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BySimon Cohen
This story is part of our complete Apple WWDC coverage
Along with a slew of new features for iOS 18, Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote has given us a sneak peek at how the AirPods Pro will evolve come the fall.
One of the big changes is how you can respond to Siri’s verbal options. For instance, when a call comes in and Siri asks if you’d like to accept, you can nod your head to do so or shake it to decline.
The calls themselves will also be getting a boost — a new voice isolation algorithm is said to improve the AirPods’ ability to distinguish your voice from background sounds, which should make it a lot easier for your callers to hear you, even when you’re surrounded by loud noises. The AirPods Pro are already among the best wireless earbuds for this kind of thing, so it will be interesting to see how much better iOS 18 will make them.
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Apple has been a strong proponent of spatial audio for years, including giving AirPods Pro owners the ability to set up personalized spatial audio — an algorithmic way make the immersiveness of spatial audio even more realistic by using scans of your ears and head to customize the sound.
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Today, personalized spatial audio only works on select content like Dolby Atmos Music from Apple Music, but with iOS 18, Apple is releasing an application programming interface (API) for personalized spatial audio that will let third-party developers like game studios take advantage of the feature in a variety of apps.
Apple also has a new dialogue enhancement feature coming for the Apple TV 4K, which will work with the AirPods Pro and a variety of other Bluetooth devices that are connected to Apple’s streaming media player.
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When it comes to charging AirPods Pro with USB-C, don’t overthink it
There's been a bit of a to-do over USB-C and charging rates and data speeds when it comes to the iPhone 15 and its switch away from using Apple's proprietary Lightning cable. The same goes for the AirPods Pro, which also are getting a refresh to USB-C.
While there are some very real considerations to make note of when it comes to USB-C cables and iPhones — faster is (mostly) better when it comes to charging and transferring data — I couldn't care less about either of those things when it comes to my AirPods Pro.
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Apple has upgraded the AirPods Pro with lossless audio, sort of
Amid the slew of new Apple products launched today, only the tiniest mention was made of the fact that Apple has also given the AirPods Pro Gen 2 wireless earbuds a not-so-minor refresh. Along with the expected addition of USB-C, making the AirPods Pro the first Apple headphones to ditch the Lightning connector, Apple has also given the iconic white noise-canceling earbuds the ability to do lossless audio wirelessly -- something that has never been seen on the AirPods family before, and is even a rarity among non-Apple wireless audio devices.
There is, however, a catch. The "groundbreaking wireless audio protocol" that allows for lossless audio at 20-bit/48 kHz (a better-than-CD-quality resolution) is powered by the AirPods Pro's H2 chip, but for now, it only works when paired with the upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset. At the moment, Qualcomm's aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec (when used with compatible wireless headphones and smartphones) is the only technology that supports lossless audio wirelessly, and even that technology is limited to 16-bit/48kHz.
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Second-generation AirPods Pro have USB-C now, too
In one of the least-kept surprises of today's iPhone 15 event, Apple announced that the second-generation AirPods Pro are switching to USB-C for their charging case.
That's a big deal because they'll now use the same charger as the iPad and MacBook — and also because they can use any other USB-C cable that you've got laying around. And because we're not talking about a device with a huge battery capacity, you don't need to worry so much about whether you have the right USB-C cable. Things should charge just fine, and fast enough, given that the battery case only sports a 523 mAh battery.
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