Your AirPods might translate conversations soon – here's what you need to know before it goes live

iOS 26 beta code is now suggesting a cool new feature coming to Apple's AirPods: Live Translation.

As early as March 2025, the feature was rumored for AirPods. Basically, as the name suggests, this feature would allow for the AirPods to translate in-person conversations from one language to another. Back in June, Apple announced Live Translation, but it has still not made its way to AirPods.

Right now, Live Translation works in calls and Messages on iPhones that support Apple Intelligence. AirPods, however, still can't translate real-world conversations, and Apple has not announced that this feature will be available on AirPods just yet. 

A newly discovered gesture suggests that Apple may be working on adding Live Translation to the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4. The gesture was discovered in iOS 26's sixth beta. It is a new system asset, with a gesture activated by pressing both AirPod stems simultaneously. 



Apple's Translate app currently has a conversation feature, but it's way more clunky than what is expected to be the direct translation feature in AirPods.

Meanwhile, Apple's main competitor, Samsung, already has its Live Translate feature, available with One UI 6.1 or later. Google's Pixel Buds also offer the same functionality with a Conversation Mode. 

In my opinion, Live Translation on AirPods sounds amazing – especially for someone like me who's fascinated by languages and different cultures. Being able to have real-time conversations without language barriers would open up so many possibilities. If Apple makes it smooth, I'd definitely use it all the time, whether traveling or just chatting with friends from around the world. 

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