- AirPods Pro 2’s useful headphone mode coming to the UK soon
- The feature is coming “within weeks” due to a change in UK regulations.
- The mode is only available on AirPods Pro 2 and not on other AirPods
Apple’s impressive headphone mode for the AirPods Pro 2 is coming to the UK, following its launch in the US (and the UAE more recently). As reported by The Telegraph, this is due to a change in UK regulations, with the paper saying Apple confirmed the software “will be introduced within weeks”.
Apple’s hearing test, to determine if you may have some hearing loss, is now available in the UK, but the mode that takes the data of your hearing loss and allows the use of AirPods Pro 2 as full headphones to compensate for it. (as long as you have mild to moderate hearing loss) is not available at this time.
Speaking about the change in regulation that allows AirPods Pro 2 to be used in this way, UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The innovative new hearing aids have the potential to help tens of thousands of people. with hearing loss, helping them live their own lives. life to the fullest. The action we are taking will give the green light for companies to start selling these products to patients across the UK.
“This is part of the work this Government is carrying out in partnership with leading technology companies, to harness the revolution in medical technology, bring our analogue healthcare into the digital age and make life more convenient for patients.”
This mode is only available on the AirPods Pro 2 model of Apple’s headphones, not the more affordable AirPods 4 or AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation. Apple says this is because those models lack an in-ear seal to improve noise isolation, which is necessary for its technology to be effective. The mode is also not coming to previous AirPods models, although I would expect it to be part of the feature list for the AirPods Pro 3, which is rumored to arrive later in 2025.
Apple is one of the first companies to add this type of technology to its headphones, but you can expect to hear that it will be in many more of the best headphones in the future – Sennheiser, for example, is now owned by a company that specializes. in hearing health and has already manufactured some products that combine the needs of the hearing impaired with Sennheiser consumer technology.
An ideal bridge to other hearing health products
I’m delighted to see this coming to the UK, because we’ve already tested Apple’s headset mode in the US and found it to be potentially very useful. I have several family members here in the UK who show signs of having difficulty hearing at times, but who have resisted the idea of being tested or given hearing aids regularly, as is the case for many people, for many years. reasons ranging from pride to fear.
The AirPods Pro 2 offer a friendlier and relatively affordable way for people who aren’t interested in the process of a full hearing aid to “try” to increase their hearing, perhaps only in places where it may be particularly difficult to hold conversations, as they It’s very easy to put the AirPods Pro on and off and carry them with you in their case.
Really, that’s the ideal way to use them, because the maximum battery life of six hours won’t get you through a full day of use anyway.
I hope this mode on the AirPods Pro 2 will help me convince my family members that seeing an audiologist could help improve their quality of life.
In its announcement of support for consumer technology health devices, such as this AirPods Pro 2 mod, the UK government noted that it remains extremely important for people to consult with their doctors about their hearing and not rely solely on these tests automated.
