AirPods Live Translation Blocked for EU Users With EU Apple Accounts

[MacRumors]

Apple's new Live Translation feature for AirPods will be off-limits to millions of European users when it arrives next week, with strict EU regulations likely holding back its rollout.

Apple says on its feature availability webpage that "Apple Intelligence: Live Translation with AirPods" won't be available if both the user is physically in the EU and their Apple Account region is in the EU. Apple doesn't give a reason for the restriction, but legal and regulatory pressures seem the most plausible culprits.

In particular, the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) both impose strict requirements for how speech and translation services are offered. Regulators may want to study how Live Translation works, and how that impacts privacy, consent, data-flows, and user rights. Apple will also want to ensure its system fully complies with these rules before enabling the feature across EU accounts.

Apple's Live Translation feature, unveiled during its AirPods Pro 3 announcement, is also coming to older models including AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation and AirPods Pro 2.

Live Translation enables hands-free communication by allowing users to speak naturally while wearing AirPods. For conversations with non-AirPods users, the iPhone can display live transcriptions horizontally, showing translations in the other person's preferred language.

The feature becomes more powerful when both conversation participants wear compatible AirPods with Live Translation enabled. Active Noise Cancellation automatically lowers the volume of the other speaker, helping users focus on translated audio while maintaining natural interaction flow.

The new Live Translation functionality requires AirPods updated with the latest firmware to pair with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone running iOS 26 or later, so iPhone 15 Pro and newer models are supported. Apple has been beta testing firmware in concert with iOS 26 beta updates, and we expect the firmware to drop the same day that iOS 26 is officially released on September 15.

The feature supports real-time translation between English (UK and U.S.), French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish. Apple plans to add Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified) support later this year. When the EU/Apple Account restriction will be lifted remains unclear, but we've reached out to Apple to see if they're willing to provide more details.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: AirPods Live Translation Blocked for EU Users With EU Apple Accounts

 

[iwan073]

Great, thanks EU. The dictators in Brussels and their rules

 

[MayaUser]

EU garden now its official more restricted than iOS garden

 

[fullauto]

So excited for this feature and being able to understand and converse easily with newish Spanish in-laws (and understand my partner lol). ChatGPT voice chat as a middle man is ok, but not totally fluid, Microsoft translate is good when you’ve run out of GPT voice credits, but sometimes you lose parts of the conversation, which can be frustrating. If Apple nails this it will be huge.

 

[sergekills]

Chances are it won't be a huge miss for the customers since we have no idea if the feature works at all as it was demonstrated.

 

[tivoboy]

If all the translation isn’t done on device, and or some amount of audio is uploaded to the cloud or used to refine the analysis of the users voicePRINT etc., that would be a GDPR no no.

 

[andrewxgx]

Great, thanks EU. The dictators in Brussels and their rules

yeah, US big tech dictators who figured they can get away with pushing ads on premium products with 50% margins, or use user data for training AI models without any user consent, are so much better

 

[UliBaer]

The Babel Fish needs a visa for Europe.

Friendly greetings to Douglas Adams! 👋

 

[saboteur]

Once again, European citizens are prevented from having access to features due to restrictive and strict European laws that nobody ever asked for except the compulsive legislators of the European Union. If they only had the balls to restrict the right things...

 

[Dejesus]

Off topic: You can Update now the buyers guide of Mac rumors with iPhone 17 maybe.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Please give us our democracies back. Open boarders and closed devices. EU served its purpose as an entity but has outstayed its welcome. We need nothing more than a basic trade and travel agreement, and govs can pick and mix the regulations their own people prefer and civilians can choose which rules they like and live there.

Edit: the ability to downvote comments on this platform is the worst feature, if people disagree they should be required to explain themselves, not lazily click a boo-boo button.

 

[adonis72]

Regulation stops innovation.

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

Soulless, unelected bureaucrats strike again. No translation for you peasant!

 

[omenatarhuri]

GDPR strikes again. Slap billion dollar fines enough times and companies will be too scared to release the good stuff.

EDIT: Haha, gotta love the people that think we need an army of bureaucrats and hundreds of layers of politics. Look, I love Europe, but it's lost its way, it's ok to recognize that. Even they've recognized it in the committee and are working to reduce these issues.

