Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 add real-time ‘Live Translation’ that converts conversations through Siri

Apple on Tuesday unveiled AirPods Pro 3, a redesigned model of its flagship headphones that introduces a Live Translation feature allowing near–real-time conversion of spoken languages through Siri.

The feature, which requires a connected iPhone, listens for a foreign language and relays a translated version into the user’s ear using Siri’s synthesized voice. Apple said Live Translation will be available at launch in British and American English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese, with Italian, Japanese, Korean and simplified Chinese planned for addition later this year. AirPods Pro 3 start at $249 or £219, are available to pre-order and will be released on Sept. 19.

Users activate Live Translation by tapping the AirPods Pro 3; the headphones capture incoming speech, route the audio to the paired iPhone for processing, and play a translated version back to the wearer. Apple said its active noise cancellation (ANC) reduces the original speaker’s voice while Siri speaks so the translation can be heard more clearly. If both interlocutors wear AirPods Pro 3, Apple said the system supports alternating translations for back-and-forth conversation. When the other person does not have compatible AirPods, the wearer can speak a response and display the translated text on the iPhone screen.

Apple and outside testers noted a short delay between the original utterance and Siri’s translation because the audio is processed on the iPhone, which Apple described as "the brains of the operation." Engadget, which trialed the feature, reported slight delays that can create awkward pauses in conversational exchanges.

Live Translation will also work with AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, but only when paired with an iPhone running Apple Intelligence. That requirement means the feature is supported on the four iPhone 17 models introduced Tuesday, the four iPhone 16 models from last year, and the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max from 2023.

Beyond translation, AirPods Pro 3 include improvements to active noise cancellation and new health and battery features. Apple said ANC on the new model removes up to two times more noise than the previous-generation AirPods Pro and four times more than the original AirPods Pro. The company also added heart-rate sensing and extended battery life. John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, said the new headphones combine sound quality, fit and sensors with Live Translation enabled by Apple Intelligence.

Users on social platforms compared the translation feature to fictional devices such as Star Trek’s communicator and the Universal Translator from the animated series Futurama, reflecting enthusiasm for voice translation arriving in widely used consumer earbuds.

Real-time and near-real-time translation is not new to the market. Google’s Pixel phones have offered a Live Translate mode that renders spoken language as text on-device, and companies such as Timekettle and Vormor sell portable devices aimed at face-to-face interpretation and text scanning translation. Apple’s implementation is notable for integrating translation into its earbuds and tying processing to its iPhone ecosystem and Apple Intelligence services.

Apple’s announcement places Live Translation alongside a broader push to fold more artificial intelligence features into consumer devices. The company’s stated rollout schedule and hardware requirements mean the feature will initially be available to users who have recent iPhone models and who opt into Apple Intelligence-enabled services. Pre-orders for AirPods Pro 3 are open now, with widespread availability beginning Sept. 19.