Apple has just started rolling out new hearing-focused features for the AirPods Pro 2, and Tim Cook couldn’t be more excited. “Hearing is an important part of our health,” he said in today’s announcement. “Our new end-to-end hearing health experience with AirPods Pro 2 lets people improve, protect, and better understand their hearing. We’re thrilled that these new features are launching today and will make a real impact on people’s lives “

So, what’s in this update? For starters, the AirPods Pro 2 now come with a built-in hearing test that’s quick and easy to use, straight from your iPhone or iPad. It is designed to give users a personalized hearing profile using a reliable diagnostic methodology, meaning it is not just a quick test. The results are saved in Apple’s Health app, and you can even share them with your doctor, making this more than just a convenience — it’s a real health tool.

But here’s where it gets interesting: Apple has added a hearing aid mode to the AirPods Pro 2. This lets people with mild to moderate hearing loss use their AirPods as a personalized hearing aid. After taking a hearing test, AirPods automatically adjust to boost the sounds around you – so conversations or background sounds are clearer. This feature isn’t just for calls; This will work on any audio you listen to, such as music, videos and games, with you can make adjustments through an audiologist if necessary.

Another nice feature is Loud Sound Reduction, which helps reduce sudden, loud sounds that you might want to avoid. Let’s say you’re on a busy road or in a loud environment – ​​AirPods are smart enough to filter out unexpected bursts of sound. This feature runs in the background when you’re using Transparency or Adaptive Audio modes, so you don’t need to do anything to activate it.

For music lovers and those who take a lot of calls, Apple has also added Media Assist, which can boost certain parts of speech during a call or highlight certain instruments in a song. This can be especially useful if you want to capture every word or enjoy the details of your music.

Apple’s privacy promise is still here. All listening data remains secure on your device, and Apple’s private cloud compute handles any processing, keeping your information secure. These new hearing devices are already available in more than 100 regions around the world, and Apple is planning more updates later this year. With these features, Apple is taking a big step toward making hearing aids accessible and easy to use from the devices you already own.