AirPods Pro 3 bring live translations but not for all iPhone users

Apple had its ‘Awe Dropping’ event on September 9 where it unveiled the new iPhone 17 series, as well as the new Apple Watch and AirPods Pro earbuds. All the hardware comes with some feature upgrades over the previous generation, and the AirPods Pro 3, in particular, bring live translations which can be quite helpful for a lot of users. However, not all iPhone users will be able to make use of the feature even if they spend the $249 on the new earbuds.

Live translation is enabled by Apple Intelligence and processing is done on the connected iPhone. This means the iPhone model should support Apple Intelligence and the company has confirmed that only iPhone 15 Pro models and newer support Apple Intelligence. Therefore, if you want to use live translation, you will need to upgrade to an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, if you don’t have one already.

Not just iPhones, the iPad mini (A17 Pro), iPad models with M1 and later, Mac with M1 or later, and the Apple Vision Pro also support Apple Intelligence.

The AirPods Pro 3 are not the only earbuds that support live translations. With a firmware update, even the AirPods Pro 2 (buy on Amazon) and AirPods 4 (buy on Amazon) users can experience this feature. The AirPods Pro 3, however, allow users to listen to translations directly in their ear if both of them have the Pro 3 earbuds. Even though translations requires an Apple Intelligence enabled iPhone, and the processing is handled by the phone and not the earbuds themselves, it is unclear if AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 users will be able to do the same.

For now, only a handful of languages are supported for live translations. These include English (UK, US), French (France), German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain). Support for Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese will arrive later this year, or so Apple says.

AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249 and will go on sale starting September 19. Pre-orders are live on Apple’s website and retailers.