they had to pause and rethink their approach. Now EU users get to wait until late 2025 while the rest of the world has been using it. Makes you wonder how many other features will face similar delays, doesn’t it?
The Hardware Barrier
So let’s talk about what you actually need to use this. You’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, which means if you’re rocking an iPhone 14 or earlier, you’re out of luck. And your AirPods? They need to be Pro 2 or the upcoming AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. Basically, Apple’s making sure you’ve got the latest gear to access their newest AI-powered features. It’s a pretty clear push toward getting people to upgrade their devices.
How Good Will It Actually Be?
Now, real-time translation through earbuds sounds like something out of science fiction. But with only eight languages supported initially, it’s definitely starting small. The big question is how well it’ll handle accents, slang, and fast-paced conversations. I’m curious to see if this becomes genuinely useful for travelers and business people or remains more of a party trick. Given Apple’s track record with Siri, there might be some growing pains ahead.
What This Means Going Forward
This delayed European rollout shows how regional regulations are increasingly shaping global tech releases. We’re probably going to see more of this – features launching in some markets while others wait for compliance. And with Apple Intelligence becoming a key differentiator, the company seems determined to make advanced AI features hardware-dependent. It’s a smart business move, but it does create fragmentation in the user experience across different regions and device generations.
