Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid ad is an emotional punch to the heart
Despite the overreach of doctors, prescriptions and expensive hardware, it’s a pivotal moment for hearing aid technology, with over-the-counter clinical-grade solutions like Apple’s recently updated AirPods Pro 2 landing in consumers’ ears and potentially changing lives.
I think that’s of course the message of Apple’s latest holiday commercial, “Heartstrings,” which focuses specifically on the latest aural capabilities of the Apple AirPods Pro 2.
Apple unveiled its over-the-counter (OTC) clinical hearing aid test and augmentation in September, alongside its new iPhone 16 handsets. Instead of new hardware, iOS 18.1 allowed Apple to push a firmware update in the Apple AirPods Pros and for iPhones. I tried the hearing test last month and was surprised to find that I don’t suffer from much hearing loss at all.
However, Apple’s ad paints a different scenario. In the video, which you can watch on YouTube, a teenager opens her Christmas present in front of her parents. It’s a guitar, and as she tears into the wrapping, her father’s thoughts drift back through childhood flashbacks. It’s moving and effective because the toddler and child all seem to be the same person, but it’s also heartbreaking because of the audio in the current scene and all memories are muted. The father clearly suffers from hearing loss.
Apple doesn’t specify how much hearing loss he has, but its hearing aid technology is designed to address mild to moderate hearing loss and not something that can be corrected with a doctor-prescribed hearing aid.
The daughter starts playing her new (and miraculously tuned) guitar, and the mother encourages the father to “listen.” He places the AirPods Pros and the sound is, as the commercial suggests, immediately clearer. He uses a hearing aid volume slider on the iPhone to increase the volume of the assisted hearing.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m a dad or because Apple’s ad agency is so good, but I got emotional when I saw the almost two-minute ad.
Apple AirPods Pro 2 earbuds are incredibly effective in high-quality audio and excellent noise-canceling earbuds. They are also quite smart when it comes to automating transparency mode. I walk to my coffee man wearing my AirPods Pro 2s and listening to a podcast. As soon as I start talking, the podcast pauses and ambient noise comes in, provided by the earbuds’ built-in microphones. It is that technology, combined with the recent firmware upgrade and a solid ear seal, that makes the new hearing aid technology possible.
I can confirm that Apple’s scientifically validated hearing test works, and even though I don’t have hearing loss, we already have examples of people using – and loving – Apple’s new hearing aid technology.
TechRadar editor-in-chief Jake Krol asked his 77-year-old father, who according to tests suffered from moderate hearing loss, to try the AirPods Pros 2 as a hearing aid. Here’s how Krol described his father’s experience:
“He described sounds as being more pronounced and amplified, especially voices when talking to family members or visitors in the home. Henry said he could hear much better and pick up all the details, including subtler sounds, which he doesn’t have with partial hearing loss.”
It seems like many of the heartwarming AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid stories involve parents and their children. And if you plan on watching that ad, maybe find a private place so you can have a nice cry.
By the way, if you have or think you may have hearing loss and want to try out Apple’s latest audio equipment with hearing aid technology, you might want to check out the latest Black Friday Deals. There are some excellent values on the AirPods Pro 2 (earlier AirPod models do not support OTC hearing aid technology).
