With iOS 18: AirPods Pro 2 users get four new functions
Apple's ANC earbuds may have been on the market for several years, but thanks to new software they are not yet scrap iron. This comes with iOS 18.
Apple is upgrading the AirPods Pro 2 with new firmware.
(Image: Apple)
Owners of the AirPods Pro 2, which first came onto the market two years ago and were retrofitted with USB-C a year ago, can look forward to a major firmware update this month: together with iOS 18, there is also new internal software for the earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). In addition to minor improvements, – has announced four key functions –. Some of these will also be available for other Apple audio devices.
Lower latency for better gaming
Apple is planning to introduce lower audio latency with the new AirPods firmware. As part of the new "Game Mode", in which iPhones can be fully adapted to high-end games, audio should reach the wireless earbuds more quickly. It remains to be seen how well this will work in practice – Professionals have always relied on wired solutions here, which is also the better solution in purely physical terms. At the same time, voice chats in games are set to improve with support for 16 bit at 48 kHz and dynamic head tracking.
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Adaptation of spatial audio for gaming
In future, games on the iPhone will be able to use personalized 3D-Audio. This means that the earbuds can adapt spatial sound to the respective listener not only for films and music, but also for games. To do this, however, developers must integrate an API provided by Apple. Commendable: Personalized spatial audio for gaming also works on AirPods Max and third-generation AirPods.
The head nodder (and head shaker) is coming
With iOS 18 and the new AirPods firmware, Apple is also introducing a new gesture recognition feature in the second-generation AirPods Pro. This means you can accept phone calls with a simple nod of the head or reject them by shaking your head – Siri no longer needs to be addressed directly. The procedure can also be used to end alarms and acknowledge Siri commands.
Improved voice isolation for AirPods Pro 2
Apple also promises improved isolation of voice signals (Voice Isolation) directly on the AirPods Pro 2, which helps to filter out annoying background noise so that users can be better understood in phone calls and audio chats. More modern computational audio algorithms are used for this.
All four updates can be expected with the release of iOS 18, which will probably be released in a few weeks. As usual, the process of installing new AirPods firmware is somewhat complicated. It should actually come to the devices automatically, but you can also try playing some music from your iPhone (preferably via Apple Music) and then placing the earbuds in the charging cradle connected to the power supply. Unfortunately, there is no specific way to force the plugs to update.
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