AI: Apple plans AI 'live translation' for Airpods. RTZ #658

...nearing a holy grail 'universal translator' feature for the masses

I’ve long emphasized that Apple remains in an unrivaled position to bring unique AI applications to market this AI Tech Wave at scale.

That its Apple Intelligence initiative, while slow in its roll out, has the potential for applications driven by the company’s portfolio of hardware and software platforms around a unified Apple Silicon semiconductor strategy. And an ecosystem of applications and services serving billions daily.

Nowhere is that possibility more palpalbe than in the tech industry’s ‘holy grail’ quest for AI driven ‘universal translator’ functionality.

It’s inspired the founders and CEOs of companies from Amazon to Google to Apple and beyond. And it has a unique platform in its Airpods, which have already been leveraged for Health and Fitness AI driven applications. And it’s far beyond ‘Science Projects’.

Bloomberg outlines this in “Apple Plans AirPods Feature That Can Live-Translate Conversations”:

“Apple Inc. is planning a new AirPods feature that allows the earbuds to live-translate an in-person conversation into another language, according to people with knowledge of the matter.”

And it’s not in the distant future:

“The capability will be offered as part of an AirPods software upgrade due later this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the effort is private. It will be tied to iOS 19, the upcoming update to Apple’s mobile-device operating system.”

This aspiration has been shared by its peers for some years now:

“Rival earbuds, such as Google Pixel Buds, have had the option for years. And Apple has offered its in-house Translate app on the iPhone since 2020.”

“Still, the move promises to bring a Star Trek-like experience to AirPods users. The capability will work like this: If an English speaker is hearing someone talk in Spanish, the iPhone will translate the speech and relay it to the user’s AirPods in English. The English speaker’s words, meanwhile, will be translated into Spanish and played back by the iPhone.”

What’s interesting is that this feature is part of many more AI driven capabilities due in iOS 19 later this year:

“The AirPods upgrade is part of a broader overhaul of Apple’s software this year. The company is planning its biggest-ever revamp for iOS, in addition to a redesign of macOS, aiming to refresh the operating systems for a new generation of users, Bloomberg News reported earlier this week. Apple also is bolstering the translation technology in iOS 19, beyond the new AirPods feature.”

Apple as I’ve noted has been bringing software driven updates of this type on Airpods for some time now:

“The company has steadily added new features to AirPods via software updates, which means users don’t have to buy new pairs to take advantage of enhancements. Last year, Apple introduced options related to hearing health to the second-generation AirPods Pro. That included a hearing aid and test features that don’t require a doctor’s visit.”

In future hardware updates, we may see Airpods with cameras adding a capability to bring in new forms of personal data into the AI services mix for users in the billions:

“The company is still working on new AirPods hardware, including a third-generation version of the AirPods Pro. It’s also developing a model with built-in cameras that use artificial intelligence to analyze the surrounding environment. Last year, Apple rolled out new colors for the AirPods Max headphones and low-end AirPods 4 models.”

All this again points to how early it is in this AI Tech Wave for truly differentiated AI applications and services. Many which have been imagined in scifi for years, but are just now barely coming into mainstream realms of reality. Stay tuned.

(NOTE: The discussions here are for information purposes only, and not meant as investment advice at any time. Thanks for joining us here)