A new supply-chain report notes that the Apple Watch Series 10 advanced display technology is expected to be adopted in future iPhones.
Apple’s trickle-down approach means that the Apple Watch always gets the most advanced display tech first before it later rolls out to other devices, and the S10 tech is likely to be later used for iPhones – but not next year …
Apple Watch S10 advanced display tech
On the flagship Apple Watch Series 10, LTPO3 enables Apple to optimize each pixel to emit more light at wider angles and improve battery efficiency. As a result, the display is 40% brighter than on the previous model, theApple WatchSeries 9, which employed LTPO2. The newer technology also allows for a faster refresh rate when the watch is in always-on mode.
From a technical standpoint, LTPO2 uses two switching TFTs (thin-film transistors), while LTPO3 uses a more efficient oxide-based version. It can directly control the current to emit light from the display’s OLED element.
The LTPO3 feature on the Apple Watch Series 10 is reported to enhance battery efficiency; however, it does not appear to extend battery life. The Apple Watch Series 10 offers a battery life of up to 18 hours between charges, similar to other models in the series. Whether LTPO3 will yield similar or improved results on future iPhones remains to be seen.
Likely to be used in future iPhones
The Elec reports that supply-chain observers expect LTPO3 to be used in future iPhones, to further boost battery life.
The core of LTPO3, which was first applied to Apple Watch 10 this year, is that the drive TFT was changed from the existing LTPS to oxide. The drive TFT directly controls the current to emit light on the OLED device.
The industry is paying attention to the possibility that LTPO3 will also be applied to Apple iPhone in the future. Apple first applied LTPO OLED to Apple Watch 4 in 2018 and then applied LTPO OLED to the iPhone 13 Pro lineup in 2021.
The iPhone 16 Pro series uses LTPO2, which isn’t expected to change in the 2025 iPhone 17 Pro series. Therefore, the earliest we may see LTPO3 on iPhones could be with the iPhone 18 in 2026.
Smartphones continue to get faster, and every update comes with a host of new features that promise to make your life easier. But this technology can also sap your battery life, causing you frustration.
Battery life is going to massively differ between people due to what apps are being used – something as simple as browsing the internet can hit the battery more than video consumption, and any kind of gaming will kill the battery even quicker.
If your Android is draining faster than normal, don’t panic.This post is here giving a detailed list of what can be changed to improve battery life.
Software Updates
Keeping up-to-date is always a good idea for features, security fixes and bug fixes, and if you’re having battery problems, it could be because you’re on an older firmware. To see if you have the latest version:
TapSettings > Software update > Check for new update(on some Android devices, this will appear asSettings > System > System update > Check for update).
TapOK.
If your operating system is up to date, “Current software is up to date” will display. If a new update is available, follow the instructions to install.
Settings to Help Battery Life
All of these settings can be found in the Settings app (from app draw or from notifications panel). Disabling these settings helps battery life unless stated otherwise.
Switch to mobile data
Your device periodically checks if Wi-Fi can be found, and if it can’t, mobile data is turned on. With this disabled, mobile data will need to be manually turned on when your Wi-Fi slows/drops.
Wi-Fi power saving mode
Looks for patterns in Wi-Fi usage to learn when it’s best to turn on Wi-Fi power saving. I’d suggest trying this yourself and seeing if it affects your everday usage (as it can in some cases).
Bluetooth
Bluetooth can use a large amount of energy, especially when it’s constantly syncing to devices like watches, earphones and speakers that trade large amounts of data. Disable this if you don’t use Bluetooth devices, and if you do, it isn’t a large enough battery sink to worry about.
NFC
This will check for NFC/contactless payment points whenever the screen is on. Leaving this turned off, and simply turning it on when needed is simple and can save a tiny amount of energy.
5G
5G can be very power-hungry – under the right circumstances it can drain 20% more than other bands. Below is a detailed explanation of 5G and why it can be a battery drain under certain conditions. If you do not use 5G at all, disable it – set your network mode to LTE/3G/2G if possible – this will not change your data speeds and may help with battery life. If you do use 5G, please read below!
