Apple AirPods Pro 2
Apple today announced groundbreaking sleep and hearing health capabilities for Apple AirPods Pro 2 that enhance users’ lives and demonstrate Apple’s dedication to health. These new features across devices provide useful and powerful approaches to improve sleep and hearing health for billions worldwide.
An ingenious new Breathing Disturbances measure sends sleep apnea alarms to Apple Watch, adding to its various health-guarding functions. The FDA and other worldwide health regulators are anticipated to approve sleep apnea alerts for commercialization this month in more than 150 countries and territories, including the U.S., EU, and Japan.
AirPods Pro, with active Hearing Protection, a scientifically verified Hearing Test, and an over-the-counter Hearing Aid, is the first all-in-one hearing health solution. The first-ever software-based Hearing Aid feature makes hearing aids more affordable and accessible. The Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features will be accessible this fall in over 100 countries and regions, including the U.S., Germany, and Japan, if global health regulators approve marketing.
Clude sleep apnea notifications and Breathing Disturbances. Apple Watch tracks sleep over time and helps users fulfill their sleep goals while monitoring nightly health measures like heart rate and respiration rate.
The World’s First All-in-One Hearing Health Experience
WHO estimates 1.5 billion people have hearing loss. Dementia and social isolation are connected to hearing loss.
Apple is offering an end-to-end awareness, preventive, and assistance experience to help consumers understand their hearing health.
Prevention
The Apple Hearing Study, a longitudinal, virtual public research study conducted in collaboration with the University of Michigan School of Public Health and the WHO, found that one in three people are regularly exposed to loud environmental noise that can damage their hearing. Common examples include taking the train to work, mowing the yard, going to a game, and more.
Apple AirPods Pro 2 has Hearing Protection to protect users from strong environmental noise while keeping their music. The H2 chip actively reduces louder, more intermittent noise at 48,000 times per second, while the ear tips minimize passive noise. On by default in all listening modes, Hearing Protection helps in loud environments. An innovative multiband high dynamic range algorithm keeps concert sounds realistic and bright.
Awareness
Many people are unaware they have hearing loss since it worsens gradually. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: 80% of U.S. people have not had their hearing examined in five years. Apple is releasing a straightforward, clinical-grade hearing test based on pure-tone audiometry that consumers can take with their Apple AirPods Pro 2 and a compatible iPhone or iPad to gain more hearing health data.
Users can take the five-minute home exam. Hearing Test uses modern acoustics and is interactive. After taking the test, users will obtain an easy-to-understand summary of their results, including hearing loss numbers in each ear, classifications, and suggestions. The Health app securely stores the results, including an audiogram, and may be shared with a doctor for more informed discussions.
The Apple Hearing Study and large-scale, real-world data informed the Hearing Test. The characteristic was confirmed against pure-tone audiometry, the clinical gold standard.
Healthy hearing is essential to overall well-being. Rick Neitzel, University of Michigan School of Public Health professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Apple Hearing Study principal investigator, said protecting and preserving hearing improves quality of life in the short and long term. Apple is offering vital hearing health tools, which Apple applaud. These tools will help people protect their ears from noise pollution, monitor hearing changes, and have essential talks with their healthcare professionals when they need more support.
Assistance
Learning about hearing loss is essential to receiving help, which can be expensive and difficult. Research suggests hearing loss is routinely untreated globally. According to the Apple Hearing Study, 75% of hearing-impaired people don’t obtain assistive technology.
AirPods Pro offer a unique over-the-counter hearing aid for mild to moderate hearing loss. This new function seamlessly turns Apple AirPods Pro 2 into a clinical-grade hearing aid using the Hearing Test’s unique hearing profile. After setup, the function boosts sounds in real time with tailored dynamic adjustments. These aid conversation and connection to others and the environment. Due to AirPods Pro’s high audio quality, users’ individualized hearing profiles are instantly applied to music, movies, games, and phone conversations across their devices without any settings. Hearing health professionals can develop audiograms for the Hearing Aid feature.
A controlled, randomized research compared the Hearing Aid feature and its personalized settings against an audiologist-assisted setup and clinically validated it.
The user’s hearing profile after taking the Hearing Test can also personalize the Apple AirPods Pro 2 listening experience for more users, including those with little to no hearing loss who can benefit from frequency-specific changes. Media Assist, a new function, boosts phone call speech and soundtrack elements to enable a wider audience listen better.
Built for Privacy
Apple designs and develops all health features with privacy in mind. All Health app health and fitness data except Medical ID is encrypted when a device is locked with a passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID. Encryption is used on Apple servers and during transit for health data backups to iCloud. Health app data saved to iCloud with default two-factor authentication and a passcode is encrypted end-to-end on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Apple cannot read the data.
Availability
- The FDA and other worldwide health regulators are anticipated to approve sleep apnea alerts for commercialization this month in more than 150 countries and territories, including the U.S., EU, and Japan. The feature will work on Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2.
- The Hearing Test and Aid features will be available this fall in more than 100 countries and regions, including the U.S., Germany, and Japan, with AirPods Pro 2 with the latest firmware and a compatible iPhone or iPad. Global health authorities are expected to approve marketing soon.
- AirPods Pro 2 with the newest firmware and a compatible iPhone, iPad, or Mac running the latest operating system will support Hearing Protection in fall 2024. The feature is coming to the US and Canada.
