During “its Glowtime” event, Apple has introduced five new color options for its AirPods Max over-ear headphones which are now available in Midnight, Starlight, blue, purple, and orange. Additionally, the headphones have been updated with a USB-C port. Apart from that, no other changes have been made. The price remains $549, with pre-orders starting today, and the official release set for September 20.

The AirPods Pro 2 are set to receive a major update, though it won’t involve any hardware changes. Instead, new hearing-related features will be introduced “this fall.” One key feature is hearing protection, which uses machine learning to automatically safeguard against loud environmental noises while maintaining the sound quality of what you’re listening to. The H2 chip plays a role in reducing sudden loud noises up to 48,000 times per second. This means you can wear your AirPods Pro 2 at concerts, confident that they’ll protect your hearing while preserving the natural and vibrant sound of the music.

The AirPods Pro 2 will also feature a personalized hearing test, which can be shared with your doctor, to help power a built-in hearing aid mode. Based on the results of this test, the AirPods Pro 2 will make adjustments to improve your ability to hear voices and sounds around you, as well as enhance the quality of media playback. Additionally, the hearing aid feature can be customized using an audiogram provided by a hearing health professional.

These new hearing health features will soon be available in over 100 countries and regions, including the US, Germany, and Japan, once Apple receives marketing authorization from global health authorities, which is expected “soon.” To access these features, the iPhone paired with your AirPods Pro 2 will need to be running iOS 18.

Source: Apple