There are two deployment types of 5G – Stand Alone (SA) and Non-Stand Alone (NSA). SA deployments handle calls, texts and data single-handedly without needing any other network band active. NSA deployments cannot handle calls, texts and data without another network band being active at the same time. NSA 5G therefore needs to maintain a 4G/LTE/3G connection alongside the 5G connection for higher data speeds. As of writing, there are no large-scale SA deployments. The vast, vast majority of currently avalaible 5G is NSA. In use, this will drain your battery ~20% faster than when just using 4G/LTE/3G.
Connection strength and reliability also play a large role with battery life. As 5G is still an emerging technology, overall coverage is far worse than other bands, which can cause your data connection to constantly switch between multiple bands while also always seeking 4G/LTE/3G for a stronger connection. This can play a large role in 5G killing your battery quicker.
Wireless emergency alerts
These are sent out about severe weather warnings and amber alerts, as well as also being used to send location information to emergency services. This is an important service that should be left on if supported in your area. If it isn’t used in your country, or your country uses SMS instead, you can disable this feature for an imperceptible battery save.
Dark mode
Dark mode changes all Android menus and supporting apps to a dark version – meaning mostly white backgrounds change to black/grey backgrounds. OLED screens turn off pixels completely when black – meaning little to no power draw from these pixels – whereas pixels showing white is a large battery draw over the same period of time.
Additionally:Most browsers support a dark mode independently of OS settings and therefore need changing in their respective settings to be turned on/off. Browser dark modes can save massive amounts of battery at the cost of making most webpages look… strange.
Motion Smoothness and Eye Comfort Shield
Motion smoothness:Most Smartphones supports 120Hz displays which can be a large battery drainer. Although it’s adaptive (meaning it can change based on what is needed – from 120Hz all the way down to 10Hz), it still drains more power than in standard mode (60Hz). I spoke earlier about striking a good balance between battery and features – and in my opinion, 120Hz is well worth the extra battery usage.
Eye comfort shield:Eye Comfort Shield isn’t for everyone as it both limits blue light and uses warmer colours. Setting this can make things look yellow-tinted, but can help with eye fatigue, sleep, and most importantly for this list, battery life.
Power saving mode
As mentioned above, this is the power saving mode that often gets confused with adaptive power saving. This will automatically be turned on and off when adaptive power saving finds it best, or this setting instead can be left on at all times if preferred.
Protect your phone from extreme temperatures
Whether you’re on the go or staying in, make sure to avoid leaving your phone in very hot or cold environments. Being in extreme temperatures can not only drain your phone battery but also cause it to overheat and explode, putting your safety at risk. Try to store your phone in an area between 68° and 86° Fahrenheit.
Make sure your phone has service
While this may seem like a no-brainer, double-check to make sure your phone has service. If your Android is constantly searching for a signal, it can drain your battery quickly.
Check whether your battery is at the end of its life cycle
If none of the above steps works, it could be because your Android phone’s battery is on its way out. Get the best batteries for your business and professional needs here atBatteryone.co. Get in touch with us today for all your battery needs.
Huawei has announced its latest operating system (OS) in China which has been developed independently of Android. Dubbed HarmonyOS Next, it does not leverage Google’s Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code, which is adopted by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for developing Android skins for their devices. Instead, it is built on the Hongmeng kernel and system architecture, as per the company. HarmonyOS Next brings new home and lock screen customisation options, features powered by artificial intelligence (AI), and faster animations and app launch speeds.
HarmonyOS Next is set to power the current and future generations of Huawei devices in China for now, though a global release was confirmed previously. It will work across a broad range of devices ranging from smartphones to wearables, smart home devices and car cockpits.
HarmonyOS Next Features
Huawei’s new OS brings new ways to customise the home and lock screens. It borrows certain design elements from Harmony OS – the company’s Android skin. This includes app arrangements, widgets, a notification bar and the control centre. It features a new physical light engine which is claimed to make the interaction smoother and has a new wallpaper feature which recognises the object in the image and suggests a suitable composition.
