New AirPods Pro hearing health features launching next week, here’s a first look [Video]

In September, Apple announced major new hearing health features for AirPods Pro 2 focused on providing an end-to-end experience for prevention, awareness, and assistance.

The new hearing test, hearing aid, and upgraded hearing protection features are all set to launch next week with iOS 18.1. Here’s a closer look at what to expect.

The first aspect is a new active Hearing Protection feature. According to Apple, this feature is designed to help users avoid exposure to loud environmental noise while still “preserving the sound signature of what they’re listening to.”

The Verge’s Chris Welch spent some time with the new AirPods Pro hearing features, including the hearing protection options:

With iOS 18.1 and the soon-to-be-released AirPods firmware update, the AirPods Pro 2 will offer hearing protection at all times across noise cancellation, transparency, and adaptive audio modes. There’s no “concert mode” or a specific setting to toggle. You can think of this as an expansion of the loud sound reduction option …