As a fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, I've always loved the episode Little Green Men, in which Quark, Rom, and Nog are accidentally transported back to 20th-century Earth. In one interesting scene, we learn that the Ferengi insert tiny universal translators into their large ears so they can converse with people in different languages. Though I'm not a Ferengi, I'm looking forward to a similar feature that reportedly will reach Apple AirPods later this year.

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In a Bloomberg story published Thursday, tech reporter Mark Gurman said that Apple plans to update its AirPods with a live translation feature that would let you hear other languages translated into your own. Citing information from "people with knowledge of the matter," Gurman said that the new feature will be tied to iOS 19 and arrive as part of an AirPods software upgrade due later this year. The latter comment implies that you won't need special AirPods and that the translation will work with existing models.

Apple is late to the party

If true, this sounds like a major score for AirPods users. But Apple is actually late to the party. For the past few years, Google has included live translation through its Pixel Buds and Pixel Buds Pro earbuds. Several third-party companies also sell earbuds with translation capabilities.

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Apple, Google, and others also have long offered translation apps for mobile devices. The Apple Translate app that comes with iOS and iPadOS is able to translate between a host of different languages. But hearing the translations directly through your earbuds promises to provide a more, shall we say, Ferengi-like experience.

How would a translated conversation work?

Let's say English is your native language and you're trying to converse with someone who speaks Spanish, French, Italian, or another supported language. With your AirPods nestled in your ears, you would hear their words translated into English. When you respond back in English, the translation will be played back via your iPhone. Gurman didn't add further details, but I presume that if both people are wearing AirPods, each would hear the other person's words translated directly.

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Aside from the new translation skills, Apple is also reportedly prepping a new version of its AirPods Pro. Expected to launch sometime this year, the third-generation model will likely add better active noise cancellation and other audio enhancements. But with Apple always focused on health, the new AirPods Pro may also include such health-related features as heart rate monitoring and temperature detection.

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