A major component of HarmonyOS Next is the inclusion of AI, embedded in its core, from the kernel system to apps. It leverages an AI agent dubbed Celia, built on the company’s proprietary Pangu large language model (LLM). The agent can also take advantage of third-party cloud-based AI models to provide enhanced services. Thus, the OS is capable of providing personalised content and smart services based on different scenarios. It also features a built-in system-level AI assistant that has high-level understanding and interaction capabilities. Its capabilities include on-screen content awareness, contextual understanding, document analysis and summarisation, and a Circle-to-Search-like functionality.
Huawei says HarmonyOS Next has over 15,000 apps and more will arrive soon. It is also claimed to result in 30 percent better system-wide fluency and an increase of up to 1.5GB in system memory. Leveraging the new star shield security architecture, the OS has nuclear-level system-wide security, as per the company.
Whether you’re a remote worker who enjoys a morning coffee on your deck or a business owner running a cafe in a busy college town, getting reliable Wi-Fi outdoors can be challenging. While some users have gotten creative with their weatherproof Wi-Fi solutions, Eero is now launching what may be the answer for many: the Eero Outdoor 7.
Besides killing Wi-Fi dead zones, one of the main reasons to upgrade to one of the best mesh Wi-Fi systems is so that you can extend your home network out into your garage or even into your backyard. However, to achieve something like this, you often have to get crafty with the placement of your mesh router nodes or satellites.
Over the years, eero’s customers have come up with all sorts of different ways from weatherproof boxes to outdoor closets to using a pole and rubber bands to bring their mesh networks outside. But with the eero Outdoor 7, they can easily and securely mount a weatherproof mesh device on stucco, vinyl, wood or fiber cement walls without all that hassle.
Since weather conditions can be quite extreme in different parts of the world, eero tested the eero Outdoor 7 in the heat of Arizona, inside a commercial refrigerator, on beaches and even in a tunnel with 100 MPH winds to simulate a Category 1 or even a Category 2 hurricane. The device itself can operate in temperatures ranging from -40F to 130F.
As with the eero Max 7 and the other devices on our list of the best Wi-Fi 7 routers, the eero Outdoor 7 supports the latest wireless standard. With Wi-Fi 7 on board, you can get multi-gig wireless speeds of up to 2.1 gigabits per second (Gbps). It also acts as a smart home hub so that you can connect Thread, Zigbee and Matter devices.
Even if you have an older eero device like the eero 6+ or the eero Pro 6E, you can still add the eero Outdoor 7 to your mesh network. This is because unlike with mesh routers from Netgear or Google, all eero devices are compatible with each other and can be used together on the same network.
Adding the eero Outdoor 7 to your mesh network
As is often the case with more advanced home networking gear, the eero Outdoor 7 doesn’t have an AC plug. Instead, it uses Power over Ethernet (PoE) for both connectivity and power. If your home is wired for Ethernet and you already have an eero PoE Gateway, you’re good to go and you just need to plug in the eero Outdoor 7 to an exterior Ethernet outlet.
What if your home isn’t wired for Ethernet though? Don’t worry as eero is also releasing a 30W Outdoor PoE+ power adapter. This lets you plug the Outdoor 7 into any outdoor AC outlet and have it wirelessly connect to your eero network.
With an Outdoor 7 installed and set up, you can extend the range of your eero mesh network by up to 15,000 square feet. While most mesh routers have a range of 2,000 to 3,000 square feet per satellite, this is because they’re meant to be used inside where they have to push a strong wireless signal through walls while dealing with interference from the rest of the electronic devices in your home and this is especially true with large appliances like your refrigerator. Since the Outdoor 7 is designed to be used outside though, it has a much wider coverage range.
A single Outdoor 7 is more than enough for most single family homes. However, if you have a larger property like a farm or even a business, you can use multiple Outdoor 7 devices to set up a point-to-point connection with even more range. For instance, eero’s testers used the Outdoor 7 to get Wi-Fi coverage all the way from a beach house to the shoreline.
The eero Outdoor 7 will cost $349 when it launches in the U.S. on November 13. However, there will also be a bundle that incluudes eero’s 30W Outdoor PoE+ adapter for $399. Eero is planning to launch the device in Canada too before making it available in the other 24 countries where it operates at a later date.
Unlike most products, AEDs may be unused for long periods of time before they are needed during an emergency. And, when an AED needs to be used, it is usually during a life-or-death situation that happens suddenly and without warning!
