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macOS Sequoia Lets You Customize AirPods Audio in System Settings

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macOS Sequoia expands a long-existing accessibility feature on the iPhone and iPad to the Mac: Headphone Accommodations.

macOS-Sequoia-Headphone-Accommodations.jpg

On the macOS Sequoia beta, the Headphone Accommodations options are in the System Settings app under Accessibility → Audio. The settings allow you to customize the audio for all AirPods and select Beats headphones. For example, Apple says you can amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies to help music, phone calls, and more sound more crisp.

When a user configures Headphone Accommodations settings for second-generation AirPods Pro on macOS, the adjusted audio will persist when the headphones are connected to other audio sources, according to a note on Apple's developer website.

These settings were previously only available in the Settings app on the iPhone and iPad.

macOS Sequoia is currently in beta for developers, with a public beta to follow in July. The update will likely be widely released in September or October.

Article Link: macOS Sequoia Lets You Customize AirPods Audio in System Settings
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/06/25/macos-sequoia-headphone-accommodations/
Not working on my MBP16 - I get a popup saying it only works on compatible Apple and Beats devices. I have APP2 connected and working with Beta 2 Sequoia (which I must say is a heaping pile of poo compared to Beta 1).
 
Four years later this accessibility feature finally makes it to MacOS. It’s a very useful feature for users who have some hearing issues.

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.
Click to expand...
 
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ignatius345 said:
I can't think of anything less cumbersome than "it happens without you doing anything at all".
Click to expand...

Except when it doesn't. There's innumerable examples of people whose Airpod Pro's won't upgrade. I'm one of the lucky ones who can prompt an update 100% of the time but the "it just happens" isn't universal. Channels like Zollotech on YT have talked about the process being problematic for some people. Also, some people experience bugs, the products aren't infallible, and I'm sure they'd like to apply bug fixes asap.

People want an update method where the user can initiate it, like on almost every other Apple product, isn't too much to ask and seems to be a common request. So you can laugh emoji if you want but many people would like a better process to be implemented.
 
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Seriously, anybody over 40 with AirPods, regardless of whether you think you've got any hearing deterioration or not: do a full (free) hearing test with the mimi hearing test app, save the audiogram it generates, go into Accessibility>Headphone Accommodations, select Tune Audio for: Audiogram and upload the audiogram you generated from mimi. Your iPhone/Mac will then slightly boost frequencies that you may have lost some sensitivity to. Basically it corrects the sound to what it should sound like, based on your personal hearing profile.

My hearing's still pretty good for my age, but listening to music this was still transformational for me, I rediscovered so much detail in songs that I'd forgotten was there. At least try it!
 
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I just with they'd add a third option to macOS's options for when to connect to Airpods. Right now there's options to connect "automatically" and "when last connected to this Mac". I never want my airpods connecting to my Mac (I use dedicated cans for my Mac), but every once in a while they will for no apparent reason despite my having set them to "when last connected". (Going into the settings will show that they had switched to automatically for some reason.)
Just give us a "never" option already!
 
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NightFox said:
Seriously, anybody over 40 with AirPods, regardless of whether you think you've got any hearing deterioration or not: do a full (free) hearing test with the mimi hearing test app, save the audiogram it generates, go into Accessibility>Headphone Accommodations, select Tune Audio for: Audiogram and upload the audiogram you generated from mimi. Your iPhone/Mac will then slightly boost frequencies that you may have lost some sensitivity to. Basically it corrects the sound to what it should sound like, based on your personal hearing profile.

My hearing's still pretty good for my age, but listening to music this was still transformational for me, I rediscovered so much detail in songs that I'd forgotten was there. At least try it!
Click to expand...
Great advice. This is an amazing feature. I'm middle aged, and the Headphone Accomodations really fills out the highs for me that have gone flat with deterioration in my hearing over time.* I think Apple undersells this feature by having it buried in Accessibility. It's a lot more powerful than having a simple EQ to futz with.

* And now, a lecture: for you younger people, for the love of god use some hearing protection before you go out to super loud music venues. I seriously cringe when I remember how in my 20s I sonically raw-dogged a ton of punk shows and didn't think a thing of it when I'd walk out with my ears ringing. Now I've got a little tinnitus, which is awful, and generally my hearing is in worse shape than if I'd been smarter back then. They make really nice earplugs now which are acoustically neutral, but even jamming some wadded up tissue in there in a pinch is better than nothing.
 
