September 10, 2025, 2:05 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
At the iPhone event on Tuesday evening, Apple also introduced the AirPods Pro 3. The biggest innovation of the earbuds: live translation. The AirPods are supposed to be able to translate other languages directly into your ear in real time. However, if you try to pre-order on the German Apple site, you won’t find any mention of this feature. Why is that?
Only a look at the support page, which is currently only available in English, reveals: “Live translation with AirPods is not available if you are in the EU and your Apple account country or region is also in the EU.” So EU citizens are left out. Odd, since live translation actually supports not only English, French, and Spanish but also German.
“Interoperability” is the Key Word
Why this is the case is known only to Apple itself. Based on previous examples, however, I have a pretty good idea of what the problem might be. In 2023, the EU identified Apple as a so-called gatekeeper, which holds a dominant market position with its established platforms. Therefore, the company is subject to special requirements, especially regarding the interoperability of its systems.
This means that Apple must make its core technologies accessible to third parties. In March 2025, the EU announced deadlines for implementing this requirement. Apple was not at all pleased with this decision at the time–”This is bad for our products and for our European users.” However, they signaled a willingness to comply with the demands.
In response to a TECHBOOK inquiry, Apple confirmed that live translation is not usable with a European Apple account. The company did not want to officially comment on the possible reasons.
EU Citizens Second-Class Apple Customers for Live Translation
Even then, I was left wondering if we in the EU are becoming second-class Apple customers. At that time, Apple Intelligence had already been on the market for half a year and was still not available in the EU. The mirroring of the iPhone screen on Macs was then, as now, not enabled for Europe and probably never will be. Live translation is likely to be the next chapter in this story. As of now, the feature is neither available nor is there any prospect of a launch in the EU.
It is a warning to European authorities that Apple does not submit to EU rules without resistance. At least, not if they go beyond a reasonable measure. I can’t blame the company. Why invest resources in new technologies if they have to be made accessible to third parties anyway? Live translation is THE new feature for AirPods. If availability in the EU means that competitors can also use it, I would also hold back if I were Apple.
As a customer in the EU, however, this is extremely frustrating for me. After all, we pay the same price here as everyone else–but get less.