Apple has introduced the AirPods Pro 3 wireless earphones, featuring a live translation capability that enables face-to-face conversations across nine different languages. Olivia Palamountain reports

For millions who've fumbled through foreign conversations with phrase books and translation apps, Apple's new AirPods Pro 3 promise to eliminate language barriers entirely - offering real-time translation that transforms any wearer into a multilingual communicator capable of seamless face-to-face conversations across nine languages.

The live translation feature works hands-free and is powered by computational audio and Apple Intelligence to help users communicate naturally. When both users wear AirPods with Live Translation enabled, the active noise cancellation lowers the volume of the other person speaking to help focus on the translation.

For conversations where only one person has AirPods, users can display live transcription on their iPhone screen in the other person's preferred language. Live Translation supports English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish initially, with four additional languages - Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (simplified) - coming by the end of the year. The feature is available in beta.

Priced at US$249, customers in the US and more than 50 other countries and regions can pre-order the earphones now, with availability in stores beginning September 19.

It's bad news for citizens of the EU, however, as The Telegraph reports Apple has blocked people in the European Union from accessing its new live translation tool on AirPods as tech giants grapple with the bloc’s strict digital rules.

The iPhone maker has withheld its live translation feature, which allows people to automatically interpret conversations using their earphones, from customers within the EU.

A page on Apple’s website says: “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.”

It comes despite the fact that the new feature will offer translations from French, German, Portuguese and Spanish upon launching. It will be available in the UK and should still allow British users to access translations when visiting European countries.The AirPods Pro 3 also include a custom heart rate sensor that measures blood flow using invisible infrared light pulsed 256 times per second. Combined with accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS and on-device AI, users can track over 50 different workout types and monitor heart rate and calories burned through the Fitness app on iPhone.

Apple says the new earphones deliver "the world's best Active Noise Cancellation of any in-ear wireless headphones," removing up to twice as much noise as the previous AirPods Pro generation and four times more than the original AirPods Pro. The enhanced noise cancellation uses ultra-low noise microphones, advanced computational audio, and new foam-infused ear tips.

John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, comments: "With AirPods Pro 3, the most popular headphones take a massive leap forward, providing fantastic sound quality and the world's best ANC of any in-ear wireless headphones. Combined with an improved fit that provides greater stability for even more people, heart rate sensing, extended battery life, and Live Translation enabled by Apple Intelligence, AirPods Pro 3 take personal audio to the next level."The earphones feature a redesigned fit based on more than 10,000 ear scans and over 100,000 hours of user research. Apple now offers five ear tip sizes, including a new XXS option, and has added IP57 sweat and water resistance for workout durability.

Battery life has been extended to up to eight hours of music playback with active noise cancellation enabled - a 33% increase over the previous generation. In Transparency mode, battery life reaches up to 10 hours, representing a 67% improvement.

The AirPods Pro 3 expand Apple's hearing health features, including Hearing Protection now available to EU and UK users, a scientifically validated Hearing Test and automatic Conversation Boost for hearing aid users in loud environments.

The earphones are manufactured with 40% recycled content and 40% renewable electricity across the supply chain.