iOS 14: How to Enhance Speech, Movies, and Music When Listening on AirPods, AirPods Max, and Beats

[MacRumors]

In iOS 14, Apple continues to build out its extensive accessibility features, and here we're going to show you how you can use the new Headphone Accommodations to amplify certain sounds if you're having difficulty hearing them.

Headphones Accommodations works with Apple and Beats headphones, and is designed especially for those who are hard of hearing: It's able to amplify soft sounds and adjust frequencies to make music, movies, calls, and more sound crisper and clearer.

Follow the steps below to activate the Headphones Accommodations feature in iOS 14 and later.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Scroll down to the Physical and Motor menu and select AirPods.
   
   
   
   Tap the Audio Accessibility Settings option in blue text.
4. Tap Headphone Accommodations.
   Toggle the switch next to Headphone Accommodations to activate it and extend the menu of options.
   
   

From here, you can access a range of options such as tuning audio for Balanced Tone, Vocal Range, or Brightness, and adjusting the volume of soft sounds to be louder.

There's also a Custom Audio Setup that walks through a test with soft speaking and different music to determine whether you have specific audio preferences that should be compensated for with the Headphone Accommodations feature.

Headphone Accommodations works with the Transparency mode on ‌AirPods Pro and AirPods Max‌ too, making quiet voices louder and tuning the sounds of the environment around you to meet your audio needs.

Article Link: iOS 14: How to Enhance Speech, Movies, and Music When Listening on AirPods, AirPods Max, and Beats

 

[DeepIn2U]

Unfortunately this currently implantation doe NOT use all the various microphones on the iPhone. If you have AirPods Pro you’re better off using ambient sound directly via the headphones.

 

[ianKent]

Good step in the right direction. For those with tinnitus, where high frequencies can agitate the condition, there needs to be something a little more manual, like an equalizer or an option to decrease higher frequencies.

 

[socrates89]

It is a great feature. Also great is the model in the hero image - so swaggy

 

[libmanj]

As a person with moderate high frequency hearing loss, this is EXACTLY what I have been hoping Apple would do. Bravo!

 

[upandown]

Pretty cool feature however it will absolutely come down to preference. For me, after completing the custom set up, it might sound a little better in the sample but once playing music I believe even the lowest setting is too boosted and will be fatiguing for me. All it’s doing is making it easy for the laymen to EQ on a limited scale. I agree an actual EQ scale would be better.

I have yet to test with phone calls. The environment and medical conditions will play a roll as to what is needed. I’ll probably keep everything off. Advice I’ve been given from experts, it’s best to keep EQs alone. Only use if hardware is lacking in some of the frequencies. The AirPods Pro original sound is good as is.

 

[true god]

Purple hair is so cool!

 

[Starfia]

Wow, thank you for the highlight – I love knowing about all this stuff and failed to catch this one.

(All this, and we still can't dial down the bass on HomePod…?)

 

[SBlue1]

As a person with moderate high frequency hearing loss, this is EXACTLY what I have been hoping Apple would do. Bravo!

I have been using Mimi Music when I wanted to listen to music. The app did a hearing test first to determine which frequencies you heard less and then adjusted the music accordingly. If this is anything like Mimi Music I can finally ditch the app and use Apple Music directly. But I would recommend you to try this app anyway.

 

[kalafalas]

I hate the word "enhance" when it comes to these audio processing features, a great way to instantly destroy all the hard work done by the artists to master these tracks. Listen to the music how it was intended to be

 

[AdeFowler]

I would love this feature for Apple TV. I use my Beats Headphones, and very often the speech audio is difficult to understand. I have quite bad tinnitus after playing in a heavy metal band for many years 🦻🏼

 

[Apple_Robert]

I probably won’t remember all this but, thank you for the informative article.

 

[upandown]

I hate the word "enhance" when it comes to these audio processing features, a great way to instantly destroy all the hard work done by the artists to master these tracks. Listen to the music how it was intended to be

Agreed on original artist intent however this set of features is originally intended for people with hearing deficiencies. Which I think is great.

 

[The Stig]

I’m on the latest public beta and I only have the regular AirPods, this setting for me is in accessibility > Audio/Visual > Headphone Accommodations

 

[Shirasaki]

I have been using Mimi Music when I wanted to listen to music. The app did a hearing test first to determine which frequencies you heard less and then adjusted the music accordingly. If this is anything like Mimi Music I can finally ditch the app and use Apple Music directly. But I would recommend you to try this app anyway.

A quick google search shows the app has been discontinued. Too bad I know this app way too late.

 

[ksgant]

Have they implemented the "spacial audio" for the Airpods Pro yet? I can't find anything in the latest public beta on either iOS or iPad OS.

 

[That70sGAdawg]

Have they implemented the "spacial audio" for the Airpods Pro yet? I can't find anything in the latest public beta on either iOS or iPad OS.

Not yet, in latest beta.

 

[imnotthewalrus]

I’m on the latest public beta and I only have the regular AirPods, this setting for me is in accessibility > Audio/Visual > Headphone Accommodations

Same here. There was no “AirPods” in accessibility (physical and motor) as shown here. I’m wondering if the ”AirPods” setting as shown is for pro version only (I have the standard 2nd gen). Anyway, scrolling down to Audio/Visual was where I found Headphone Accommodations and I love this feature as my higher range hearing is weak. Thanks Apple!

 

[hydro94530]

Possibly a stupid question but do these settings literally only work with AirPod Pros or is it with whatever bluetooth earbuds you have connected?

 

[Shirasaki]

Possibly a stupid question but do these settings literally only work with AirPod Pros or is it with whatever bluetooth earbuds you have connected?

Literally only works with AirPods Pros and supported Beats headphones.
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I’m wondering if the ”AirPods” setting as shown is for pro version only (I have the standard 2nd gen).

AirPods Pro only.

Normal AirPods don't have “press” gesture and noise cancellation.
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I tried headphone accomodations, AirPods Pro sound quality still cant match Shure SE-215 BT1, even though the latter uses inferior SBC BT encoding.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

Nicely done. This makes AirPod Pros a must have for those that need this functionality.

 

[DoctorTech]

I hate the word "enhance" when it comes to these audio processing features, a great way to instantly destroy all the hard work done by the artists to master these tracks. Listen to the music how it was intended to be

We don't all hear the same. I have some hearing loss from over exposure to loud noise over the past 30 years. My hearing is fine at lower frequencies but not so much at higher frequencies. This "enhancement" will allow me to hear the music as the artist intended by boosting volume of frequencies that I don't hear as well. I am REALLY looking forward to this feature!
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I am hoping Apple will also make this feature available in MacOS and TVOS. I often watch YouTube and/or Apple TV on my laptop and/or television via my Apple TV box. The majority of the time, I am the only one in the room so it would be nice to put on by PowerBeats Pros and listen to enhanced audio of TV, movies and videos.

 

[tridley68]

Air pods still cost too much any sound quality is still poor compared to my
Sony wf1000mx3

 

[-DMN-]

FYI Hearing loss is irreversible, meaning what has been done is done! Please use hearing protection where applicable!

 

[DeepIn2U]

We don't all hear the same. I have some hearing loss from over exposure to loud noise over the past 30 years. My hearing is fine at lower frequencies but not so much at higher frequencies. This "enhancement" will allow me to hear the music as the artist intended by boosting volume of frequencies that I don't hear as well. I am REALLY looking forward to this feature!

I’ll guess It’s from glam rock concerts like “woman” Def Leppard! Right? I make light joke of it but I know I have a bit of frequency insensitivity from that genre myself.