How To Use AirPods Live Translation Feature On iPhone

During the iPhone 17 event, Apple announced the new AirPods Pro 3 earbuds alongside Live Translation functionality. Rumored for months, this feature is not only available for Apple's latest earbuds, but also for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 owners running iOS 26.

While Apple says Live Translation works more seamlessly if the two people having a conversation are both wearing AirPods, it's possible that you're the only one using them, and then you can show your iPhone so the other person can understand what you're saying in your language.

So far, reviewers have praised this feature as one of the best available in the market. Apple uses its Apple Intelligence platform to power AirPods Live Translation, meaning nothing leaves your device, as everything is processed locally. Here's everything you need to know about the new AirPods Live Translation feature, which languages are supported, and how to make the most out of it.

To take advantage of the AirPods Live Translation feature, users need to have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer and AirPods with the H2 chip, which include AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Pro 3. In addition, they can't have their Apple Account set for a European country, as Apple has this ongoing issue with the European Commission and the Digital Markets Act, which has even led to a delay in features for UK users.

So far, users can translate back and forth between these languages: English (U.S. and UK), French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain). With iOS 26.1 beta, Apple is planning to expand to more languages like Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional). Now that you know that, follow the steps below:

• Make sure your iPhone is running the latest iOS version and that your AirPods have been updated to the latest firmware.
• Put your AirPods on your ears and press and hold both stems until you hear a sound.
• Siri will then say: "To use Live Translation with your AirPods, you'll need to download languages on your iPhone."
• You can tap the Notification or go to Settings, AirPods Translation (Beta), and download the languages you want to use.

While there are many smart AR glasses and earbuds on the market promising to do the same by using OpenAI's ChatGPT, Apple is using its own models to ensure a seamless translation. What's interesting about this functionality is that right after the person stops talking, Siri will take over and start to translate what they said.

If they don't have AirPods on, you can open Apple's Translate app. As you speak, the iPhone will translate what you said to their language, so they can follow the conversation. Apple says everything is processed on your iPhone, and this is why the translation works fast.

In addition, since Apple is also making this functionality available for AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2, most people won't have to buy new hardware to take advantage of this feature (as long as they have an iPhone that can run Apple Intelligence). The company will also add support for more languages as it continues to make the translation as fast and as accurately as possible.