Only three months remain until Apple’s annual developers conference (WWDC), where the iOS 19 operating system will be unveiled, and it seems that this time, the Cupertino giant is planning a particularly significant change. Judging by the latest reports, it’s not just a major facelift for the iPhone and iPad interface but also a technological breakthrough that will turn AirPods into real-time multilingual conversation assistants.

According to a report by Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Apple is set to add live translation capabilities for face-to-face conversations to AirPods. How will it work? The device will listen to the conversation through the AirPods’ microphones, translate the speech into the desired language, and play the result immediately in the earbuds. In other words, conversations between speakers of different languages will become accessible and understandable without the need for cumbersome solutions like third-party apps or Google Translate.

Will the AirPods turn into real-time multilingual conversation assistants? (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)
Will the AirPods turn into real-time multilingual conversation assistants? (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)
Of course, it’s still unclear whether this feature will be exclusive to the new AirPods Pro models or if older models will also get a taste of the innovation. What is clear, however, is that this is another step in Apple's focus on making AirPods a sensory-health device, similar to the enhancements introduced in iOS 18 with advanced hearing improvements.

And that’s not all. Bloomberg reports that Apple is planning a major design refresh for iOS, making the system look and feel more unified with macOS and VisionOS. Additionally, the company aims to simplify navigation and device control for users. And if that’s not futuristic enough—Apple is also exploring the possibility of integrating cameras into AirPods, enabling advanced AI capabilities without users needing to take their iPhones out of their pockets.