If an AED isn’t properly maintained, the consequences can be tragic. Without receiving ongoing maintenance, AEDs may not be working correctly or their disposable parts (like electrode pads and batteries) may expire. As a result, someone could die when they could have otherwise been saved by the AED.
How Do You Maintain an AED?
One of the biggest challenges with maintaining an AED is that there isn’t a standard maintenance protocol for all devices. Maintenance requirements and processes vary from one AED model to another. Not to mention, the maintenance requirements can often be time-consuming, expensive, and burdensome.
While specific requirements vary by manufacturer, here are some basic procedures for an inspection that can keep your AED ready to respond in a heartbeat.
Daily:Some units have a status indicator light you can check daily as you walk by the AED. Green indicates readiness; red indicates a problem.
Monthly or Annually:
Visually inspect your AED.Look for dirt, damage, or contamination.
Inspect electrodes.All electrodes (sticky pads) should be unexpired and in their original, sealed packages. It’s good to have at least two sets for adults and one set for children.
Test primary battery.Some models feature a “test” button. On models without one, push the “on” button. If the unit prompts you to attach the electrodes, the battery’s working properly.
Test backup battery.Make sure a backup battery is stored with the AED. This is crucial, because defibrillation can deplete the primary battery. Test the secondary battery by removing the primary battery and following the same process as you did with the first one.
Keep it charged.Keeping an AED plugged into the wall when it’s not being used helps keep the primary battery from losing its charge over time. It’s especially important for devices that sit idle for long periods.
Check data card.Some models record information about the cardiac arrest on a removable computer data card. Make sure a functioning card is installed.
Stock secondary supplies.Some items that are helpful to stock in your AED kit include alcohol prep pads, razors, gloves, scissors, and a small towel or cloth. Electrodes require a good connection to function, so you may need to clean the person’s skin or trim thick chest hair.
Qualcomm just announced the upgrade of the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which should run the best Android phones that launch next year. It appears that the new chip will also support major software updates for quite some time.
During the recent Snapdragon Summit, Chris Patrick, Qualcomm’s SVP and GM Mobile Handset, announced to assembled journalists that the new system-on-chip would support up to eight years of Android operating system updates (via Android Authority). According to the report, that support includes the current OS version, which means you can expect seven years of Android upgrades (assuming phone makers release that many).
This means that Android phone manufacturers can support their devices for as long as they care to do so. Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean every handset maker will support older devices for eight or seven years. They must customize their Android skins and features to work with the built-in Qualcomm Android board support package. Several Android device makers, including Sony and Motorola, are known to only offer one Android update and maybe three or four years of security updates.
Existing Qualcomm chips like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 can support up to four operating system upgrades and four years of security patches. This has been a goal of Qualcomm to enable manufacturing partners to keep updating older phones for longer.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is being built with the 3nm process, significantly improving the current 4nm processor used in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Transistors are packed closer together, improving performance and power efficiency. It should be quite a powerful chip.
Additionally, Qualcomm is swapping out the Kryo CPU from previous SoCs for a mobile-optimized Oryon CPU, the same as the Snapdragon X Elite silicon used in Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs released this summer.
Luckily, new phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite are coming soon.These include the Asus ROG Phone 9, which should launch in November. Honor showed off the Magic 7 during the Snapdragon Summit, and that phone will debut on October 30, though it may take a few months before it hits US shores.
Will all Snapdragon 8 Elite phones get 8 years of updates?
Qualcomm has confirmed that the Snapdragon X Elite will get eight years of support, but Android updates are offered by phone manufacturers. While brands like Samsung and Google have already upped their game and are offering seven years of OS updates for the Galaxy S24 and the Pixel 9 series, manufacturers like Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, and others are yet to update their software update policy.
Companies like Motorola, who are often known to delay software updates, also recently announced that the Edge 50 Neo, its newest mid-range device, will get five years of updates. However, given the company’s track record, it will be interesting to see if it follows through on its promise.
Qualcomm debuted its Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset at Snapdragon Summit 2024, and various phone makers have since come forward to confirm that their upcoming flagships will be powered by the all-new (and all-powerful) mobile platform.
