Apple officially released iOS 17, which means your iPhone is chock full of new features and changes to explore. But it isn’t just your iPhone that will benefit when you install the new update. You’ll notice more than a few new features when you pop your AirPods in for the first time post-iOS 17 upgrade, especially if you have the second-generation AirPods Pro.
You can finally mute and unmute yourself
The days of needing to use your iPhone to hit the mute button when you walk through a noisy place while on a call are behind us. (AirPods are supposed to make phone calls easier without the intervention of your iPhone, after all.) In iOS 17, you can now press the stem of your AirPods (or the Digital Crown on the AirPods Max) to mute or unmute yourself quickly. Press twice to end the call. You can tweak these defaults in your AirPods’ settings.
Faster switching
The ability to seamlessly switch between your Apple devices is one of the best features of AirPods. With iOS 17, your AirPods move even faster between devices. Moving a call or audio from your Mac to the iPhone or the other way around will also be more reliable, according to Apple. This isn’t a new feature necessarily, but the improved speed and reliability are nice.
Three new features for AirPods Pro (2nd Gen)
If you have the second-generation AirPods Pro, you get three interesting new features with iOS 17. One is Adaptive Audio, a new mode that blends Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode to deliver the ideal level of noise reduction for your environment. Your AirPods Pro will bump up the noise cancellation at concerts and reduce it when you’re taking a walk in a quiet park, without needing you to do anything to intervene.
Conversation Awareness is another useful feature. When you start speaking while wearing the AirPods Pro (2nd Gen), it automatically lowers the volume on calls or music, and enhances the voices of those you’re speaking with. Background noise is also reduced thanks to this feature.
Finally, there’s Personalized Volume. Apple says AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) will use machine learning to understand your listening preferences and “fine-tune the media experience.” While they don’t go into more detail than that, it’s safe to assume your AirPods will adjust their volume based on your previous settings.
Dark mode support
When you try to connect your AirPods to an Apple device, or when you open the AirPods case near your iPhone, you’ll see a pop-up that either displays the steps to connect the AirPods, or the battery levels of the device. On iOS 16 and earlier, this pop-up appears in light mode regardless of your preferences. With iOS 17, it respects systemwide settings. If you use dark mode on your iPhone, this pop up shows up dark as well. It’s a small thing, but a nice change.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.