Rather than brand new pairs of AirPods, Apple has instead announced upgrades to its existing lineup, with a specific focus on hearing health for the AirPods Pro 2.
We explain all the hearing tools that will soon be available on the AirPods Pro 2, from the ability to perform at-home hearing tests and even transform your earbuds into a “clinical grade” hearing aid.
What are the Hearing Tools for AirPods Pro 2?
There are three new tools found across the AirPods Pro 2 which work to help improve users’ hearing health.
Hearing Protection, which will be enabled by default, uses machine learning to actively reduce external noise. The ear tips of the AirPods Pro 2 help to provide passive noise reduction while working alongside the H2 chip which helps to actively reduce louder, more intermittent noise at 48,000 times per second.
Apple also explain thanks to an “all-new multiband high dynamic range algorithm” sounds at live events, such as gigs and shows, remain natural and vibrant.
Users can also perform their own hearing test at home, simply by ensuring the AirPods are connected to their iPhone. Performing the test is easy too and just requires you to tap the scren when you hear tones through the AirPods at different frequencies, with your results shown clearly with the Health app.
Finally the AirPods Pro 2 will soon be able to act as an over-the-counter “clinical grade” hearing aid for mild to moderate hearing loss. This mode will transfer your AirPods Pro 2 into your own personal hearing aid, helping you to hear your surroundings better.
This mode, alongside the AirPods Pro 2’s existing pro-level sound quality, means you’ll be able to hear both your audio and your surroundings better.
Are the new hearing tools FDA-cleared?
Apple explained in its keynote that it expects to receive FDA clearness “soon”, so at the time of writing these tools are not medically approved yet.
When will the Hearing tools be available on AirPods Pro 2?
According to Apple, all the above hearing tools will be available in the iOS 18 software update coming later this year. It will also be available across 100 countries and regions, including the US, Germany and Japan. At the time of writing, we don’t know if it will be available in the UK.