Both Xiaomi and Honor joined Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon on stage in Hawaii to announce that the Xiaomi 15 and Honor Magic 7 series, respectively, will launch this month (likely in China) with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.
Asus, too, confirmed that the upcoming Asus ROG Phone 9 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and Samsung mobile chief TM Roh also appeared at Snapdragon Summit to reaffirm his company’s ongoing partnership with Qualcomm. Roh didn’t mention the Samsung Galaxy S25 series by name, but you can bet your house that the best Samsung phones we see in 2025 will come packing the Snapdragon 8 Elite (disclaimer: that’s not serious financial advice).
In other words, it’s highly likely that many of next year’s best Android phones will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series being the first of that number to ship in the US, UK, and Australia . Those aforementioned models from Xiaomi, Honor, and OnePlus will presumably debut in China first, before launching internationally at a later date in 2025.
As for how the Snapdragon 8 Elite stacks up against its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it’s the first Snapdragon mobile chipset to feature Qualcomm’s second-generation Oryon CPU, and has been designed to “handle the complexities of multi-modal AI” much more efficiently.
Any phones equipped with Qualcomm’s latest chipset will deliver faster app launches, more seamless multitasking, and more powerful generative AI capabilities than their Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-equipped predecessors, and mobile gamers, too, will benefit from sharper images, smoother gameplay, and longer gameplay sessions thanks to the 8 Elite’s improved Adreno GPU.
As weather conditions change with the approach of winter, drone enthusiasts are presented with unique challenges when taking to the skies. As winter blankets the landscape with its icy embrace, The cold temperatures, snow, and icy conditions can pose significant risks to the drone and the operator.
Although it’s not advisable to fly in extreme winter weather conditions, we understand many drone pilots won’t run inside at the first sight of snow. When you need to collect critical information, like topographical surveys, waiting for a more placid day might not be an option.
To help you overcome the elements and keep your drone flying in winter, we’ve put together some best practices and tried-and-true advice.
Keeping an eye on your battery life
The greatest inconvenience to flying a drone in winter is the cold temperatures’ effect on your drone’s lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries.
Cold temperatures reduce chemical activity in Lipo batteries used in drones. This causes your drone to lose power faster — 50% faster in some cases. In extreme cold conditions, your drone might even shut down mid-flight.
Here’s what to know if you plan on flying in cold weather:
Turn your drone on and let it warm up for a couple of minutes before launching.
Begin with fully-charged batteries and check your battery life more than usual mid-flight. If you track the rate your drone is using power, you can plan when it’s time to bring the drone back to home base, averting a crash.
Bring extra, fully charged, LiPo batteries if you plan to fly for a while. Taking extra time to swap out a drone battery is preferable to your drone losing power and crashing.
Consider where you store your drone and LiPo batteries when you’re not flying. If the space is significantly cooler during cold weather, move them somewhere warmer.
Keep your extra batteries inside your vehicle while you’re flying. It’s not just your drone that you have to worry about. The batteries in your controller will also use power faster in cold weather. Don’t leave your controller exposed to extreme cold more than necessary.
If you’re working in especially frigid weather conditions, consider investing in a battery warmer.
Monitor Weather Conditions
Stay informed about the weather conditions before heading out to fly. Strong winds, snow, and low temperatures can all impact the stability and performance of your drone.
Flying in windy, blustery weather conditions
Unless you’re a seasoned drone pilot and comfortable flying manually, you should not fly your drone when the surface wind speed is above 15 mph. Flying in anything stronger than that jeopardizes a safe flight, and you risk a crash.
In addition to the cold temperatures, strong winds will negatively affect battery life, sacrificing flight performance. Your drone will have to work harder to fly against the wind to overcome the turbulence. So, even if your drone is able to handle the high winds, you still risk a crash if you let your LiPo battery levels drop too low.
If you must fly in windy conditions, follow this advice to ensure a safe flight:
Fly perpendicular to the wind. If you can’t, fly upwind first and then downwind, back toward you.
Be more attentive to your drone than normal, especially when flying with the wind. If you notice that it’s having a hard time staying level, bring it home immediately.
