Adjustable Adaptive Audio

Coming to AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

In iOS 17, Apple introduced Adaptive Audio for the AirPods Pro, a helpful feature that lets you dynamically blend Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency to your environment and whatever you’re listening to.

In its simplest form, Adaptive Audio leans towards more ANC when the music is on and less when it’s off, but it will also monitor the noise around you to determine how much to apply. However, it’s always been an all-or-nothing setting.

That’s set to change in iOS 18, with a new Customize Adaptive Audio option that lets you tweak the algorithm to allow less noise (i.e., more ANC) or more noise (i.e., more Transparency). It’s only a three-position slider in the first iOS 18 beta, but Apple may add more granularity before the final release.