Hear better with AirPods
Apple’s headphones have lots of useful accessibility features to explore
REQUIRES
iPhone or iPad; AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max
YOU WILL LEARN
How to use your AirPods as hearing aids
IT WILL TAKE
30 minutes WITH THE FEATURE SWITCHED ON, YOU CAN USE YOUR iPHONE’S MICROPHONE AS YOUR “EARS”
APPLE’S AIRPODS, WHICH now includes three devices — AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max — are about much more than listening to music, podcasts, and telephone calls. Thanks to some thoughtful additions and modifications, you can use your AirPods as a device to allow you to more easily hear what’s being said on the other side of a room, keep an eye on decibel levels, and adjust the tone of the audio they reproduce to suit your ears, using Headphone Accommodations. These features sit alongside the accessibility features Apple has been adding to iOS for several years. Others that work in conjunction with AirPods include Voice Control, VoiceOver, Spoken Content, Audio Descriptions, and Sound Recognition, which alerts you when the microphone detects specific sounds you specify.
Of these, it’s the hearing aid feature, known as Live Listen, that’s most impressive. It works in conjunction with your iPhone. When the feature is switched on, you can place your iPhone anywhere within Bluetooth distance of where you are positioned and use its microphone as your “ears.” The audio picked up by the iPhone is beamed directly to your AirPods. You will need to have AirPods connected and in your ears. Note that Transparency mode is only available on AirPods that support noise cancelling, currently the Pro and Max. KENNY HEMPHILL