Be careful during your takeoffs and landings. Though winds are more powerful the higher the altitude, your drone can veer off course more easily when it’s just getting off the ground or decelerating during landing.
Coping with flight performance issues caused condensation
In many areas, cold weather also means increased condensation. Too much moisture in the air can cause a number of issues with your drone’s ability to operate properly. With enough exposure, moisture can ruin the drone’s propeller motors, camera, and internal systems. If you’re using a GPS-enabled drone, condensation can also disrupt those signals, distorting your geotags.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Although it may seem obvious that you should skip flying in the rainy or snowy weather conditions, flying a drone in fog is not a good idea, either. Fog can trigger the drone’s obstacle avoidance sensors, making it think something is in front of it and thereby stopping the flight mid-mission.
Choose a drone with high-visibility lights on the body of the craft, so you can spot it in the sky in extreme weather conditions.
Not only do you need to account for the moisture in the air, you should avoid contact with snow on the ground, too, as moisture can damage your drone’s motors. Use a pad or another elevated surface for launching and landing your drone.
Cold weather
As we have mentioned, when the temperature decreases, the performance of your drone’s batteries deteriorates. This situation will most likely occur when weather conditions approach or drop below 0 °C or 32 °F. Aside from battery life, here are other specifications you should review for your drone to determine if yours is suitable for flying in cold weather:
Maximum wind speed your drone can fly
Range of optimal operating temperatures
Maximum flight altitude
To combat moisture and freezing precipitation, ensure your drone has an IP rating of at least IP43 to fly during winter.
Choose the Right Gear
As the drone operator, you have to remain in the cold temperatures for the entire flight time. Dress accordingly. Bundle up, and choose gloves that won’t prevent you from operating your mobile device or the drone controller. Numb, frostbitten fingers aren’t just uncomfortable — they make operating a touchscreen almost impossible.
Plan your mission before flying your drone
Preparing for your flight before you travel to the site makes good sense. It can help minimize the time you’re out in the cold. Only plan to survey the areas of your worksite where you need new, up-to-date data. And when possible, choose the best camera to minimize your drone payload weight, which will help to maximize your LiPo batteries’ life in cold weather.
Ultimately, if you think the cold or inclement weather will be too much to handle — move your flight to another day. Keep up with the seven-day forecast so you can reschedule your flight as soon as you know you’ll be facing poor weather conditions.
Getting your hand son the brand-new DJI Air 3S might be trickier than anticipated as the company is having issues importing its latest drone to the US. For the time being, it might only be possible to purchase the drone from DJI.com directly, not through any third-party stores.
This isn’t anything to do with the ban bill which passed in the US House of Representatives earlier this year. Instead, DJI claims it’s because the Department of Homeland Security incorrectly believes the drones were produced in forced labor camps and is blocking the drones using the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
In a letter it sent to distributors – which has been shared on social media – DJI refutes these accusations stating “DJI strongly affirms that no forced labor is involved at any stage of our manufacturing process.
“Our company does not and has never operated manufacturing facilities in the Xinjiang province of China, nor do we obtain any materials from that region. All of our manufacturing is based in Shenzhen, where our company is headquartered, or Malaysia.”
Following up with a post on its official blog DJI says it has all of the evidence it needs to clean up this “misunderstanding” and prove it doesn’t make its drones in the Xinjiang region of China.
Until the issue is resolved however it’ll be harder for US businesses to get their hands on DJI’s enterprise and agricultural drones, as well as regular folks from snagging the DJI Air 3S – at least from retailers other than DJI itself.
The first ban of many?
Even if this existing issue is resolved, DJI’s future in the US will remain uncertain.
The wider US import ban is still looming, and while it has yet to pass through the Senate it feels like it may be a matter of when, and not if, unless there’s a major attitude shift in the US government.
Though the ban looks set to only affect imports as it is currently written, so if a DJI drone catches your eye, you should still consider grabbing it – as already-approved models won’t be permanently grounded even if a ban does pass.
So take this DJI Air 3S issue as a taste of what’s unfortunately likely to come in the coming months and years from the world’s best drone manufacturer.
