Five New AirPods Pro 2 Features (and How to Upgrade Them)
iOS 18 is almost here : When you update your iPhone next week, you’ll get access to a full Home screen customization , improved text messaging with friends on Android, and a new password manager app . ( Apple Intelligence ships with iOS 18.1.)
If you have a pair of AirPods Pro 2, you’ll also get five new features when you update to iOS 18. The thing is, your AirPods also need to be updated to try them out. Apple released an update to AirPods this week , which means if you’ve been using iOS 18 before, you can try out these new changes right now.
New features of AirPods Pro 2
You’ve been able to control Siri with your voice for a decade now, but with a firmware update, you’ll also be able to control Siri with your head movements. Nodding your head means a positive command, and shaking your head means a negative command. For example, you can shake your head from side to side to reject an incoming call, or nod your head to confirm that you want to send a message you dictated to Siri. If I had a pair of AirPods Pro 2, I’d be delighted with this feature: it would be convenient to interact with Siri publicly, without having to start a conversation with myself out of the blue.
These AirPods also have a new voice isolation feature that should help people hear you on the other end of a phone call. iOS and macOS already have voice isolation built-in for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but now the feature extends to AirPods Pro 2 when you answer a call while wearing them. This will also work with both pairs of AirPods 4 .
The remaining three features are dedicated to games: developers can now take advantage of the new API to add personalized spatial audio to their games. The idea is that playing these games with AirPods Pro 2 will provide the “most immersive audio experience.” I don’t know all of this, but if games sound more realistic when you wear headphones, I’m all for it. This feature will also work with AirPods 3 and later, all AirPods Pro models, and AirPods Max.
Additionally, Apple has reduced the latency (or latency) for high-quality audio (now up to 16-bit at 48 kHz) when streaming or chatting with friends. The game’s audio is also upscaled to 16-bit at 48 kHz during live streams and conversations with friends.
As someone who owns a pair of AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, it’s annoying that many of these features are exclusive to the latest AirPods. I’m unlikely to take advantage of personalized spatial audio in iOS games, but nod my head at Siri? Voice isolation? That would be great.
How to update AirPods firmware
To try these features today, you’ll need to be running iOS 18 or macOS Sequoia. These updates are due to release on Monday, September 16th, so you won’t have to wait long. However, Apple has allocated a release candidate (RC) for both of these OSs: although technically it is beta software, the RC is intended to be the final build of the OS, barring any unforeseen issues. Thus, the risk of installing RC on your devices is much lower than installing a regular beta version. If you want to try these features early, you can install RC on your compatible iPhone and/or Mac today.
From here, you’ll need to update your AirPods Pro 2. This is easier said than done. For some reason, Apple doesn’t allow users to manually update the AirPods firmware. Unlike other software updates, this one happens on its own. This is usually fine for small updates, but when you want to try out new features, not being able to update your AirPods yourself is weird.
There are plenty of tricks online to force a firmware update, but generally your AirPods will update their firmware while they’re stored in the case and connected to your Apple device. So, insert the headphones into the case, move them to the iPhone, and open and close the cover. You can check if your AirPods are up to date by going to Settings, tapping on AirPods and scrolling down to Version in the About section. The new firmware version is 7A294 , from 6F8.
If you’re not sure what type of AirPods you have, check the model number in the ABOUT section and match it with the list onthis Apple support page . If you have a pair of AirPods Pro 2, these will be model numbers A2931, A2699, A2698, A3047, A3048, or A3049. Alternatively, just look at your case: a pair of second-generation AirPods Pro will have a lanyard loop on the side and a speaker at the bottom, and may also have a USB-C port. The first generation case will have a Lightning port, but there will be no speaker or lanyard loop.