Apple AirPods Pro: New feature detailed ahead of schedule

A new report by Mark Gurman has shed new light on the state of Apple's latest attempts to integrate more AI features into its products. Recently, the company has focused on catching up across its iPhone, iPad and Mac portfolios with functionality like Image Playground and Genmoji under the banner of Apple Intelligence.

According to Gurman, Apple plans to pack even more AI features into iOS 19, which is expected to begin shipping in the autumn to all iPhones released in at least the last five or six years. Expanding AI functionality is also said to be reaching the AirPods Pro 2 (curr. $169.99 on Amazon), presumably also when paired with an iPad running iPadOS 19 or a Mac with macOS 16 installed.

Specifically, Gurman suggests that the AirPods Pro will gain live translation support. As a result, it should be possible to hear any language translated into your chosen language, much like the Babel fish in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy universe. In other words, Apple plans to bring the AirPods Pro up to par with Google's Pixel Buds series, which already offer similar functionality. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether Apple will tie this feature to specific AirPods models, such as its more expensive earbuds.