Apple announced a trio of major new hearing health features for the AirPods Pro 2 in September, including clinical-grade hearing aid functionality, a hearing test, and more robust hearing protection. All three will roll out next week with the release of iOS 18.1, and they could mark a watershed moment for hearing health awareness. Apple is about to instantly turn the world’s most popular earbuds into an over-the-counter hearing aid.
To use the new hearing health features, you need to connect your AirPods Pro 2 to an iPhone running iOS 18.1, or an iPad with iPadOS 18.1. From there, if you tap into the AirPods Pro section, you’ll see an option to take a hearing test, which should be your first stop. Apple’s hearing test mimics the hearing tests you might have had conducted at a doctor’s office or by an audiologist, and it’s meant to determine whether you have any hearing loss. If you do have hearing loss, the test determines which frequencies you’re struggling with.
With the AirPods in your ears, you can tap “Get Started” to take the hearing test. The test takes approximately five minutes, starting first with the left ear and then moving on to the right ear. You’ll hear a series of tones at different frequencies and sound levels, and the idea is to tap the iPhone’s screen whenever you hear a sound. The tones that you hear test for four frequencies, including 500Hz, 1kHz, 2kHz, and 4kHz.
Apple puts your iPhone in Do Not Disturb mode for the test, and also uses your AirPods to make sure it’s quiet enough for the test to be conducted. The test is designed for adults that are 18 years or older, and it shouldn’t be done when you have allergies, a cold, an ear infection, or a sinus issue, which can affect the results. Apple also recommends waiting to take the test at least 24 hours after you’ve been exposed to loud noise like a concert or construction, as this can also impact the hearing test.
After going through the hearing test steps, you’ll get your Hearing Test results, with separate decibel levels detected for each ear. If you get a 5 dBHL reading for each ear, for example, you have little to no hearing loss and will not need adjustments to your AirPods.
Apple says that results up to 25 dBHL indicate little to no hearing loss. 26 to 40 dBHL is a sign of mild hearing loss, while results of 41 to 60 dBHL suggest moderate hearing loss. 61 to 80 dBHL is severe hearing loss, and a result above 80 dBHL is considered profound hearing loss.
If your test shows mild to moderate hearing loss, you’ll have the option to turn on the Hearing Aid feature of the AirPods Pro. With this enabled, the AirPods Pro can use the data from your test to boost the frequencies that you have trouble hearing, making it easier to hear voices and other sounds around you.
Note that if your test showed no hearing loss, Apple will not recommend changes to your AirPods tuning, and there will not be an option to turn on the Hearing Aid feature.
To see even more information from your Hearing Test, you can go to the Hearing section of the Health app and tap into the test to see a graph of which frequencies you had the most trouble with.
Along with Hearing Assistance, the AirPods Pro 2 also offer Hearing Protection as part of Apple’s Hearing Health feature set. This includes a Loud Sound Reduction option that is enabled automatically. Loud Sound Reduction listens for loud noises around you in Transparency and Adaptive Modes, and reduces the level of the noise to prevent hearing loss.
In the Health app under the Environmental Sound Reduction section, you can see the amount of sound reduction you’ve gotten from your AirPods Pro from hour to hour.
If you have the iOS 18.1 developer or public beta and AirPods Pro 2, you can try out the new hearing test and hearing aid feature right now. Otherwise, this functionality is set to become available to the public when iOS 18.1 launches next week.
Being able to use Apple’s $250 earbuds as a hearing aid is a huge deal for those who can benefit from this capability. That’s substantially less expensive than over-the-counter hearing aids from Jabra, Sony, and other brands. But the AirPods won’t be right for everyone. People with more severe hearing loss will still need to seek out other solutions (including those pricier products). And the main tradeoff with the AirPods Pro 2 is battery life: they can last for around six hours with the hearing aid engaged, which doesn’t match what you’ll get from many OTC and prescription hearing aids.
But this is a big milestone — and it seems inevitable that Samsung, Google, and other tech heavyweights will follow Apple’s lead fairly quickly.We spent a long time bemoaning the loss of the headphone jack. With advancements like this, and earbuds helping to improve so many people’s quality of life, we’re finally starting to see a worthwhile payoff.
