AirPods Pro 2 get new Siri interactions and voice isolation features
Apple introduced several new improvements to its AirPods line during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 keynote session on Monday. The Cupertino-based tech giant added new gesture-based controls for interacting with Siri, head tracking capabilities while playing games, and improved audio during voice calls. These features will be available on select AirPods. Currently, these features are available to try for members of the Apple Developer Program in the developer beta. Interestingly, an earlier report had claimed that the tech giant is working on a more affordable version of its truly wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds that could launch later this year.
AirPods Pro (2nd generation) get new features
While AirPods didn’t dominate the announcement cycle during the keynote session at WWDC 2024, Apple did introduce some major improvements to its TWS devices. The AirPods Pro (2nd generation), which launched in September 2023 with the H2 chipset, now get advanced capabilities powered by Apple’s silicon.
Gesture-based Siri interactions allow users to respond to the virtual assistant without verbal or tap-based feedback. This capability allows AirPods Pro 2 users to nod their head to say yes and shake their head to say no to Siri announcements. Apple says this can be useful when the user is in a busy or quiet environment and may not want to speak out loud.
With Siri Interactions, powered by the H2 chipset, users can also use gestures to answer or ignore calls, respond to messages, manage notifications, and more.
Another new feature that’s exclusive to AirPods Pro (2nd generation) is Voice Isolation. Already available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, this feature is now rolling out to the latest AirPods Pro. Voice Isolation improves the speaker’s voice quality and removes background noise to deliver clearer audio quality during calls. The company said it leveraged machine learning via the H2 chipset to bring this feature to the TWS device.
AirPods get personalized spatial audio for gaming
Apple is also adding Personalised Spatial Audio to multiple AirPods variants. This feature comes with dynamic head tracking that kicks in when the user is playing a game while wearing the TWS earbuds. While it’s designed for gaming, it also delivers immersive audio when listening to music, watching movies, and more.
AirPods Pro (2nd generation) users can also use this feature to get improved audio latency when gaming on iPhone, as well as 16-bit, 48KHz audio quality when talking to teammates and other players in a game using the servers.
