You thought you could throw away your hearing aids with next week’s iOS 18.1 update, well you missed out. The new hearing health features for AirPods Pro 2 will initially be limited to the United States and Canada, according to the Apple website.
A restricted scope at the start
Geo restriction applies to all new hearing features, including hearing testthere hearing aid functionality and the improved hearing protection. These capabilities require the latest version of AirPods Pro 2 as well as a device running iOS 18.1 or iPadOS 18.1.
This regional limitation is likely related to regulatory requirements, with Apple having received clearance from the FDA in the United States to market the AirPods Pro 2 as “clinical grade” hearing aids. Apple may need to obtain similar approvals from health authorities in other regions before it can expand the availability of these features, including from the European Medicines Agency in Europe.
New features allow AirPods Pro 2 users to perform hearing tests directly from their iPhone, with results saved in the app Health. For people with hearing loss, AirPods can function as real hearing aids, amplifying specific frequencies in real time. The update also introduces advanced features of hearing protectionautomatically reducing exposure to loud environmental noise.
Apple has not yet announced a timeline for rolling out these features to other regions. The company is expected to release iOS 18.1 on Monday October 28bringing these new AirPods Pro 2 features to eligible users in the United States and Canada.
