How to customize Adaptive Sound on AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2

If you own AirPods 4 or AirPods Pro 2, Adaptive Audio is at your fingertips. This smart feature, developed by Apple, allows you to control sound and noise cancellation based on your surroundings, making it ideal for everyday use whether you're at home, at work, or even on the go. With the iOS 18 update, you can further customize this feature to suit your personal needs. In this article, we'll explain everything you need to know about Adaptive Audio, how to customize it, and when to use it to achieve the best audio experience.

What is Adaptive Sound in AirPods?

Adaptive Sound is an innovative technology that combines three key features to enhance your experience with AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4:

◉ Adaptive Noise Control: This function intelligently combines Transparency mode and Active Noise Cancellation based on your surroundings. For example, if you're in a crowded place, the earphones reduce external noise, while allowing you to hear important sounds like public transport announcements if you're at a train station.

◉ Personalized Volume: This feature automatically adjusts the volume according to your preferences and the noise level in your surroundings, ensuring a comfortable listening experience without the need for constant manual adjustment.

Conversation Awareness: When you start talking to someone, this function automatically lowers the volume and enhances the clarity of nearby voices, making conversations smoother without having to take off your earbuds.

Before iOS 18, this feature was either fully functional or not functional at all, but now you can control how it interacts with your environment using an iPhone or iPad with this update.

How to customize adaptive sound on AirPods

If you want to customize the adaptive sound feature to suit your needs, the process is simple and takes only minutes. Here are the steps in detail:

◉ Make sure your AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4 are connected to an iPhone running iOS 18 or later.

◉ Open Settings on your iPhone.

◉ Tap the name of your earbuds that appears at the top of the settings menu, for example, “AirPods Pro for so-and-so.”

◉ In the Noise Control section, tap the “Adaptive” option.

◉ Scroll down to a subsection called “Audio,” then tap “Adaptive Audio.”

◉ You will find a slider that allows you to choose between “Less Noise” and “More Noise”.

◉If you move the bar towards “Less Noise”, the active noise isolation will increase, reducing external sounds.

◉If you move it towards “More Noise,” the speakers will allow more ambient sounds to flow while Adaptive Noise Control is on.

Additional advice

Experiment with the settings in different environments to determine which option works best for you. You can always adjust the bar later based on your experience.

When can you use personalization?

Adaptive voice customization is particularly useful in various everyday situations. Here are some practical examples:

◉While commuting on public transportation, ambient noise can be disturbing. By moving the bar to the middle setting, you can reduce engine noise while still hearing important announcements such as arrival times.

◉Working in an open office, in a shared work environment, you may need to focus on your tasks while remaining aware of what's happening around you, such as your office phone ringing or a colleague calling your name. In this case, slide the slider toward "More Noise" to achieve the perfect balance.

◉Studying in a café: If you're studying in a public place like a café, but the sounds of people in the café distract you, try moving the slider to "lower noise" to enhance noise isolation and focus better.

◉Fast conversations: Thanks to the "Conversation Aware" feature, you don't need to pause audio or remove the earphones when someone is talking to you. The feature works automatically, and you can adjust it based on the ambient noise level to ensure clear voice.

Why is adaptive sound an important feature?

What makes this technology unique is its ability to adapt to your needs without constant manual intervention. Unlike traditional earbuds that require you to switch between different modes, AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 analyze the environment and intelligently adjust the sound. With the addition of customization options in iOS 18, you have greater freedom to decide what you want to hear and what you want to ignore.

For example, imagine you're walking down a busy street and want to enjoy your favorite audio without being completely immersed in it. By adjusting the bar toward "More Noise," you can hear car horns or pedestrian footsteps if necessary, making your experience both safe and enjoyable.

Apple's future updates for AirPods

Apple didn't stop there. With each iOS update, it adds new features to improve the performance of AirPods. In iOS 18, for example, Apple introduced a range of hearing health-related features, such as a built-in hearing test that can transform AirPods Pro 2 into a hearing aid if issues are detected. The company also announced plans to add a "real-time translation" feature later this year, which will allow the earbuds to translate conversations in real time, a move that could change the way we interact with the world around us.

If you haven't tried Adaptive Sound yet, do it now! Plug in your headphones, head to Settings, and start exploring options that fit your lifestyle.

Source:

macrumors