How real-time translation could transform travel – and what we might lose.

Apple's new live translation feature is a boon for travellers, but over-reliance on AI translation could make us rethink how, and why, we learn languages.

From BBC Travel.

 

For nearly five decades, a comedy sci-fi novel has made readers wish they had a fish in their ear. In Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, characters could understand any language thanks to the petite (and sadly fictional) Babel fish. "If you stick a Babel fish in your ear you can instantly understand anything said to you in any form of language," Adams wrote.

Now that sci-fi dream is edging closer to reality with Apple's new AirPods Pro 3, which promise live translation. According to the company, users can listen to conversations in a variety of foreign languages and hear translated words in their ears, while transcripts appear on their phone screen – all without the need for an alien fish transplant.

At face value, this has the potential to power a new era of friction-free travel, changing the way we navigate foreign restaurants, make friends abroad or ask for directions in an unfamiliar city. But will instant fluency come with hidden costs?

The reaction from pundits has been suitably impressed. "This is profound," said a review in the New York Times, calling Apple's innovation "one of the strongest examples yet of how artificial intelligence can be used in a seamless, practical way to improve peoples' lives".

But the technology is far from perfect right now, with one CNET technology finding the software occasionally inserted stray swear words. Such missteps are often the way with early tech models, however, and kinks can quickly be ironed out as the developer – and all the other brands who will now be working furiously on releasing similar tools – releases updates.

Live translation on AirPods

• Available on Apple accounts outside the EU.

• Current languages: English (UK & US), French (France), German (Germany), Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish (Spain).

• Coming later this year: Mandarin (Simplified & Traditional), Japanese, Korean and Italian.

• Works on AirPods Pro 2 and newer, with translations appearing in-ear and on screen.

Still, even at this early stage, live translation in your pocket could encourage millions of people to travel more often, and more widely. A 2025 poll by Preply, a language course provider, found that one-third of Americans surveyed intentionally choose destinations where they won't be troubled by a foreign language. Of those who do venture to non-English-speaking countries, nearly 25% say they have communicated by simply speaking "slower and louder", which rarely leads to a warm reception. The poll also noted that 17% of respondents, fearing the labyrinth of a foreign menu, stick to American fast-food chains for meals overseas.

But instant translation could do more than help individuals by immersing them in new cultures and kickstarting conversations. It could rewire whole sectors of economies by pushing people beyond familiar chains and tourist traps, funnelling income to small local vendors whose English is imperfect.

Gracie Teh, a financial services executive, recalls struggling to forward her luggage to a new hotel when staying in a tiny town in Japan. Despite speaking no English, the concierge "refused to use Google Translate or read what we were typing into it", Teh sighs, remembering several hours where she was unsure if she'd spend the next few days without any of her clothes. "Having the ability to understand him in real time via AirPod translation would have been a lifesaver."

Real-time translation could be a huge asset for transport workers, too. New York's JFK Airport alone employs tens of thousands of customer-facing workers, who deal with travellers speaking dozens of tongues. A single interaction derailed because of language barriers can cause a bottleneck that cripples passenger throughput elsewhere. This phenomenon is so common there's a term for it: delay propagation. Studies have found that a one-hour hold-up in one airline's single flight in the morning can quickly spiral into a seven-hour delay across the entire airline fleet, thanks to a domino effect of late connections.

Other research indicates that smaller airports, while recognising the necessity of multilingual ground staff, simply don't have the budget to offer formal language training. This can leave crews brushing up on English by listening to Anglophone songs or watching movies with subtitles turned on.

In the air, the stakes rise even higher. Several fatal crashes have been linked to misunderstandings between air traffic control and pilots. What can be hard to understand in everyday life – a heavy accent or strange slang – becomes deadly when you're talking about flight vectors and the correct runway. Sometimes mix-ups even occur when both parties speak the same language. According to one paper, "In two reports, a US southern accent and a New York accent added to the challenges of understanding aviation communications." Having AI-assisted translations could help in these scenarios – though human training will still likely be needed to give AI tools the clearest dialogue to work with.

Just as calculators reshaped our approach to maths, AI translation could dent our motivation to speak other tongues. As such, challenging times may lie ahead for companies who offer language courses.

Ying Okuse, the founder of Lingoinn, which arranges Mandarin-language homestays in China, Taiwan and Singapore, says that AI tutors are already popular among her customers. But she sees this as a positive trend that could actually boost demand: "There's a significant difference between what AI can offer and the immersive, real-world experience of a homestay abroad."

After all, apps can't yet decode non-verbal cues. Your average Italian can speak volumes with a contemptuous flick of their chin (equating to non me ne frega, or "I don't care"), a pull of the eyelid ("be careful") or a kiss of their fingertips. Brits and Australians, meanwhile, often use their strongest insults as a kind of "social glue" to bond with close friends. All this, you need on-the-ground experience to appreciate. "That kind of learning goes beyond screens," says Okuse. "Language is ultimately about connection, about understanding people, culture and emotions."

Bernardette Holmes, MBE, a campaigner for multilingualism, champions the cognitive benefits. Learning a language, she says, results in "stronger executive functioning, enhanced attentional control, greater cognitive flexibility and working memory." Real-time translation tech has its uses, she adds, "but it cannot replace the joy of making meaning in a new language".