Apple says it plans to launch its live translation feature for AirPods next month.
AirPods/PHOTO: Shutterstock
The US tech giant’s announcement follows a public spat with the European Commission in September over regulations imposed by the Digital Markets Act, according to Politico.
“We had to delay the launch while we carried out additional engineering work to comply with European Commission rules“, an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.
The iPhone maker had previously warned that European users would not be able to access the real-time translation feature through their headsets due to its own interpretation of the obligations imposed by the EU regulation for large technology platforms, the Digital Markets Act.
EU rules require certain features of Apple phones and tablets to ensure interoperability with competitors’ devices. Apple challenged these obligations in the European courts.
According to the company, it was necessary to develop a solution “complicated” to comply with DMA, creating a new audio redirection API so that third-party apps and devices can handle simultaneous audio streams.
Apple claims that if it had launched the feature earlier, it would have been fined and forced to stop shipping products to the EU.
The spokesperson added that Apple remains deeply concerned that interpretations “aggressive” of the European Commission on the rules put “endangering users and harming innovation”.
“In the EU, the purpose of our digital legislation is to preserve innovation and freedom of choice“, said a spokesperson for the European Commission. “And that’s exactly what we’re seeing today.”
