For many years now, people have wished to have a magical device they can use to understand any language in the world instantly. Although this may have seemed impossible just a few years ago, it is now closer than ever to becoming a reality. Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 have a live translation feature that lets people hear and understand conversations in different languages as they happen. The words that have been translated play immediately via the AirPods, and a transcript shows up on the phone screen. As amazing as this seems, it also raises the question of what it could mean for the future of learning languages.
So far, people have had great things to say about Apple’s new feature. A critic from “The New York Times” termed it “profound” and said it was one of the best instances of how artificial intelligence can make life better. The technique isn’t perfect, though; sometimes the software adds random swear words to sentences. This is a frequent problem with early AI models, and these flaws are usually rectified quickly when updates come out. But even at this early stage, the possibilities are huge.
Millions of individuals could feel more comfortable traveling overseas if they could get live translation. According to a 2025 survey by “Preply,” around one in three Americans would rather go to places where they won’t have to deal with a language barrier. Almost a quarter of people who travel to places where English isn’t spoken said they’ve tried to “speak slower and louder” to get their point across, but that doesn’t generally work. Seventeen percent indicated they only go to American fast-food places when they travel abroad because they don’t want to deal with foreign menus. All of that might change with real-time translation. Instead of going to the regular chain restaurants and souvenir shops, tourists could choose to eat at family-run cafés or shop at local markets. That reform could help small enterprises make money and create more significant cultural exchanges.
For those who travel, this kind of technology could change their lives. Gracie Teh, who works in financial services, remembers having trouble talking to a hotel concierge in a small Japanese town. She stated he didn’t understand English and wouldn’t use Google Translate, so she spent hours attempting to explain that she needed to send her bags to another hotel. She was quite stressed out, and she thinks that if she had had live translation in her AirPods at the time, it would have made the whole ordeal less difficult for her.
This technology is useful for more than just tourism. Language barriers can pose genuine problems at airports, for example. JFK Airport in New York City has tens of thousands of employees who help tourists from all over the world. A small mistake might cause a chain reaction of delays on all planes. Scientists use the term “delay propagation” to describe this. A one-hour delay in the morning can cause problems all day long, such as missed connections and having to reschedule, which can cause delays of up to seven hours. Additionally, language problems can be lethal in the aviation industry. Miscommunication between pilots and air traffic controllers has been linked to a number of airline crashes. Sometimes, the problem isn’t even the language, but the way different people speak, such as the difference between a Southern US accent and a New York accent.
AI translation could help stop these kinds of misunderstandings by making it easier and faster to talk to each other, but it will never take the place of good training. People will still need to learn how to talk in a way that AI can understand them accurately. It’s not a full handover; it’s a partnership between people and technology. But with each new technical advance, there is a cost. Some experts are worried that people might not want to learn new languages at all anymore.
Ying Okuse started “Lingoinn,” a company that offers Mandarin-language homestays in China, Taiwan, and Singapore. She has already noticed more students using AI-based language teachers. She thinks this tendency is both thrilling and a little scary. She says that AI can help with vocabulary and pronunciation, but it can’t replace experiencing a culture. Language is more than simply words; people from different cultures use diverse ways to say what they mean. For example, in certain English-speaking countries, friends use playful banter and insults as a technique to get closer to each other. You can’t learn these social cues from screens or other technologies.
Bernardette Holmes, MBE, who has been fighting for multilingualism for a long time, says that learning a new language makes the brain stronger by making it easier to pay attention and remember things. She admits that real-time translation is useful, but she says it can’t replace the fun of learning and making sense of a new language. It’s hard to argue that Apple’s new translation tool isn’t amazing. It might make travel more accessible and enable people to connect in ways that used to be unimaginable. However, it’s imperative that we do not let ourselves forget the joys of learning a new language by ourselves.