 

[211]

With no reason given, this looks like a tactical move by Apple to say, "look how your restrictions are delaying new features" and use public pressure to highlight this for people to get upset with the EU. I can't see EU objected to this feature, just Apple assuming it would and using this "delay" to get people upset

 

[Falco McGregor]

With no reason given, this looks like a tactical move by Apple to say, "look how your restrictions are delaying new features" and use public pressure to highlight this for people to get upset with the EU. I can't see EU objected to this feature, just Apple assuming it would and using this "delay" to get people upset

Or Apple doesn’t want to face any potential fines or blowback given its current contentious relationship with the EU.

 

[MikeX]

i ordered two, never thinking they won't work in eu. why don't they get the approvals before product is released?

 

[nothingtoseehere]

With no reason given, this looks like a tactical move by Apple to say, "look how your restrictions are delaying new features" and use public pressure to highlight this for people to get upset with the EU. I can't see EU objected to this feature, just Apple assuming it would and using this "delay" to get people upset

These EU rules are very unspecific but all-encompassing at the same time. And they introduce very heavy fines for offences you don't know exactly before until the commissars tell you that you are the target. This EU-Brussels socialism deters everyone from doing things because it might be illegal at the discretion of the apparatus. Horrible.

 

[rybak17]

Honestly, as an EU citizen, it makes no difference anymore. Apple has been shutting out half of the European Union for years, and languages like Polish, Czech, or Hungarian will likely never be supported. This is just yet another feature on a long list of things that simply don’t work here, showing how little Apple cares about smaller EU markets.

 

[contacos]

I am in Germany but I have had an US Apple Account since the iPod Video days to get those free TV show pilots from iTunes back in the day 🤞🏼

iPhone Mirroring also works as long as I am signed into my US account (the store in purchases & media seems to be enough btw)

 

[4ppleJack]

It makes you wonder what Apple are doing that Google and the others aren't that's preventing them releasing Airpod Live Translate in the EU 🤔

No doubt we'll find out at some point but it seems a shame to limit EU Apple consumers when they could have opted for a solution that would have passed muster with EU regulations/laws.

 

[.wojtek]

So excited for this feature and being able to understand and converse easily with newish Spanish in-laws (and understand my partner lol). ChatGPT voice chat as a middle man is ok, but not totally fluid, Microsoft translate is good when you’ve run out of GPT voice credits, but sometimes you lose parts of the conversation, which can be frustrating. If Apple nails this it will be huge.

How on earth such relationship works? xD
I mean - base of any sane relationship should be communication and if yours (seems to be) is based mostly on translation via external service it's a bit weird xD

Once again, European citizens are prevented from having access to features due to restrictive and strict European laws that nobody ever asked for except the compulsive legislators of the European Union. If they only had the balls to restrict the right things...

I asked for it. For some reason other companies can follow the laws. Only apple, caring only about it's bottomline, is having problems... go figure.

Regulation stops innovation.

Regulation makes life easier and nicer. Only "disruptive" services (facebook, x, airbnb and other crap) made everything worse, from braking the society to braking the housing market...

With no reason given, this looks like a tactical move by Apple to say, "look how your restrictions are delaying new features" and use public pressure to highlight this for people to get upset with the EU. I can't see EU objected to this feature, just Apple assuming it would and using this "delay" to get people upset

this!
apple is playing it's base and stirring political tension. nothing more... what a $@#$ move.

It makes you wonder what Apple are doing that Google and the others aren't that's preventing them releasing Airpod Live Translate in the EU 🤔

Apple is doing politics…

 

[Roller]

If all the translation isn’t done on device, and or some amount of audio is uploaded to the cloud or used to refine the analysis of the users voicePRINT etc., that would be a GDPR no no.

A quick search shows that Apple says live translation is done on the iPhone.

 

[Taq'aix]

Great, thanks EU. The dictators in Brussels and their rules

Yeah, while labeled as regulation to safeguard EU citizens’ privacy, in practice, it primarily serves as a mechanism for discreetly controlling the population.

 

[Zachari]

And users on this forum will still defend the EU with their dying breath. Beats me.