How does two-way live translation with AirPods work?
The next versions of iOS and iPadOS, numbered 26 instead of 19 (Apple ties OS numbering to years now), are expected to launch alongside the iPhone 17 series in September 2025. The next versions of the company’s operating systems for portable devices will undergo the ecosystem-wide look-and-feel redesign and don the Liquid Glass colors and styles, very Apple-esque. There will also be new features and apps, including Live Translation. Available in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, the function is also expected to make use of the AirPods and enable real-time in-person conversations with people who talk foreign languages.
In early 2025, tech news outlets (and Bloomberg) published reports indicating that Apple plans to introduce the said feature as part of the iOS 19 26 update. Then came the screenshots and code found in iOS 26 developer beta 6 that revealed some specifics of the feature, in particular — gesture control for a smooth user experience.
How the live translation feature with AirPods will work (presumably)
Here is how it is going to work, according to common logic and what we know so far:
- the AirPods pick up the speech through their microphones, send it to the paired iPhone;
- the Translate app does its job, and sends the phrase(s) said by the dialog partner in the user’s language back to the AirPods;
- the user replies, and their phrase(s) are picked by the AirPods, beamed to the iPhone, translated there, and voiced.
Not really a seamless deal, but definitely a step up from the currently common routine of using one phone and passing it around, taking turns speaking and listening.
What AirPods support the Live Translation feature?
Apple has not yet officially announced what models of the AirPods will support the Live Translation feature, but it is safe to assume that those buds that can take up the firmware update along with their users’ migration to iOS 26 will do the trick.
Need some software for your Mac that does the translation locally? Look for something that meets your requirements in the Languages section of the Mac Informer catalog:
