Apple’s AirPods Pro could gain a new accessibility feature attributed to hearing health, according to Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman.
In his latest report, Gurman suggests that the new hearing feature for the AirPod Pro may be unveiled alongside the iOS 18 at this year’s WWDC keynote in June.
He says that Apple will focus on software improvements instead of hardware upgrades this year, with a spotlight on the new health feature, which is said to be a hearing aid mode.
The possibility that Apple will incorporate hearing health features on future AirPods has been doing the rounds for some time. The company has been offering accessibility features like Live Listen on its AirPods since 2018 and Conversation Boost capability on the AirPods Pro since 2021.
Live Listen, introduced with iOS 12, converts an iPhone into a microphone, and streams real-time audio directly to AirPods, while Conversation Boost amplifies sounds from speakers directly in front of you.
Gurman reported that future AirPods may get a hearing test feature that will enable users to detect any hearing issues, and that it could play different sounds and tones to determine a user’s hearing capacity.
In 2022 the FDA’s updated its guidelines facilitating over-the-counter sales of certain hearing aids without any medical examination or prescriptions.
