iOS 26: 7 New AirPods Features

[MacRumors]

With iOS 26, Apple is bringing several new features to the AirPods, making them more useful than before. The added functionality will be available this fall when Apple releases iOS 26 and updated AirPods firmware, but you can test everything new right now.

Camera Remote

The AirPods can be used as a camera remote for the Camera app or third-party iOS camera apps. You'll need to enable the feature if you want to use it, and you can do so by connecting your AirPods to your iPhone, opening up the AirPods section in the Settings app, and then choosing the Camera Remote option.

Once the feature is turned on, using it is as simple as popping in your AirPods, opening the camera app, and then pressing and holding on the AirPods stem to take a photo or start a video recording.

When you're finished, a second press and hold gesture will stop the recording. If you have an Apple Watch, you can already control your iPhone remotely from your wrist, but the AirPods have the potential to be even quicker since it's a one-press physical gesture rather than a series of steps that include opening an Apple Watch app.

Studio-Quality Recording

The AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro 2 now offer recording studio-quality audio for interviews, podcasts, songs, videos, and more. Apple says that the feature can be used to record high-quality vocals while on the go, with background sounds filtered out thanks to Voice Isolation.

You can record higher-quality audio when making videos or using your devices to do things like record a podcast.

Improved Call Quality

The H2 chip in the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 brings more natural vocal texture and clarity to iPhone calls, FaceTime calls, and all CallKit-enabled apps like Zoom.

Studio-quality audio recording and improved call quality are available across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and support the Camera app, Voice Memos, Messages dictation, third-party camera apps, and video conferencing apps.

Pause Audio for Sleep

If you're listening to music, a podcast, or a book while you're in bed and you're wearing AirPods, the AirPods will pause your audio when you fall asleep if you toggle on the new "Pause Media When Falling Asleep" option.

You'll find it in the AirPods settings after connecting your AirPods to your iPhone, but you'll need the new AirPods firmware and iOS 26. In addition to saving your spot in an audiobook or podcast, it will also preserve battery by turning your AirPods off so they're not running all night.

This feature also works with Beats earbuds.

Keep Audio in Headphones

iOS 26 addresses an irritating issue that happens with CarPlay and AirPods. There's a "Keep Audio in Headphones" option that prevents audio from switching to car speakers or Bluetooth speakers when you're listening to music through the AirPods.

With the option on, your music will continue playing in your AirPods when you get in the car. You can turn it on in iOS 26 by going to Settings > General > AirPlay and Continuity.

Charging Reminders

Apple improved AirPods charging in iOS 26, and the AirPods Charging case will now more clearly indicate charging status. You'll also see reminders when it's time to charge your AirPods so you're less likely to run out of battery.

There's a green light when the AirPods are fully charged, a pulsing amber light when they're charging, and a darker amber light that lets you know that it's time for a charge because the battery is getting low.

Beta Updates

With iOS 26, Apple is adding an option to more easily install beta updates on AirPods. There's a new update interface when you connect your AirPods to your iPhone and tap into them in the Settings app.

How to Get the New AirPods Features Now

To try out the new iOS 26 AirPods features, you'll need to install the iOS 26 public beta or the iOS 26 developer beta. The developer beta requires a free developer account, but anyone can sign up for the iOS 26 public beta.

Just go to Apple's beta website and follow the steps.

Once you have iOS 26 installed, you can connect your AirPods and then open up the AirPods section of the Settings app. From there, scroll down to AirPods Beta Updates and toggle on beta firmware.

Put the AirPods in the charging case and put them near your iPhone to trigger the beta firmware to be downloaded on the AirPods. Once your AirPods are running the beta firmware, you'll see settings for the new options in the AirPods section of the Settings app.

Read More

We have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup that goes into detail on all of the new features that are available in the update.

Article Link: iOS 26: 7 New AirPods Features

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Is

Studio-Quality Recording​

better than recording directly with the iPhones mic

 

[tennisproha]

How exactly does Studio-Quality Recording work? Is it in specific apps only, or system-wide?

 

[DR3MCLAREN]

This would be great if the airpods would actually update to the Beta but they don't. I enabled the beta option in my airpod Pro 2 settings weeks ago and I'm still waiting for it to actually update. They live beside my phone all night every night while everything charges and it they never update.

