Apple’s Live AI Translation AirPods Are Now Here

“The wait is over. Introducing the new iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone Air, iPhone 17, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, AirPods Pro 3, and more.” That is what Apple posted on X for its September 9, 2025, mega-launch. And it was a long wait, especially for in-ear AI translation functionality and other Apple Intelligence use cases.

Several companies, including Google and Timekettle, beat the tech giant by years to the earbud translation race. So was it worth the wait? And is Apple’s on-device AI translation better than what other brands have offered so far? 

Until product reviews start pouring in on social media, going by what the Apple Event showed in a demo, the key differentiator might be Apple’s proprietary chips and AI model advancements.

In the video, a user wearing the new AirPods Pro 3 is shown exploring a market abroad. With a simple gesture, a chime sounded and Siri announced, “Translating Spanish,” initiating a real-time translation of a vendor’s speech. 

“Full Meaning” AI Translation

Targeting the typical, non-translation cognizant average user, Apple emphasized that the technology translates the full meaning of each phrase rather than translating individual words. 

But the AirPods Pro 3 AI translation demo further revealed that, when both parties are wearing the earbuds, the conversation flows naturally, with each person hearing a live translation of the other’s words in their own ear. This was shown with one user speaking in Portuguese and the other one in English.

After the brief demo, Apple product presenter Kate further explained, “When you need to talk, just speak naturally … Your iPhone displays your words in their language, and can even read them out loud if needed.”

Another feature highlighted as part of the in-ear live translation experience was Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), which lowers the volume of the original speaker, allowing the user to focus on the translated audio. 

At face value, AirPods Pro 3 translation basically behaves like offerings from other companies in the sense that it will work in tandem with a smartphone. But the iPhone itself has several ways in which AI translation can be used, including just using the Apple translation app. 

Plenty was shared about what the iPhone can offer in multilingual communications during the Apple Developers Conference in June 2025, and now all versions of the new iPhone 17 will have live translation that “helps you communicate across languages in Phone, FaceTime, and Messages.”

A lot of reactions on social media refer to Apple being late with the in-ear translation technology, and while this type of functionality has indeed long existed in other brands, what might be a product differentiator is that this “incredible capability,” as Apple described it, is a result of powerful computational audio within the AirPods, working in tandem with the Apple Intelligence on-device models running on the user’s iPhone.

Some other reactions range from the humorous, like Vineet Rawad’s “So no need to keep my duolingo streak going?” to Matt Gray’s “I can’t wait to use Siri live translation.” Gray will not have to wait long. All devices can be pre-ordered already and will be available for sale from September 19 onward.