Apple took advantage of the event iPhone 16 presentation to introduce health news in the AirPods Pro 2 already available for some months. These new functions focus on offering a comprehensive hearing health experience with three different functions: active hearing protection, FDA certified hearing test and medical grade hearing assistance. All these functions will only be available on AirPods Pro 2 and Apple has already confirmed that will be introduced in iOS 18.1, as we saw in the latest developer beta.
AirPods Pro 2 and hearing: the new features coming in iOS 18.1
AirPods Pro 2 via a software update will have three new functions aimed at improving hearing health of users. Apple has decided to bet everything on these functions by receiving FDA certification as the first headphones with a medical hearing aid function. All this bundle of news not available in initial release of iOS 18. However, Apple has confirmed that they will arrive in iOS 18.1 thanks to developer beta 5.
These three functions are as follows:
- Active hearing protection: The AirPods Pro 2 will reduce the impact of louder sounds on our ears through this feature. What it does is reduce the frequencies of the sounds we hear around us thanks to the H2 chip that actively reduces louder and intermittent noise at a rate of 48000 times per second. Thanks to the ear cushions on the headphones, this reduction is more pronounced.
- Audited Hearing Test: When hearing impairments exist, users can go to a specialist consultation where an audiogram is performed. This test consists of reproducing sounds that the user will say he or she hears or not, and finally a graph is provided showing the degree of hearing in both ears. This test allows the hearing impairment to be classified and advice is given for the implantation of hearing aids. Apple has been granted an FDA audit for a hearing test with the AirPods Pro 2 and is essential for the following function.
- Medical Grade Hearing Aid: Once the audiogram is performed, iOS and iPadOS along with AirPods Pro 2 will be able to adapt the hearing profile to make the headphones behave as if they were hearing aids.
With the iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Released 15.1Apple will incorporate all these features to improve hearing health that require AirPods Pro 2.