Apple is adding adaptive audio to AirPods Pro

CUPERTINO, Calif.--At WWDC 2023 today, Apple announced that it will be adding adaptive audio, combining active noise cancellation and transparency modes based on the noises in the wearer's environment, to the second-generation AirPods Pro. This and a couple of other machine learning-based features are coming this fall via a software update.Apple touted the upcoming Adaptive Audio update as a way to use AirPods Pro with fewer distractions. It uses machine learning so it can detect noises you want to block out, like cars honking, but not the ones you want to hear, like someone speaking to you.Apple will also add what it's calling Personalized Volume, which allows AirPods Pro to make automatic volume adjustments based on how you use the device and "environmental conditions," Apple said.The second-gen AirPods Pro will also soon be able to detect when you have started speaking and automatically reduce the earbuds' volume while boosting the volume of background noise and increasing the volume of the voice of the person in front of you. Competitors' products have had similar functionality for some time.

Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation

$249 at Apple $200 at Best Buy $200 at Amazon Apple said AirPods will also become better at automatically switching their source device, claiming it will now be faster than ever to move from a Mac to an iPhone with the AirPods.Starting this fall, people using the first- and second-gen AirPods Pro, the third-gen AirPods, and the AirPods Max will be able to mute and unmute themselves by pressing the earbuds' stem or, in the case of the AirPods max, the so-called Digital Crown (on the left earcup).[photo1]Apple also announced some AirPlay updates. The company said on-device intelligence will soon be able to learn user preferences. And in another seemingly obvious feature, Apple is also adding the ability to start an AirPlay session, like on a HomePod, via Siri. The company will also bring AirPlay to some hotels later this year (it didn't specify when or where). Guests will be able to scan a QR code in their hotel room that will bring up AirPlay on the room's TV.