Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
No Pro 3 but new software features?
- Thread starter anthonymoody
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This is the most glossed over news of the day… enabling them as a hearing aid takes on a multibillion dollar industry, it will be huge… when it’s time do you want to spend multi thousand for a hearing aid or just go to the Apple Store. My guess is that industry is in panic mode today
I believe they've been down to $170 a few times on Amazon.
I understand what you are saying but I don't think the industry is shaking, yet.
Hearing aids are already available over the counter, in the U.S. Many decent ones for about $250.00 for a pair. But, I have tried them. They generally suck compared to my top of the line devices (provided to me at no charge by the VA). My devices are almost invisible (behind the ear with in-ear receiver). Many times people don't know I am wearing the devices.
And that is the kicker. Having something showing in my ear all the time is not something I want. My perception is that if someone is wearing Apple devices in their ears they are not paying attention to me. I wear my AirPods Pro 2 while at basketball games in adaptive mode. The noise gets cancelled and I can still hear people talking. But the people generally think I am not listening or ask "can you hear me?" An entire culture with things in their ears will take some adjusting, and time.
I can take calls with my devices. I can stream with my devices. The batteries last 18 hours, charge in about 4 hours. Highly configurable with frequency curves (which Apple will have). Part of the large cost of hearing aids is the support, multiple tests and configuration settings. The other part of the cost is greed.
I have no doubt there will be a change in the hearing aid community because of Apple. How much? Only time will tell.
Last edited:
Agree - I also wear standard, high-end hearing aids and wouldn't have interest in using my Pro 2's in lieu of them for the reasons you state. People see ear pods in your ears and assume you're not listening to them; battery life comparison falls apart for the Pods; and the hearing aids are configured for my hearing by a specialist.
I too have hearing aids (very small behind the ear) however I also use my AirPods as hearing aids in certain situations or when Im at home relaxing and take a break from my regular aids. The ability to load a customised audiogram into AirPod Pros has been there a long while it's just without the FDA approval Apple have never been able to promote them as hearing aids. I do agree though that it will take quite a while for the perception to disappear that someone wearing AirPods is not paying attention when in company. On the rare occasion im with other people wearing them I just explain why Im using them. There are also many people who for vanity reasons dont want to wear regular aids but would probably be happy wearing AirPods.
Not really, if I understand it correctly they still don't have the plugs which keep them in place. And becasue of that I'd be interested to know what the ANC performance is going to be like, since you're not getting the same seal as the Pro.
I knew the Pros weren't being replaced until next year, but with the 2's geting a major update I wonder if that timeline is going to get pushed back more?
Yeah, you’ve got it. Even though there's no Pro 3, the new software features are pretty neat. I’ve played around with them a bit, and they definitely add some useful and fun options.
Yup tbh it's convinced me to buy the 2 even though I usually buy hardware when it's newly introduced. I get serious fomo.
I have Pro Gen 1 and had a disappointing thought over the weekend that maybe Gen 3 won't be coming next year, that maybe Apple will do what they did with the Max and just add black or something else underwhelming or unimpressive.
What Apple did with the Max is ridiculous. The Pro Gen 2 released in 2022 has a H2 chip and Bluetooth 5.3, but heading into 2025, the "new" Max has neither. Doubt the Max will be updated next year so the 2020 specs will be the same in 2026.
What Apple did with the Max is ridiculous. The Pro Gen 2 released in 2022 has a H2 chip and Bluetooth 5.3, but heading into 2025, the "new" Max has neither. Doubt the Max will be updated next year so the 2020 specs will be the same in 2026.