AirPods Live Translation Blocked in Europe

Apple’s flagship AirPods upgrade for 2025 is skipping millions of customers in Europe. Live Translation, the headline feature launching with AirPods Pro 3, won’t be available in the EU because of unresolved regulatory issues.

What Live Translation Brings

Live Translation is designed to make cross-language conversations feel natural. When only one person is using AirPods, translations and transcriptions are displayed on the iPhone. If both participants wear compatible AirPods, the earbuds manage everything, lowering the original voice through Active Noise Cancellation and delivering the translated voice in real time. Apple’s pitch is that the experience feels like subtitles for real-world dialogue.

The feature is supported on AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2, and the new AirPods 4 with noise cancellation, as long as they’re paired with an iPhone 15 Pro or newer running iOS 26. The functionality is tied to the latest AirPods firmware.

Why Europe Is Excluded

On Apple’s availability page, the company specifies that Live Translation “is not available if you are in the EU and your Apple Account Country or Region is also in the EU.” Both criteria must be met for the block to apply.

While Apple has avoided naming one cause, three likely explanations emerge:

• Data laws: GDPR and the new EU AI Act place strict controls on how speech data and translations are handled, raising compliance hurdles.
• Digital Markets Act (DMA): A March decision requires Apple to make certain services interoperable, and the company may be holding back until rules are better defined.
• Apple’s history of delays: Services such as Apple Cash, Tap-to-Pay, ECG on Apple Watch, and even Apple Intelligence have all launched later in Europe. Live Translation appears to be caught in the same cycle, suggesting the restriction may be temporary.

Language Support and Rollout

At launch, Live Translation will cover English (U.S. and U.K.), French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish. Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese are expected to follow later this year. The supporting firmware update is scheduled to roll out on September 15, alongside iOS 26’s release.

What It Means for EU Customers

For now, Europe is missing Apple’s most forward-looking AirPods capability. Given Apple’s pattern with previous rollouts, the feature will likely arrive once regulatory clarity improves. Until then, AirPods Pro 3, updated Pro 2, and AirPods 4 owners in the EU will have to sit out while users elsewhere get real-time translation directly in their ears.

It’s worth noting that Apple is hardly the first to attempt this. Google Translate has offered real-time conversation tools for years, and earbuds from companies like Timekettle already provide in-ear translation in Europe. The difference is that Apple’s limitation isn’t technical but regulatory, underscoring how EU laws increasingly shape Apple’s product launches.

A recurring question is whether Europeans could sidestep the block by importing AirPods from another region. The answer is no. Availability depends on both Apple Account region and current location, so hardware alone won’t change the outcome. Only setting up a non-EU Apple Account and using the device outside EU borders would bypass the restriction.

For now, Apple’s most futuristic AirPods feature remains unavailable across the EU. Would the delay affect your interest in upgrading? Let us know in the comments.