Six New Features iOS 18 Brings to the AirPods Pro

[MacRumors]

iOS 18 is an update designed for the iPhone, but it adds several new features to the AirPods Pro 2, Apple's latest earbuds. The new capabilities require iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS Sequoia and a firmware update that will be released when Apple releases its new software this fall.

This guide highlights all of the changes that are coming to the AirPods Pro 2.

Head Gestures

If you've ever been in a situation where you needed to confirm a Siri request or decline a call without using a voice command or your hands, there's a solution coming.

Head gestures are a new form of AirPods Pro control that will let you nod your head up and down or shake it back and forth to decline a call or interact with Siri. When you get a call, you can essentially shake your head no to decline it or nod yes to accept it.

When you're responding to Siri for controlling notifications and incoming or outgoing messages, you can use the same gestures for yes and no without having to speak.

Voice Isolation

With Voice Isolation, the AirPods Pro can cut down on loud background sounds when you're on a phone call, allowing the person you're speaking with to hear you more clearly.

The AirPods Pro will use machine learning to detect and isolate ambient noise such as wind, cars nearby, people speaking, and more, blocking out the sound and prioritizing your voice. Voice Isolation is a feature coming to both the original AirPods Pro and the AirPods Pro 2.

Better Adaptive Audio Controls

Adaptive Noise Control is designed to adjust Active Noise Cancellation and the sound you hear in response to the ambient noise in your environment. Adaptive Audio has been an all or nothing setting, but with iOS 18, there are more granular controls for tweaking the feature to allow for more or less noise to come through.

Personalized Spatial Audio for Gaming

Personalized Spatial Audio is a feature that already exists for movies, TV shows, and music. It uses the TrueDepth camera on your iPhone to scan your face and ears, developing a personal profile that customizes Spatial Audio just for you.

With iOS 18, Apple is expanding Personalized Spatial Audio to gaming, with the aim of delivering more immersive sound for gameplay. Game developers can incorporate spatial audio in their games as part of this change. Personalized Spatial Audio for Gaming is actually coming to the AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and the third-generation AirPods.

Voice Quality in Games

The AirPods Pro 2 feature voice quality improvements for in-game chat and streaming, along with dynamic head tracking and support for 16-bit 48kHz audio in games.

Lower Latency

According to Apple, the AirPods Pro provide the best wireless audio latency ever for mobile gaming, thanks to improvements coming in iOS 18. Improved latency means that you'll see little to no delay when taking an action in the game and hearing the resulting sound, making for a more responsive experience.

Other AirPods Models

Many of these features are limited to the latest AirPods Pro models. Head gestures and Voice Isolation won't be available on devices other than the AirPods Pro 2, but Personalized Spatial Audio for gaming will be more widely accessible.

Read More

Much more on all of the new features that Apple added in iOS 18 can be found in our iOS 18 roundup.

Article Link: Six New Features iOS 18 Brings to the AirPods Pro

 

[david_n_n]

I have the second iOS 18 beta 4, but my AirPods Pro 2 don’t have access to these yet. Does it require an AirPods update as well? I’m currently on 6F8.

 

[jclo]

I have the second iOS 18 beta 4, but my AirPods Pro 2 don’t have access to these yet. Does it require an AirPods update as well? I’m currently on 6F8.

Yes, a firmware update is required.

 

[mblm85]

I was very wary when I moved from corded EarPods to my AirPods Pro 2. Would they fit well and would they be practical to use? Well they've turned out to be a great investment. Excellent sound quality and noise cancellation that has improved with the steady stream of updates.

I was expecting there to have been a new version by now with these features held back for that. Really looking forward to having them on my existing pair.

 

[Shirasaki]

Well, will this firmware update finally get something good on improving call quality? Every time I use AirPods Pro to receive phone call, same speaking volume, some works fine, while others say they can’t hear. And no, it has nothing to do with receiver’s age. So much so that I stop using AirPods Pro for phone call whatsoever.
Also, can Apple finally make connection switch less dumb When multiple devices are placed nearby? Last time I checked it has some sort of motion detection feature now. Can that figure out I am not actively using the device it tries to connect to?
Used to have generic Bluetooth headset that works way better in both call quality and connection switching. I hope Apple has improved the above two or I’m thinking about abandoning AirPods altogether.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

Head gestures are a new form of ‌AirPods Pro‌ control that will let you nod your head up and down or shake it back and forth to decline a call or interact with ‌Siri‌. When you get a call, you can essentially shake your head no to decline it or nod yes to accept it.