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This is really awesome… small changes like this have big impact on usability of the OS 😀
 
NightFox said:
Seriously, anybody over 40 with AirPods, regardless of whether you think you've got any hearing deterioration or not: do a full (free) hearing test with the mimi hearing test app, save the audiogram it generates, go into Accessibility>Headphone Accommodations, select Tune Audio for: Audiogram and upload the audiogram you generated from mimi. Your iPhone/Mac will then slightly boost frequencies that you may have lost some sensitivity to. Basically it corrects the sound to what it should sound like, based on your personal hearing profile.

My hearing's still pretty good for my age, but listening to music this was still transformational for me, I rediscovered so much detail in songs that I'd forgotten was there. At least try it!
Click to expand...

I just tried it. I can't tell the difference.

The sample sounds exactly the same with the audiogram turned on or off.

I'm over 50, my hearing is maybe slightly better than age appropriate, so I was kind of expecting something.
 
macmac30 said:
Not working on my MBP16 - I get a popup saying it only works on compatible Apple and Beats devices. I have APP2 connected and working with Beta 2 Sequoia (which I must say is a heaping pile of poo compared to Beta 1).
Click to expand...
Hi, same thing here with AirPods Max... anyone else ?
 
Realityck said:
Four years later this accessibility feature finally makes it to MacOS. It’s a very useful feature for users who have some hearing issues.
Click to expand...

This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about in the other thread when I said macOS has become a fork of iOS.

I understand that the origin branch was a version of Mac OS X so far in the past it would be obsolete today, but currently development starts on iOS and gets ported to macOS.

I mean just look at Finder. They are essentially ignoring the core of the OS anymore and just focusing on porting things from iOS.
 
Realityck said:
Four years later this accessibility feature finally makes it to MacOS. It’s a very useful feature for users who have some hearing issues.
Click to expand...

8CoreWhore said:
Why no parity between iOS and Mac OS on this for so long and other things like Messages?
Click to expand...

I’m very excited for this. Now I just wish for a feature in reverse. Today on macOS I can set the LR balance on AirPods independently from the MBP speakers, but this feature is not available on iphone. To set custom LR balance on iphone it applies to all audio output, phone speakers and homepod alike :(

My hearing loss affects when I have headphones in, but I don’t need unbalanced ambient sound/speakers
 
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NightFox said:
Seriously, anybody over 40 with AirPods, regardless of whether you think you've got any hearing deterioration or not: do a full (free) hearing test with the mimi hearing test app, save the audiogram it generates, go into Accessibility>Headphone Accommodations, select Tune Audio for: Audiogram and upload the audiogram you generated from mimi. Your iPhone/Mac will then slightly boost frequencies that you may have lost some sensitivity to. Basically it corrects the sound to what it should sound like, based on your personal hearing profile.

My hearing's still pretty good for my age, but listening to music this was still transformational for me, I rediscovered so much detail in songs that I'd forgotten was there. At least try it!
Click to expand...
Yes! What about Audiogram for Mac. I'm using it in the iPhone and it's really something for middle-aged users.
 
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Previous versions won’t be able to do this? Apple, can’t fix simple things without massive os updates.
 
ignatius345 said:
Great advice. This is an amazing feature. I'm middle aged, and the Headphone Accomodations really fills out the highs for me that have gone flat with deterioration in my hearing over time.* I think Apple undersells this feature by having it buried in Accessibility. It's a lot more powerful than having a simple EQ to futz with.

* And now, a lecture: for you younger people, for the love of god use some hearing protection before you go out to super loud music venues. I seriously cringe when I remember how in my 20s I sonically raw-dogged a ton of punk shows and didn't think a thing of it when I'd walk out with my ears ringing. Now I've got a little tinnitus, which is awful, and generally my hearing is in worse shape than if I'd been smarter back then. They make really nice earplugs now which are acoustically neutral, but even jamming some wadded up tissue in there in a pinch is better than nothing.
Click to expand...
Same for me, except my fate is to have chronic tinnitus. Some days it is quite overwhelming and seriously impacts my ability to sleep, relax, or even be in public areas. Entirely my own fault, but when younger who thinnks about such consequences? The smarter ones, that is who.
 
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