The thinnest iPhone ever[1] may have been biggest talking point from Apple’s latest unveiling event on Tuesday.
But it seems many fans are more excited about Apple’s futuristic new headphones, which should let them live out their Star Trek fantasies.
Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3, which start at $249/£219, come with a long-awaited feature called Live Translation.
The sci-fi-worthy tool allows real-time communications between two people who don’t speak the same language.
Fans are comparing it to the ‘Communicator’ device from Star Trek, which allows direct contact between individuals on different spaceships.
The technology – which requires a connected iPhone[2] – is also reminiscent of the green ‘Universal Translator’ device from TV series Futurama.
At launch, Live Translation is available in English – both British English and American English – as well as French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.
But later this year, Apple will also add Italian, Japanese, Korean and simplified Chinese to the available languages.
Apple’s new headphones, AirPods Pro 3, come with a tool called ‘Live Translation’ that translates foreign languages in real time
On X, fans are comparing it to the ‘Communicator’ device from Star Trek, which allows direct contact between individuals on different spaceships
One X user posted: ‘The age of stark trek translators is starting with Apple AirPods Pro 3!’
Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 will hit the shelves on September 19, but they’re now available to pre-order, along with its new iPhone 17 family[3].
If you’re in a foreign country and need a translation, you’ll need to simply tap the AirPods Pro 3 to activate the new tool.
It converts someone speaking their native language (for example, Spanish) into English, which is relayed by Siri’s voice into the ears.
When Siri is speaking, active noise cancellation reduces the speaker’s voice so that the bot’s translation can be clearly heard.
If the foreign speaker also has a pair of AirPods Pro 3, you’ll be able to engage them in a back-and-forth conversation like this. If they don’t, don’t worry, because you can still use the technology.
If you start speaking the response in English, you’ll be able to hold up your iPhone for the person to read what you’re saying (in their native language).
According to Engadget[4] which tried the technology, there’s a slight delay between the original speech and Siri’s translation, making for ‘some awkward pauses’.
This is because the captured audio has to be processed on the iPhone – ‘the brains of the operation’ – before it can be translated into the second language.
One user said: ‘If the AirPods Pro 3 realtime language translation thing actually works well, it’s some serious Star Trek Universal Communicator kind of stuff.’
Another said the technology is like ‘Star Trek meets real life’, adding ‘Who knew tech could be that good?’
Aside from Live Translation, AirPods Pro 3 also features improved active noise cancellation (ANC) and heart-rate monitoring
Responding to the announcement one user on X (Twitter) said: ‘If the AirPods Pro 3 realtime language translation thing actually works well, it’s some serious Star Trek Universal Communicator kind of stuff.’
Another posted: ‘The age of Star Trek translators is starting with Apple AirPods Pro 3!’
Live Translation also works on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, but you need an iPhone with Apple Intelligence[5] enabled for it to work.
That essentially means you need one of the four new iPhone 17 models[6], or one of last year’s four iPhone 16 models, or the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max from 2023.
Aside from Live Translation, AirPods Pro 3 also features improved active noise cancellation (ANC) and heart-rate monitoring.
ANC on AirPods Pro 3 removes up to two times more noise than the previous-generation AirPods Pro, and four times more than the original AirPods Pro, according to Apple.
‘With AirPods Pro 3, the most popular headphones take a massive leap forward, providing fantastic sound quality,’ said Apple[7] exec John Ternus.
‘Combined with an improved fit that provides greater stability for even more people, heart rate sensing, extended battery life, and Live Translation enabled by Apple Intelligence, AirPods Pro 3 take personal audio to the next level.’
Pictured, Professor Farnsworth’s ‘Universal Translator’ from the TV show Futurama, set in the 31st century. Universal Translator is designed to translate audio of any language into another, but due to a technical malfunction it only translates into ‘an incomprehensible dead language’ – French
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Live translation is not completely new technology though, as other very similar tools have been around for years – most notably from rival Google.
Google’s Pixel phones include a similarly-named tool called Live Translate, which turns a spoken language into the text of another, presented on the device’s screen.
Hong Kong firm Timekettle offers a $700 pocket-sized device called X1 that uses AI to ‘hear’ one spoken language and translate it into one of around 40 others.
Similarly, Chinese company Vormor offers a high-tech ‘pen’ that not only translates voices but unfamiliar text thanks to an inbuilt scanner.
References
- ^ thinnest iPhone ever (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ iPhone (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ its new iPhone 17 family (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Engadget (www.engadget.com)
- ^ an iPhone with Apple Intelligence (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ one of the four new iPhone 17 models (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Apple (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Apple could ditch the charging port altogether on its iPhones (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ iPhone (www.dailymail.co.uk)