 

[DJAdequate]

This would be great if the airpods would actually update to the Beta but they don't. I enabled the beta option in my airpod Pro 2 settings weeks ago and I'm still waiting for it to actually update. They live beside my phone all night every night while everything charges and it they never update.

For what it’s worth, mine finally did after installing Public Beta 2, although I had to enable data collection as well as the beta firmware in settings.

 

[CheesePuff]

Anyone on the beta able to report how much better the mic is when using it on calls or audio clips on iMessage?

 

[DJAdequate]

Anyone on the beta able to report how much better the mic is when using it on calls or audio clips on iMessage?

To my ears the improvement on calls is noticeable, but noice canceling in the lower end is somewhat worse. Might just be my old ears, though.

 

[alexandr]

This would be great if the airpods would actually update to the Beta but they don't. I enabled the beta option in my airpod Pro 2 settings weeks ago and I'm still waiting for it to actually update. They live beside my phone all night every night while everything charges and it they never update.

Mine just did it. Wouldn't do it for the longest time!

 

[4tune8chance]

All good improvements to one of apples best products.

 

[smoker68x]

If you update the firmware through an iPad on iPad OS 26, does anything carry over to an iPhone that’s still on iOS 18? Or vice versa?

 

[svish]

Just bought Airpods 4 with ANC. Cannot wait to try out all these changes with iOS 26 later this year. Using it as a camera remote will be useful.

 

[gimmesomemo]

I’m curious about the sleep feature. This is actually one of my favourite accidental features of AirPods and I’ve been doing it for years - knowing full well that when I fall asleep it roll around or something and it always falls out of my ear and pauses the audiobook, YouTube video, or whatever.

 

[jimjiminyjim]

I'm running iOS 26 public beta 2, but I still don't get the beta option in the AirPods. I'll keep going without the beta before I turn on developer mode as suggested in other discussions. Following the instructions in this article, it's just not there. I was hoping that might be solved for public beta 2, but alas, not for me. Edit: double checked my version and it is AirPods Pro Second Gen, A2698.

 

[jimjiminyjim]

For what it’s worth, mine finally did after installing Public Beta 2, although I had to enable data collection as well as the beta firmware in settings.

where do you enable data collection?

 

[OJK]

Is

Studio-Quality Recording​

better than recording directly with the iPhones mic

Very unlikely imho…
With my AirPods Pro sending vocal messages with the AirPods’ mic vs the phone mic is like day and night (AirPods being night).

 

[wdfly]

Too bad they cannot simply announce the charge percentage of the airpods, case, or both, when putting them in.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Too bad they cannot simply announce the charge percentage of the airpods, case, or both, when putting them in.

there might be a shortcut for this, should be easy to call too

 

[LFO8]

Very unlikely imho…
With my AirPods Pro sending vocal messages with the AirPods’ mic vs the phone mic is like day and night (AirPods being night).

Same.. and I am still on iPhone XR. Still the quality of the recording through that mic is far superior to the recording done through my AirPods Pro 2 (I always test that by recording in Voice Memos).

 

[LFO8]

If you update the firmware through an iPad on iPad OS 26, does anything carry over to an iPhone that’s still on iOS 18? Or vice versa?

I am looking for an answer to this as well.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Studio quality recording sounds good.

 

[obibobi]

With iOS 26, Apple is bringing several new features to the AirPods, making them more useful than before. The added functionality will be available this fall when Apple releases iOS 26 and updated AirPods firmware, but you can test everything new right now.

Camera Remote

The AirPods can be used as a camera remote for the Camera app or third-party iOS camera apps. You'll need to enable the feature if you want to use it, and you can do so by connecting your AirPods to your iPhone, opening up the AirPods section in the Settings app, and then choosing the Camera Remote option.

Once the feature is turned on, using it is as simple as popping in your AirPods, opening the camera app, and then pressing and holding on the AirPods stem to take a photo or start a video recording.

When you're finished, a second press and hold gesture will stop the recording. If you have an Apple Watch, you can already control your iPhone remotely from your wrist, but the AirPods have the potential to be even quicker since it's a one-press physical gesture rather than a series of steps that include opening an Apple Watch app.

Studio-Quality Recording

The AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro 2 now offer recording studio-quality audio for interviews, podcasts, songs, videos, and more. Apple says that the feature can be used to record high-quality vocals while on the go, with background sounds filtered out thanks to Voice Isolation.

You can record higher-quality audio when making videos or using your devices to do things like record a podcast.

