
With final yr’s launch of iOS 18, AirPods Professional acquired even higher. Apple added new gestures, enhancements to gaming help, and extra. Head beneath for a recap of every of those options and particulars on the best way to use every of them.
New AirPods options: Head Gestures
Obtainable on AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 4
With iOS 18, AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 4 customers can work together with Siri and incoming notifications by nodding their heads up or down.
- Settle for a name or reply to notifications and messages: Nod your head up and down.
- Decline a name or dismiss notifications and messages: Shake your head facet to facet.

To make use of head gestures to work together with Siri, you’ll additionally want to ensure Announce Calls and Announce Notifications are enabled. Open the Settings app and select “Notifications” and ensure the “Announce Notifications” setting is turned on.
As soon as the “Announce Notifications” setting is enabled, right here’s the best way to handle Head Gestures:
- Along with your AirPods related to your iPhone, open the Settings app and faucet your AirPods on the prime.
- Scroll down and faucet “Head Gestures”
- Toggle on the characteristic and select with gesture is linked to “Settle for, Reply” and “Decline, Dismiss.”
Voice Isolation
Obtainable on AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 4

Voice Isolation is a brand new characteristic accessible for AirPods customers that helps make sure the caller’s voice is heard in loud or windy environments. Powered by machine studying and the H2 chip inside, Apple says that this characteristic isolates and enhances voice high quality whereas eradicating vital background noise for the listener.
Word that Voice Isolation has been a characteristic on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac for a number of years. This yr, nonetheless, it’s supported straight on AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 4. Right here’s the best way to allow Voice Isolation in your AirPods:
- Whereas on a name, swipe down from the highest of your display to entry Management Middle
- Faucet the “Controls” button on the prime of the interface
- Faucet on “Voice Isolation”
Gaming enhancements
Obtainable on AirPods 3, AirPods 4, AirPods Professional, and AirPods Max
iOS 18 additionally brings Customized Spatial Audio with dynamic head monitoring to gaming for the primary time. To make sure this characteristic works for you, open the Settings app, navigate to your AirPods settings, and scroll right down to “Customized Spatial Audio.”
Should you haven’t beforehand arrange this characteristic, you’ll be guided via a course of that features a Face ID-style scan of your ears to personalize the Spatial Audio expertise. This characteristic applies to issues like music and movies, and is now relevant to gaming due to iOS 18.
Apple additionally says that iOS 18 brings help for improved voice high quality, together with 16-bit, 48kHz audio, for chatting with teammates whereas gaming with AirPods Professional 2. Latency for AirPods Professional 2 customers has additionally been upgraded.
Customized Adaptive Audio
Obtainable on AirPods Professional and AirPods 4 with Lively Noise Cancellation

iOS 18 brings extra granularity to the Adaptive Audio characteristic on AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 4. For these unfamiliar, adaptive mode “blends Lively Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode collectively to manage the extent of noise you hear in your headphones primarily based on the altering noise situations in your atmosphere.”
With iOS 18, now you can customise Adaptive Audio to raised suit your wants and “enable roughly noise.”
- Along with your AirPods related to your iPhone, open the Settings app and faucet your AirPods on the prime.
- Scroll down and faucet “Adaptive Audio”
- Transfer the slider left to permit for “Much less Noise” when utilizing Adaptive Audio or to the fitting to permit for “Extra Noise.”
Listening to Well being

Final yr, Apple supercharged AirPods Professional 2 with new listening to well being options. Now, you are taking a listening to take a look at along with your AirPods Professional to seek out out if in case you have listening to loss. You possibly can then use AirPods Professional as a listening to help if in case you have delicate to reasonable listening to loss.
Apple explains:
With the unimaginable audio high quality of AirPods Professional, the consumer’s customized listening to profile is robotically utilized to music, motion pictures, video games, and cellphone calls throughout their units while not having to regulate any settings. This primary-of-its-kind software-based Listening to Help characteristic brings customers the power to fine-tune their expertise at any time, making entry to listening to help simpler than ever at an approachable worth level
Be taught extra:
Greatest AirPods Professional equipment
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