AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) to Gain Adaptive Audio Feature With iOS 17: How it Works

Conversation Awareness will detect when you are speaking and automatically lower media volume, reduce background sounds, and focus on others' voices.

Written by David Delima, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 6 June 2023 15:44 IST

AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) to Gain Adaptive Audio Feature With iOS 17: How it Works

AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) were launched last September as the successor to the first generation AirPods Pro

Highlights

AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) will gain improved functionality when iOS 17 debuts
The new Adaptive Audio feature can blend ANC and transparency modes
The AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) will also gain a mute gesture for calls

AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) are set to receive a noteworthy software upgrade with the arrival of iOS 17 later this year. At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote event on Monday, Apple announced that its latest truly wireless stereo (TWS) earphones will gain a new feature called Adaptive Audio that can intelligently analyse your environment to adjust transparency mode and active noise cancellation (ANC) settings, without any input. It can blend both modes together based on you interacting with your environment over the course of a day, according to the company.

During the WWDC 2023 keynote event, Ron Huang, Apple VP for Sensing and Connectivity, announced that the second-generation AirPods Pro would gain support for Adaptive Audio, a feature that dynamically blends both ANC and transparency mode. This mixed mode will allow you to shut off background noise, while important sounds like horns and bells will continue to alert you.

Apple says that it will used personalised volume controls based on machine learning trained on your listening preferences over time, in combination with the Adaptive Audio feature that uses both ANC and transparency mode, to offer a better experience while listening to music and podcast episodes.

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Meanwhile, AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) will also be updated with another useful feature when iOS 17 arrives, called Conversation Awareness. When music is playing on the AirPods, the feature will detect when you are speaking and automatically lower the media volume, reduce background sounds, and focus on the voices of people facing you.

Apple says that Adaptive Audio will also block external sounds while speaking on a phone call, allowing you to hear the other participants without distractions. You will also be able to mute yourself with a pinch gesture. Automatically switching an AirPods connection across Apple devices will also become more seamless later this year, according to the company.

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Apple's annual developer conference is just around the corner. From the company's first mixed reality headset to new software updates, we discuss all the things we're looking forward to seeing at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design / Comfort
Audio Quality
Battery Life
Value For Money

Good
Classic design with improved controls
Comfortable fit
State-of-the-art charging case
Very good battery life
Flexible, eager sound quality
Excellent ANC and transparency modes

Bad
Some features only work on Apple devices
Somewhat expensive

Read detailed Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones review

Colour White

Headphone Type In-Ear

Microphone Yes

Connectivity True Wireless Stereo (TWS)

Type Earphones

More Apple Headphones & Headset

Comments

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Further reading: AirPods Pro 2nd Gen, AirPods Pro, Adaptive Audio, WWDC 2023, iOS 17, Apple

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More