Improved Call Quality

The H2 chip in the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 brings more natural vocal texture and clarity to iPhone calls, FaceTime calls, and all CallKit-enabled apps like Zoom.

Studio-quality audio recording and improved call quality are available across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and support the Camera app, Voice Memos, Messages dictation, third-party camera apps, and video conferencing apps.

Pause Audio for Sleep

If you're listening to music, a podcast, or a book while you're in bed and you're wearing AirPods, the AirPods will pause your audio when you fall asleep if you toggle on the new "Pause Media When Falling Asleep" option.

You'll find it in the AirPods settings after connecting your AirPods to your iPhone, but you'll need the new AirPods firmware and iOS 26. In addition to saving your spot in an audiobook or podcast, it will also preserve battery by turning your AirPods off so they're not running all night.

This feature also works with Beats earbuds.

Keep Audio in Headphones

iOS 26 addresses an irritating issue that happens with CarPlay and AirPods. There's a "Keep Audio in Headphones" option that prevents audio from switching to car speakers or Bluetooth speakers when you're listening to music through the AirPods.

With the option on, your music will continue playing in your AirPods when you get in the car. You can turn it on in iOS 26 by going to Settings > General > AirPlay and Continuity.

Charging Reminders

Apple improved AirPods charging in iOS 26, and the AirPods Charging case will now more clearly indicate charging status. You'll also see reminders when it's time to charge your AirPods so you're less likely to run out of battery.

There's a green light when the AirPods are fully charged, a pulsing amber light when they're charging, and a darker amber light that lets you know that it's time for a charge because the battery is getting low.

Beta Updates

With iOS 26, Apple is adding an option to more easily install beta updates on AirPods. There's a new update interface when you connect your AirPods to your iPhone and tap into them in the Settings app.

How to Get the New AirPods Features Now

To try out the new iOS 26 AirPods features, you'll need to install the iOS 26 public beta or the iOS 26 developer beta. The developer beta requires a free developer account, but anyone can sign up for the iOS 26 public beta.

Just go to Apple's beta website and follow the steps.

Once you have iOS 26 installed, you can connect your AirPods and then open up the AirPods section of the Settings app. From there, scroll down to AirPods Beta Updates and toggle on beta firmware.

Put the AirPods in the charging case and put them near your iPhone to trigger the beta firmware to be downloaded on the AirPods. Once your AirPods are running the beta firmware, you'll see settings for the new options in the AirPods section of the Settings app.

Read More

We have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup that goes into detail on all of the new features that are available in the update.

Article Link: iOS 26: 7 New AirPods Features

But when will Apple act like adults and fix the Teams issues together with Microsoft?
It has only been a couple of years …

 

[Ho Tai]

"Keep audio in headphones" sounds like a good feature, but I would like a broader feature. I wear hearing aids, and if a call comes in that I switch to the iphone speaker, sometimes the iphone will then switch back to the HAs automatically. To keep this from happening I have to turn off the HAs, which kills the call, so I have to call. back without the support of my HAs. For me, a control to disable all auto switching would be good.

 

[_Tony]

"Keep audio in headphones" sounds like a good feature, but I would like a broader feature. I wear hearing aids, and if a call comes in that I switch to the iphone speaker, sometimes the iphone will then switch back to the HAs automatically. To keep this from happening I have to turn off the HAs, which kills the call, so I have to call. back without the support of my HAs. For me, a control to disable all auto switching would be good.

I’m also a hearing aid user. Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Hearing devices -> Audio routing. You can disable the automatic audio routing/switching and there are separate settings for calls and media. I turned off the auto routing years ago, it was always dumb in its logic and didn’t work well.

 

[Ho Tai]

I’m also a hearing aid user. Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Hearing devices -> Audio routing. You can disable the automatic audio routing/switching and there are separate settings for calls and media. I turned off the auto routing years ago, it was always dumb in its logic and didn’t work well.

Thanks _Tony, but I don't have that option in Settings. Apparently you need MFi-certified HAs, and my Costco Phonak HAs aren't certified. That's something I'll look for in my next set. Hopefully someone makes them with controls similar to AirPods.

 

[ManuCH]

Studio quality recording is still way less good than using the integrated iPhone microphone (just tested now using the Voice Memos app).

Also, I can't seem to convince the Camera app to record videos using AirPods audio. Yes, the beta is installed. It still uses the iPhone microphone, and I can't find a way to switch.