TechAudioHeadphonesEarbudsApple’s next AirPods could help your hearingThe lines between earbuds and hearing aids are getting increasingly blurredWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechAudioHeadphonesEarbudsApple’s next AirPods could help your hearingThe lines between earbuds and hearing aids are getting increasingly blurredWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The lines between earbuds and hearing aids are getting increasingly blurred
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Apple)
(Image credit: Apple)
Could the hearing aids of the future have anApplelogo on them? We’ve already seen the introduction of features such as Live Listen and Conversation Boost in theAirPods Pro 2, and the next few generations of Apple’sbest true wireless earbudscould have even more hearing assistance.
That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who predicts that Apple will be bringing significant hearing health features toAirPodsin the next year or two. Writing in his Power On email newsletter, he says that Apple will be “upgrading the AirPods to become a health tool”.
Why hearing AirPods are an excellent idea
Many of Apple’s most profitable customers are people like me: ageing music fans and long-term Apple users who turned theiriPodsup far too loud in the aughts and who are now discovering the damage we’ve done to our ears.
I know in my own case that as much as I love myBose QuietComfort Earbuds 2, redesigned AirPods Pro that could actually help me hear my pals in the pub would be awfully tempting.
Hearing health is a largely untapped market for tech firms just now: for many years the regulated (and in my opinion, obscenely overpriced) hearing aid market and the unregulated world of headphones didn’t overlap. But regulations are changing in the US, one of the key markets, and as a result we’restarting to see firms such as Sony and Bose take an interest. After all, the tech in noise-cancelling and transparency modes can be just as useful for helping ageing head-bangers like me deal with hearing loss as it is for keeping things quiet on your commute.
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I think Gurman’s right on this one: it’s not a case of if AirPods will have more hearing-health features; it’s a case of when Apple will add them.
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