AirPods Live Translation Blocked for EU Users
Apple says on its feature availability webpage that “Apple Intelligence: Live Translation with AirPods” won’t be available if both the user is physically in the EU and their Apple Account region is in the EU. Apple doesn’t give a reason for the restriction, but legal and regulatory pressures seem the most plausible culprits.
In particular, the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) both impose strict requirements for how speech and translation services are offered. Regulators may want to study how Live Translation works, and how that impacts privacy, consent, data-flows, and user rights.
This implies that it’s not because of DMA-related antitrust concerns. I would have expected those to come into play since, as far as I’m aware, live translation doesn’t work with headphones from other brands.
Previously:
- AirPods Pro 3
- Apple Appeals EU Digital Markets Act Interoperability Rules
- Apple Intelligence Available in EU
- Apple Delays “More Personalized Siri” Apple Intelligence Features
- Questioning EU Geo-Blocking Restrictions
- iOS Apple Intelligence in EU in April 2025
- No Apple Intelligence or iPhone Mirroring in EU at Launch
