Apple didn’t launch the AirPods Pro 3 at its latest Apple Event, still expected in 2025. It also didn’t overhaul the AirPods Max, adding only USB-C and new colors. However, yes added a cool feature to its current AirPods Pro which will be included in the accessibility section, greatly improving what already existed.
This is an improvement with emphasis on hearing healthThe AirPods Pro 2 will begin serving as headphones this fall and, although they will initially be in the United States, their implementation in territories in Latin America, Europe and even Asia is not excluded.
AirPods Pro 2 will be headphones
Apple has a long history of offering features designed to people with some type of hearing problem. Not for complete deafness, but for those with a significant reduction. This is a feature included in the iOS accessibility settings and, with AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 1 or 2, allows you to expand ambient sound to hear better.
At the event held last Monday, September 9, the Californian company announced an additional step. This is: add over-the-counter hearing aid featuresthus improving the ambient sound amplification function with particular emphasis on voices.
Initially, this is a feature that will reach the United States, once they have obtained final approval from the country’s highest health entity, the FDA. Apple does not confirm if and when it will reach other territories. It is not expected to be in the short term if it spreads, but the fact that it is reaching a territory now sets an important precedent.
Approved hearing aids are expensive. Very expensive.. To get an idea of the prices here, and still according to the figures from specialists, the price of these devices ranges between 1,200 and 4,500 dollars. The price of the AirPods Pro is 279 dollars, which may seem expensive for headphones, but not in the field of hearing aids. Even less so when there are already offers that lower them further and they remain around 249 dollars.
Approved hearing tests will also be included
Far from adding the silent hearing enhancement feature and that’s it, Apple will also add a new section in the “Health” app to perform a hearing test that, as they themselves have confirmed, is clinically approved. This test has been developed with the help of experts in the field and has great capabilities for detect mild and moderate hearing loss
In this section of the iPhone app, a section for custom adjustments so that each user can adapt the hearing capabilities of the AirPods Pro 2 to their needs.
A first step from AirPods to the Apple Watch zone
When Apple introduced the first Apple Watch ten years ago, its market positioning was unclear, focusing more on the fashion target. Over the years, this has been diluted while a clear and increasingly established position has been defined: health.
Apple Watches continue to evolve with health sensors such as heart rate measurement, the ability to perform single-lead electrocardiograms, monitor our sleep, measure blood oxygen, and now also detect sleep apnea with an Apple Watch Series 9 and with the new Apple Watch Series 10.
Well then, AirPods also point the finger at the health sector. Perhaps not with as much momentum and as obvious as it happens with the Apple Watch, but at least for people with some type of special need such as the hearing problem. However, over time they could be a good complement and there are already patents that prove it.
Among the most notable developments patented by Apple in this area is the possibility of measure heart rate or take our body temperaturesomething that, even if not expected in the short term, clearly shows the company’s idea of moving forward in this direction. Therefore, it will not be strange that in the future we continue to see new headphones from the company with functions of this type.
As always, and despite the approvals, You should always agree and consult a doctorThe same goes for the Apple Watch, which, despite the many proofs of effectiveness in detecting possible serious pathologies, still requires confirmation from specialists.
Images | Apple
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