Apple announced that their latest AirPods Pro earbuds will have built-in hearing aids, aimed at helping over 1 billion people globally with mild to moderate hearing loss. Users can take a five-minute hearing test on their iPhones or iPads running iOS 18, and their AirPods will then make personalized adjustments to allow them to hear their surroundings more clearly in real-time. This feature will help users engage in conversations and stay connected to their environment. The hearing profile created during the test will also inform how the AirPods adjust sounds during phone calls, music, and other media. Additionally, the AirPods Pro will include a passive noise-reduction feature that dampens ambient loud noises while maintaining audio quality.
Apple stated that according to the World Health Organization, around 1.5 billion people globally have hearing loss. Apple’s senior director of global accessibility policy and initiatives, Sarah Herrlinger, emphasized that these new features on the AirPods Pro will raise awareness about hearing health and provide customizable tools to help users stay connected. Apple also announced new Apple Watch features that can detect sleep apnea. The device will use a “Breathing Disturbances” metric to trigger sleep apnea notifications, pending approval from global health authorities including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Both the AirPods Pro hearing aid feature and the Apple Watch sleep apnea detection are part of Apple’s ongoing efforts to design products that cater to a wide range of users with different abilities.
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