Apple AirPods Pro might get a 'hearing aid' feature soon

No hardware changes needed.
By Stan Schroeder  on 
Apple AirPods Pro
A big accessibility feature may be coming this fall. Credit: Apple

Apple's AirPods Pro might soon help you hear better, new report claims.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (via 9to5Mac), the AirPods Pro won't get any hardware changes in 2024. But that doesn't mean there will be no updates for Apple's top-of-the-line earbuds.

The big news this year, Gurman claims, will be a "hearing aid" feature, which should launch alongside iOS 18.

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There are no details on what this feature might be like, though it's worth noting that Apple's AirPods Pro already have a few features that enhance your hearing. A feature called Conversation Boost, available in the iPhone's Accessibility settings, lets you focus on the person talking in front of you. Another feature called Live Listen uses your iPhone or iPad as a microphone that helps you hear someone speaking clearly in a noisy environment while wearing AirPods or AirPods Pro.

Previous reports say that Apple's iOS 18, likely to roll out this fall alongside the iPhone 16, will be a massive upgrade, with big AI-related changes, as well as support for the RCS messaging standard, new accessibility settings, and a new 'Categories' section for Live Speech, among other features.

Topics AirPods Apple

Stan Schroeder
Stan Schroeder
Senior Editor

Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.


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