Apple forced to delay hearing test feature for AirPods

Regulators yet to approve tests for hearing loss and sleep monitor

Life

Like Apple Intelligence, Apple users will have to be patient with the latest health features in AirPod Pro and Apple Watch.

The new AirPods Pro offer a hearing protection feature. These help protect your hearing from very loud ambient sounds, such as at a concert. The feature reduces loud sounds 48,000 times per second and is on by default.

The feature works with both the iPhone, iPad and Mac in conjunction with the appropriate software versions due out in late 2024, albeit only in the US and Canada for now.

The AirPods Pro 2 will also get a hearing test feature, a medically approved test that can determine if you have mild or moderate hearing loss.

The feature still awaits approval from medical authorities, though, and will then become available in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Finally, the AirPods can act as a hearing aid. The results of the hearing test are used to make the sound captured by the AirPods Pro more audible. Like the hearing test, the hearing aid feature still awaits medical clearance from authorities.

The Apple Watch will now provide notifications for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing during sleep frequently falters or even stops momentarily. Sometimes it occurs when the respiratory muscles do not receive a signal from the brain to move, sometimes it is due to a blockage of the airway.

Again, Apple must wait for approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and health authorities in other countries. Eventually, it should be available in 150 countries and regions, including the United States, the European Union and Japan.

Read More: AirPods Apple Apple Intelligence