6 New Features Coming to Your AirPods Pro 2 Today in iOS 18
Happy iOS 18 day to all who celebrate! Whenever Apple updates its operating systems, it often adds a few tidbits to its AirPods software, but this year, it’s outdone itself: If you own a set of AirPods Pro 2, whether Lightning or USB-C, there are a number of major new features available starting today — with more coming when Apple rolls out its AirPods hearing aid feature later this fall.
Here’s what you can expect in your earbuds today.
Voice isolation
This is active noise cancellation for your mouth instead of your ears. It uses the same kind of math as ANC, but this time it applies it to the input of your AirPods, not the output, so it can reduce the noise around you as you talk. Think wind noise, traffic, construction noise, and other things that can make it harder to hear you on phone calls.
Improved adaptive audio control
Until now, your Adaptive Audio controls have been simple: you can turn it on or off. Now, you have a slider to adjust the level of on-ness, so you can set the amount of noise you want your AirPods to hear you. Instead of on/off, there are now three options for when Adaptive Audio is turned on: standard, less noise, or more noise. It’s still adaptive, so it responds to changes in the environment around you, but the slider lets you set a different baseline than Apple’s default.
Vibrating Siri
There are times when you don’t want to talk to Siri, like when you’ve just rocked a baby to sleep or you’re hidden in the HVAC ducts of your arch-enemy’s headquarters. New Siri interactions mean you can now accept and decline calls with a simple nod or shake of your head, and the same goes for other types of notifications – so you can decline that call from your mom while you’re defusing bombs and forgot to turn on airplane mode. I’ve tested this at home and can attest that it makes you feel a little less silly and a little less likely to surprise your dog.
Spatial audio in gaming
There won’t be much to listen to, but this could be a big deal for iPhone and iPad gamers. The same Personalized Spatial Audio tech you hear in movies and music is now available to game developers, allowing them to take advantage of 3D sound and head tracking to deliver even more immersive audio. That won’t make a huge difference for most casual games, but for things like shooters where situational awareness makes a big difference, it could give you an edge over your AirPod-less rivals.
Lower latency
Latency has long been a downside of wireless headphones, especially Bluetooth headphones: It’s the slight delay between the signal being transmitted and the sound arriving in your ears, and when it’s significant, it can be a bit disconcerting. The new AirPods update “significantly” reduces audio latency, and Apple says it’s especially good for gamers. Like situational awareness, it’s one of those things that really matters in fast-paced games, where even a slight delay can mean life or death for your character.
Better voice quality in games
In addition to voice isolation for improved vocal clarity, the AirPods Pro 2 also get better voice transmission quality in games – up to 16-bit, 48kHz, which is slightly higher than CD quality. That means your voice should sound much more natural and the people on the other end should be able to hear you much more clearly too, avoiding any confusion about what you’re actually trying to say.
