On Tuesday 10th September 2024, Apple announced a significant update to the incredibly popular AirPods Pro 2, which transforms Apple’s premium noise cancelling earbuds into a clinical-grade Hearing Aid.
This is an inflection point – the convergence of two massive industries. With a software update coming in late 2024, AirPods Pro 2 will feature advanced hearing health capabilities when paired with an iPhone running iOS 18. These enhancements are poised to make waves in the hearing industry, especially right here in New Zealand. Apple has confirmed to PB Tech that NZ is a tier one launch market for the Hearing Aid feature, meaning it will be available the same day as the USA and other major global markets, so we can’t wait to get AirPods Pro 2 into even more Kiwis’ hands – and ears.
True Wireless earbuds have come a long way since the original AirPods took the world by storm in 2016. With powerful active noise cancellation, natural ambient sound passthrough (called transparency mode), ultra-lightweight comfort-fit designs, and convenient pocketable charging cases, these headphones have rapidly advanced, and long since eclipsed traditional hearing aids in ease of use.
The stigma around hearing aids is a familiar story to many folks. You may already know someone who’s just a little too stubborn to accept that their hearing isn’t as good as it used to be. That person may have been kindly nudged by their partner, their kids, or even their grandchildren to get this checked. That person may have spent upwards of $5,000 on traditional hearing aids, which now sit in a drawer because they can be uncomfortable and hard to use. That person, if they have mild to medium hearing loss, could soon use AirPods Pro 2 instead, at a fraction of the cost.
Three new components transform AirPods Pro: Hearing Test, Hearing Aid capability, and Loud Sound Reduction. Here's what you need to know.
An all-in-one hearing health experience – Starting with a hearing test.
Hearing Test is a fast, easy, and convenient way to get scientifically validated results at home, on your own time. The powerful active noise cancellation and in-ear seal on AirPods Pro 2 can simulate the conditions needed to provide insight into your hearing, via iOS 18’s Settings or Health app. After checking fit and background noise, a series of audiometric tones (high and low beeps you can hear – or not) will play, which you can respond to by tapping the screen. With helpful guidance from animations and progress indicators, the whole test will only take around five minutes. Apple says this hearing test was developed with over 150,000 real-world hearing measurements, known as audiograms, and millions of simulations, resulting in an accurate, fast, and easy experience.
Get immediate results once the test is complete, with a personalised profile, and easy-to-understand insights about your hearing. Results can even be downloaded and shared with your doctor or hearing professional. We all naturally lose some hearing over time, especially in the higher frequencies. If you have little or no hearing loss, but could still benefit from boosting certain frequencies, audio can be enhanced for media and calls. If you have mild to moderate hearing loss, you’ll get a prompt to set up the Hearing Aid feature.
Naturally, as you’d expect from Apple, your Hearing Test data is kept private and secure. You can re-take or adjust the test at any time, tracking and measuring your hearing health as it evolves.
Hearing Aids – Now more accessible than ever
If the Hearing Test determines you have mild to moderate hearing loss, you’ll get a prompt to go through the quick setup, enable the Hearing Aid feature, and start hearing more clearly straight away. Settings can be customised to your specific needs, with adjustable balance, amplification, and tone available at any time.
Hearing Aid boosts frequencies so sounds and voices around you are clearer, as well as media like music, videos, and phone calls. With the power of Apple’s H2 chip and computational audio, it uses machine learning to adjust throughout your day. Of course, you don’t have to think about any of this – as they famously say, it just works.
Loud noises – Now reduced in real time
In our busy and loud world, Apple says 1 in 3 people experience excessive exposure to noise regularly. With Loud Sound Reduction, you can turn the volume on the world down. This feature leverages the H2 chip inside AirPods Pro 2 to reduce loud sounds up to 48,000 times per second. At a concert or festival, you don’t want to miss the nuance in your favourite artist’s performance – here, a dynamic range compressor reduces the volume to a safe level and keeps the music sounding natural. Everything you want to hear, nothing you don’t.
All the beloved features of AirPods Pro – now available in a Hearing Aid
AirPods Pro 2 are already New Zealand’s most popular premium true wireless earbuds, so you get all the cutting-edge features and seamless ecosystem integration alongside hearing health – something no traditional hearing aid can offer.
- Pro-level Active Noise Cancellation, up to 2x more powerful than AirPods Pro 1st Generation or the new AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
- Adaptive Audio mode smartly adjusts noise control and transparency mode to your environment
- Adaptive EQ automatically tweaks the sound you hear based on the way AirPods fit in your ears, and the Apple device you’re listening from – be it iPhone or Apple TV
- Conversation Boost makes voices from people in front of you easier to hear, ideal for a crowded coffee shop or restaurant
- Works seamlessly across the Apple ecosystem – your AirPods Pro 2 conveniently sync to all your Apple devices when you pair them once – they’re equally at home with iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch as they are with iPhone. And your AirPods switch between them automatically, for example, when a phone call comes in.
Sounds great – How do I get it?
You’ll need an iPhone or iPad capable of running the latest iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 software when it becomes available later in 2024, and a set of AirPods Pro 2. You may already have a set – this software upgrade is coming to 2022’s AirPods Pro 2nd Generation with Lightning charging case, as well as 2023’s AirPods Pro 2nd Generation with USB-C charging case.
When can I get it?
Apple says we can expect the hearing health features to become available by late 2024.
Get ready right now - AirPods Pro 2 are available at PB Tech stores nationwide, at pbtech.co.nz, and tax free via themall.co.nz or PB Tech Auckland International Airport.
Where can I learn more about this?
Check out Apple’s page on hearing health here.
A game-changer for hearing health
At $479 NZD (RRP inclusive), AirPods Pro 2 are now the most cost-effective way to improve your hearing. Cost is the biggest barrier to accessibility technology – reducing this barrier is a core part of what we do here at PB Tech. Removing social stigma while enhancing ease-of-use makes this even more compelling.
This is a big leap forward for access to hearing technology in New Zealand, and it’s only just beginning. We can’t wait to see what comes next.