I appreciate this but, the first I try to shake my head to decline a call and it answers instead will be the last time I try that feature, and I expect that's how most would feel. Heck, I'm even leery about saying Yes or No when Siri asks if she should answer.

 

[Mazda 3s]

So no love for those of us with AirPods Max?

 

[everybodylovesramen]

will we get a working ANC ever again?

 

[lozion]

Awesome for bike riders.. just nod to answer an incoming call 🏍️👍🏼

 

[haruhiko]

I was very wary when I moved from corded EarPods to my AirPods Pro 2. Would they fit well and would they be practical to use? Well they've turned out to be a great investment. Excellent sound quality and noise cancellation that has improved with the steady stream of updates.

I was expecting there to have been a new version by now with these features held back for that. Really looking forward to having them on my existing pair.

I can’t say the sound is excellent but I still love it due to the convenience and advanced features.

 

[CraigJDuffy]

I can’t say the sound is excellent but I still love it due to the convenience and advanced features.

It’s undeniable that they sound excellent in their size class.

 

[x86dude]

Considering how much we shout and swear at Siri now, it’s going to be fun watching people do that with head gestures.

 

[svish]

Head gestures can be really useful in certain situations. Like this new feature!

 

[TonikGR]

Is the difference between this voice isolation and the one here (FaceTime) that it's done on device and compatible with different apps instead of being a FaceTime exclusive?

Or is this an enhancement to an existing feature?

Just a bit lost about why something I use regularly is considered a new feature.

 

[Chazzle]

Voice Isolation is a feature coming to both the original AirPods Pro and the AirPods Pro 2.

Voice Isolation won't be available on devices other than the AirPods Pro 2

So which is it?

 

[Playfoot]

Well, how about fixing the myriad of issues first before introducing more features that will be at best "half baked" at launch.

For example, fix the BT distance. I put my phone in my bag, and connection breaks. Or what about making the supposed physical controls on my USB-C AP Pro actually work. Voice control without either Siri or the web - you know like we have had on BT since 2004. Or at least reasonable audio quality, more codecs. I could continue, but I know Apple won't listen.

 

[charlien]

I thought I read that new firmware was going to make them actual OTC hearing aids. Did that go away?

 

[fwmireault]

I appreciate this but, the first I try to shake my head to decline a call and it answers instead will be the last time I try that feature, and I expect that's how most would feel. Heck, I'm even leery about saying Yes or No when Siri asks if she should answer.

You've tried a feature in beta and are shocked that it didn't work as expected? lol

 

[giebe]

Maybe they should also focus on improving mic quality. Voice messages or calls sometimes sound quite bad and silent.

 

[darngooddesign]

What I want is the ability to never connect to a specific device. Mine keep connecting to my iPad despite it BT streaming to a speaker.

 

[Crowbot]

What I want is the ability to never connect to a specific device. Mine keep connecting to my iPad despite it BT streaming to a speaker.

I have the same issue, but with my Mac. I rarely connect to it but the AirPods prefer to connect to it when I take them out of the case.

 

[jebrennan]

can Apple finally make connection switch less dumb

I certainly hope so. It's unsafe and frustrating when I'm driving that a call or other audio gets routed to my iPad in my bag when my iPhone is mounted on the dashboard. I'm not about to figure out how to transfer the audio back when I'm driving.

 

[Tagbert]

Maybe they should also focus on improving mic quality. Voice messages or calls sometimes sound quite bad and silent.

There seems to be some variability in that. Some people, like you, do report call quality problems, but for most of us, the mic and call audio are excellent. Not sure why our experiences are not the same.

 

[jebrennan]

So no love for those of us with AirPods Max?

To be fair, this article is not about the AirPod Max, though the article does mention one feature coming to the Maxs.

 

[Tagbert]

What I want is the ability to never connect to a specific device. Mine keep connecting to my iPad despite it BT streaming to a speaker.

If you go to Settings on that iPad and choose the APP, one of the options is “Connect to this iPad”. By default it is “automatic” but you could switch it to “when last connected”.

Then you will need to explicitly select the APP from your iPad to connect and they will stay connected but will not automatically connect when connected to other devices.