Adaptive Audio for Apple AirPods Pro: Getting More Comfortable and Quiet with Your Ears without Detracting Their Attention

Apple’s new AirPods Pro take after the original model but include swipe controls and an H2 chip that allows for improved noise cancellation. They have an option for a water resistant charging case for the iPhone 15 that charges wireless via MagSafe or wiredUSB-C.

While the new iPhones’ USB-C charging will be a welcome change for many, Apple’s MagSafe wireless charging is sticking around to help bridge the gap between new and old iPhone models. One of the best multi-chargers, the Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe, is currently on sale at Amazon for $119.96, which makes it one of the best prices to date.

Apple says the latest AirPods software adds more convenience, and control on calls, with press to unmute for AirPods or AirPods Pro, as well as significant improvements to the Automatic Switching experience.

Adaptive Audio is meant to be a set-it-and-forget-it mode that blends active noise cancellation and transparency, canceling loud distractions where needed while also helping you stay present in your environment. In my experience so far, this feature rarely cancels my surroundings to the same degree as the full noise cancellation mode (I wouldn’t use it on a plane), but it reduces outside sound enough to not take away from my music — even at lower volumes. To my ears so far, it’s basically an even smarter version of the adaptive transparency that Apple debuted with last year’s AirPods Pro.

If you wear your AirPods Pro on busy city streets, then you should give adaptive audio a try. I think this is something Apple will continue to refine and tweak as it collects feedback from customers about which sounds they do and don’t want their earbuds to let through.

Conversation Awareness will make it easier to talk with people without removing earbuds. When you begin speaking, your music volume will be quickly reduced and transparency will be activated to help you hear what is being said. Apple says the feature improves the voices of everyone you are talking with. So far, I’ve been very impressed with Conversation Awareness. It is smart enough to avoid being triggered by cough or other noises. If you keep setting this on, this habit of quietly singing along with your music will quickly become a problem.

Personalized Volume is the new trick that I’ve experimented with the least so far; I’m someone who just prefers manual control over how loud my audio is instead of letting software make random adjustments based on my past preferences. I’ll try to give it a chance more over the next few weeks and see how good Apple is at knowing what I want — or if I find myself reaching for the volume for a manual override.

Automatic Switching has behaved erratically and proven unpredictable for me in the past — so much so that I normally disable the feature altogether on my devices. The update seems to improve things when switching from one Apple product to the next, as shown by the fact that my colleague Dan Seifert has noticed. The more reliable automatic switch can be experienced if you have installed all three of the devices on your device. The concept has always been great, but nothing’s more frustrating than earbuds that have a mind of their own and switch to the wrong device at the worst possible time.