Europeans who purchase a pair of Apple’s swanky new AirPods Pro 3 next week will be in for a disappointment: Apple is blocking the headphones’ flagship live translation feature across the EU. Brussels’ red tape has caused such a headache that Apple has decided it’s easier to just switch off the feature entirely…
The tech giant has previously argued that the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which is supposedly designed to ‘boost competition’, would “force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security”. Provisions within the Act require Apple to make certain parts of its tech function with competitors’ devices. Countries free from the EU’s regulatory manacles – like the UK, for instance – won’t have to worry. You’d think fancy new tech that automatically translates German into French, or Spanish into Italian, would be useful in Europe…
Batting away critical points from Nick Robinson on the Today Programme, Tony Blair said:
“I always used to say the greatest source of election-losing advice was the Guardian.”