5 hours Ago By David Snelling
Owners of Apple's most premium earbuds are finally getting a very useful free upgrade today. The latest AirPods Pro 2 are receiving a UK update that brings the much-anticipated Hearing Aid feature to these hugely popular devices. Once installed, it will transform the iconic white buds into a clinical-grade hearing device.
The Hearing Aid on AirPods then boosts the audio for those with mild to moderate hearing loss and has been created to help people stay more connected with friends and family along with the sounds around them. It's even possible to fine-tune the settings with a unique profile created and then automatically applied to music, movies, games, and phone calls across devices. This functionality has been available in the US since last year and has already helped to change lives.
"We have received a large amount of feedback from customers," explained Sumbul Desai, M.D., Apple’s vice president of Health.
"'I could hear my loved one really clearly', like those types of things. "There was one where someone had a daughter who sang and it was the first time he really ever had a chance to be able to hear the voice and didn't realise that he was missing out on that. "The letters that come through are really impactful.
" This is an important update from Apple, as mild to moderate hearing loss affects millions of people in the UK and many have no idea of the impact it having. Some research has even shown that untreated hearing loss can affect a person’s overall health and wellbeing. To help users see just how good or bad their hearing is, Apple recently launched its Hearing Test feature on AirPods Pro 2 in the UK as well.
This means owners can take a quick five-minute test using an iPhone, with the results instantly shown on the screen. If there's an issue, Hearing Aid can then be switched on. "I think it all ties to the fact that hearing is such a connection to your life and it's a human connection," Desai added.
"Our hope is that by making a hearing test more accessible at home, more people are learning about the health they need and get it sooner. You can simply turn on the Hearing Aid for AirPods with the tap of the button." Of course, some might be wondering if an AirPod Pro can really match the technology of a traditional - and often very expensive - hearing aid.
Like all medical devices, this update has had to gain approval from medical experts, and Apple is proud of the "gold standard" it's achieved. "When we go through regulatory approval, we actually have to show concordance with tradition as being the gold standard. "And our performance is really on par.
In order to gain acceptance and approval we have to show that this is truly improving hearing to the levels that is acceptable and expected for a hearing aid and we've been able to do that." Owners of AirPods Pro 2 should start receiving the Hearing Aid update this week, but don't expect it on any of Apple's other buds anytime soon. The technology and chips inside these premium gadgets have made the update possible, and for now, there are no plans to launch it on other buds.
"It is really in the technology capability of the AirPods Pro 2 and some of the chip redesigns that happened. And so that processing capability really allowed us to hit the levels for it to be equal and comparable to traditional hearing aids." Apple has been leading the way in terms of health.
Its Apple Watch offers a vast array of insights into fitness, heart health, and wellbeing, and the firm recently launched new Beats earbuds that now feature heart rate tracking. The fact that so many of us already own AirPods and the ease of taking a hearing test at home using these devices could be a game changer and make a real difference to those who had no idea their hearing was "I think so many people are going to find out so much about their hearing," said Desai. "It's going to be amazing when it lands here.
Yeah, we're really excited to bring it into the UK. ".
