After it was first reported earlier this year, the live translation feature coming to Apple’s AirPods might be upon us soon. According to 9to5Mac, users have noticed a system asset that indicates the buds will receive the on-demand translation feature in the new beta version of iOS 26 that was released today.
The system asset in question (seen below) depicts a new gesture that activates when both earbud stems are pressed at once. The picture displays two AirPods encircled by text in a number of languages, including Portuguese, English, French, and German.
Furthermore, the live translation is also coming to FaceTime, messages, and phone calls. However, you are required to use the AirPods software for live, in-person conversations.
This feature was discussed at length when it was first discovered by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. If his report were to be followed, the live translation would require the use of the AirPods’ microphone to capture the conversation between different languages and then have the translated responses play through the iPhone speaker.
Unfortunately, not much else is known about the feature, such as if the feature is native to the earbuds themselves or if it requires an iPhone. However, the system was uncovered to be a part of the iOS 26, so the latter option is likely to be the case. Additionally, it is also unclear which specific iPhone models support this new OS, let alone this feature, but it will likely come bundled with and might heavily rely on the highly anticipated Apple Intelligence.
