Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 is soon to introduce hearing health features with the iOS 18.1 software update. The company is on its way to setting another milestone by bringing hearing aid features to one of the most popular earbuds in the market. The company announced the arrival of this essential feature during the launching ceremony of the iPhone 16 that took place on September 2024. As per the inner sources, the users will be able to utilize this feature very soon this week after the software update.
According to a statement made in the press release, the new feature is clinically tested and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This makes it one of the very first aiding software approved by the FDA. The company has developed such a feature by targeting users suffering from mild to moderate hearing loss problems and protecting their hearing health from loud environmental noises.
The users can perform a hearing test using the feature and the AirPods will automatically configure and optimize themselves to the particular sound ranges. Apple’s Environmental Sound Reduction, a major part of this update provides the users with a chart giving them details of the sound levels they are exposed to and the amount of noise reduced over time of usage.
This helps the users keep an account of their activities related to their hearing health in the health store app. After the feature is installed in the devices, the earbuds become cautious of the surroundings and will adjust the sound levels accordingly.
The working of this special feature is quite easy as reported by the users. Once the updation has been installed on the device, the AirPods setting will feature a new health hearing option. With this option, the users can enroll in a hearing test that should be taken in a quiet room to get accurate results.
The health app records test results and after this, the user can turn on the hearing mode. Based on these test results the earbuds adjust themselves to the preferred sound ranges. The results recorded on the health app could used further while consulting a health expert.
The estimates also show that AirPods Pro 2 is much cheaper than the other over-the-counter hearing aids like Jabra and Sony. Reports also show that Apple’s hearing health features display accurate test results when checked clinically. However, according to health experts, earbuds cannot be considered an alternative for curing extreme hearing disabilities. Such a challenge is faced due to the earbuds being restricted to limited battery life.
With the invention of this unique and essential feature updation, Apple has once again set its foot to become a major competitor in the technological market. Reports show that the market cap values of the AirPods Pro 2 have risen as the new update will essentially benefit a larger audience. Along with the health hearing health features, the iOS 18.1 software updates also come with the first set of Apple Intelligence features.
This feature will include AI writing tools and will further enhance the AI technologies across the devices. According to the inner sources, the company has planned some greater changes for Siri making it more effective and capable of giving detailed answers to the questions posed.
Considering the rapid growth of AI networks around the globe, this feature is sure to foster the company to become the AI leader in the coming times. The hearing health features have already sparked a discussion in the technological community and Apple has already set a path for the leading Android companies to come up with such essential features for their users.
