AirPods iOS 26 feature is blocked in France. Learn why Apple’s new functionality isn’t available and what it means for users.
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AirPods iOS 26 Feature Overview
AirPods iOS 26 feature has generated excitement worldwide, but users in France might be disappointed. Apple introduced a big new functionality with iOS 26 that enhances the AirPods experience, yet French regulations have prohibited its use. In this article, we’ll explain what the feature does, why it’s banned in France, and how it affects AirPods users in Europe.
Apple presented its new AirPods Pro 3 on September 9, during the iPhone 17 presentation Keynote. They include, according to Apple, the “best noise reduction in the world”, offer better autonomy, a new cardiac caper, as well as a physical performance monitoring app.
During the conference, Apple has also confirmed a feature that has been a lot of talk for months: real -time audio translation via Apple Intelligence. This option for AirPods Pro 2 and 3, as well as at AirPods 4 will unfortunately not be available in France with the release of iOS 26. The latter is as a reminder planned in a few days.
European users once again on the tile
If you take a look at the documentation Apple concerning real -time translation, you will see that it is well available from the messages and telephone application of France. However, it is not for the moment not possible to take advantage of it with the AirPods.
Apple is satisfied with the following mention: “Live translation with the AirPods is not available if you are in the EU and the country or the region of your Apple account is also in the EU”
Probable reasons
If Cupertino does not give any detail concerning the cause of this absence in the countries of the EU, we imagine that this has a connection with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations). According to MacRumors:
“The regulators may want to study the operation of the translation live and its impact on confidentiality, consent, data flows and user rights. Apple must also ensure that its system is fully in accordance with these rules before activating this functionality on EU accounts. »»
This recalls the delay of Apple Intelligence, which did not arrive in Europe 8 months after leaving in the United States. There is no information regarding the arrival of the translation in real time with the AirPods, maybe it will happen much faster, we hope. In the meantime, you can review all the news offered for AirPods 3 Pro here.
