Maximizing Your AirPods: Harnessing Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness

Apple has quietly upgraded recent AirPods into the most intelligent audio devices available, thanks to a range of features known as Adaptive Audio. These features are present in most AirPods models released in the last three years – including the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4 with ANC – but you might not be utilizing them to their full potential.

All you need is one of these AirPods sets and an iPhone running iOS 17 or higher. However, if you still have an older model like the AirPods 3, these features might be compelling enough to prompt an upgrade.

Conversation Awareness

Have you noticed that when you start talking to someone while wearing your AirPods and listening to music or other media, the volume automatically decreases? This feature, known as Conversation Awareness, is designed to enhance your interactions.

When activated, your AirPods can detect when you’re engaged in a conversation and reduce the media volume accordingly. Simultaneously, the voice of the person you’re speaking to will be amplified. This feature allows AirPods users to have conversations without needing to adjust their iPhone or remove an AirPod.

Here’s how to enable Conversation Awareness:

1. Ensure your AirPods are in your ears and connected to your iPhone.
2. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone screen to open the Control Center.
3. Hold and touch the volume slider until additional controls appear.
4. Tap on Conversation Awareness.

You can also activate this feature by selecting your AirPods in the Settings app and locating the toggle there. Keep in mind that singing or humming may also trigger it, so you may prefer not to leave it on continuously. You can easily disable it by following the same steps.

Adaptive Audio

Adaptive Audio offers more than just Conversation Awareness. It can seamlessly blend Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with Transparency mode to provide a balanced audio experience tailored to your surroundings. When Adaptive Audio is turned on, your AirPods adjust the audio based on your environment and what you’re listening to using an AI-powered algorithm.

While it’s not flawless, Adaptive Audio generally performs well. It’s particularly useful for individuals commuting or walking in busy areas, offering a more suitable alternative to extreme ANC or Transparency mode settings.

To activate Adaptive Audio, follow these steps with your AirPods connected to your iPhone:

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone screen to access the Control Center.
2. Hold and touch the volume slider to reveal additional controls.
3. Tap on the Listening Mode button in the lower-left corner.
4. Select Adaptive.

You can use the same method to switch between Transparency and Noise Cancellation modes.

Pro Tip: Customize your Adaptive Audio mix in the Settings app while wearing your AirPods. Access them near the top of the settings, choose Adaptive Audio, and adjust the slider to block more noise or hear more of your surroundings.

Personalized Volume

Apple’s Adaptive Audio also allows users to set custom levels for Transparency and ANC using the Personalized Volume feature. This feature learns your listening habits over time and intelligently adjusts media volume based on your preferences and settings.

Here’s how to set up Personalized Volume:

1. Ensure your AirPods are in your ears and open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on your AirPods near the top of the screen.
3. Scroll down and enable Personalized Volume.

It may take a few days for your iPhone and AirPods to familiarize themselves with your listening habits.

While these AirPod features may not come as a surprise – considering the AirPods Pro 2 were approved as hearing aids in 2024 – many users may not be fully aware of these capabilities or how to optimize them. If you have compatible AirPods, experiment with Adaptive Audio and switch between listening modes. If the default settings feel disorienting, fine-tune them further with Personalized Volume.

One drawback is that Conversation Awareness can sometimes be overly sensitive, triggered by non-speech sounds like coughs or throat-clearing, and it only activates when you initiate speech, not when someone else does. This limitation is understandable to prevent constant volume adjustments in noisy environments. Perhaps Apple’s future AirPod innovations will include the ability to detect direct conversations initiated by others.