Apple on Monday shared another glimpse at the new Hearing Health features coming to AirPods Pro 2 with iOS 18.1 next week. However, even if you have compatible hardware running the latest software, these new features won’t be available worldwide.
Hearing Health features for AirPods Pro 2 will have limited availability
Apple announced the AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid feature at its September iPhone event. Impressively, the new capabilities take hearing protection further and include a hearing test for user awareness and clinical-grade hearing assistance. AirPods will then use the results to fine-tune the sound and turn the earbuds into hearing aids.
The new Hearing Health features are only compatible with the second-generation AirPods Pro. However, there is another requirement between the lines. According to a footnote on Apple’s website, the new features will only be available to users located in the US and Canada.
In other words, even if you have a pair of AirPods Pro 2 and an iPhone or iPad running iOS 18.1, you won’t be able to use the new Hearing Health features outside these countries – at least for now. Most likely, as Apple promotes these new options as health features, they need to be tested and approved by local regulators.
In the US, AirPods Pro 2 have received FDA authorization to be promoted as “clinical grade” hearing aids. Apple is probably waiting for approval from more health regulators around the world to expand Hearing Health capabilities to more countries.
If you live in the US and Canada, all you need to do is update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 18.1 and then look for the Hearing Health options in the AirPods settings. It’s worth noting that the new features work with both the Lightning and USB-C versions of the AirPods Pro 2.
iOS 18.1 will be released to the public next week. An RC (Release Candidate) build is now available for developers and public beta testers.
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