Apple, while unveiling the highly anticipated new AirPods Pro 3, garnered significant attention with its Live Translation feature, one of its most striking. However, you don’t need the latest AirPods to experience this innovative feature. Here are the details.

Live Translation Requires iPhone 15 Pro or Later

According to Apple, this feature will also be available on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation via a software update. However, there’s a catch: Live Translation isn’t a feature built into AirPods.

For this feature to work properly, you’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro or later with the headphones connected, and iOS 26. This translation technology is powered by Apple Intelligence, Apple’s artificial intelligence platform.

To use Live Translation, simply press and hold the bottom of both AirPods simultaneously. This allows the microphones to detect foreign language conversations, instantly translate them on the connected iPhone, and allow you to listen to them in your own language through your headphones.

This feature essentially facilitates one-way communication. This means you can hear what the other person says in your own language, but they can’t hear what you say. However, Apple has also provided a solution: You can display a text translation of what you say on your iPhone screen. This way, while you listen to the translation through your headphones, the other person can read your response in their own language.

Live Translate will initially support English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese will be added later this year. This expansion aims to make the feature more accessible to more people.