Soon, Apple AirPods Pro will be able to react to your environment

By Simon Cohen June 5, 2023

Apple AirPods Pro 2 inside their charging case. — Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

This story is part of our complete Apple WWDC coverage

At Apple’s annual WWDC event today, Apple announced some clever new AirPods Pro skills to make it easier to get the most from the earbuds’ active noise cancellation and transparency modes. The new enhancements will be supported by iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, which will both be available in the fall.

Adaptive Audio on iOS 17. — Apple

The first feature is called Adaptive Audio, an optional mode that sits between full noise cancellation and transparency modes. It uses onboard processing to determine the right amount of noise canceling and transparency for your given situation and automatically applies those changes.

Conversation Awareness monitors your voice, so if you start speaking, it can drop the volume of the music you’re listening to and simultaneously turn on full transparency mode, making it easier to hear the person you’re talking to. Sony released a similar feature on the WF-1000XM4 wireless earbuds.

Phone calls will also benefit from Adaptive Audio. Apple says that you’ll be able to mute the microphones with a press of the force-sensing control while on a call. If you’re using transparency mode during a call and you happen to pass by a source of loud noises, like construction, the AirPods Pro will attempt to filter those sounds out while keeping your voice clear to both you and your callers.

Finally, Apple said that device switching when using AirPods will be improved, offering a faster, more seamless experience.

The AirPods Pro 2 are already some of the best wireless earbuds you can get for noise cancellation, transparency, and call quality and these new features look like they will solidify that position while making it even harder for other earbuds to catch up.

You can read up on all of the other Apple WWDC 20203 announcements in our full coverage.

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Apple has upgraded the AirPods Pro with lossless audio, sort of

Apple AirPods Pro with USB-C.

Amid the slew of new Apple products launched today, only the tiniest mention was made of the fact that Apple has also given the AirPods Pro Gen 2 wireless earbuds a not-so-minor refresh. Along with the expected addition of USB-C, making the AirPods Pro the first Apple headphones to ditch the Lightning connector, Apple has also given the iconic white noise-canceling earbuds the ability to do lossless audio wirelessly -- something that has never been seen on the AirPods family before, and is even a rarity among non-Apple wireless audio devices.

There is, however, a catch. The "groundbreaking wireless audio protocol" that allows for lossless audio at 20-bit/48 kHz (a better-than-CD-quality resolution) is powered by the AirPods Pro's H2 chip, but for now, it only works when paired with the upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset. At the moment, Qualcomm's aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec (when used with compatible wireless headphones and smartphones) is the only technology that supports lossless audio wirelessly, and even that technology is limited to 16-bit/48kHz.

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Second-generation AirPods Pro have USB-C now, too

Apple AirPods Pro with USB-C.

In one of the least-kept surprises of today's iPhone 15 event, Apple announced that the second-generation AirPods Pro are switching to USB-C for their charging case.

That's a big deal because they'll now use the same charger as the iPad and MacBook — and also because they can use any other USB-C cable that you've got laying around. And because we're not talking about a device with a huge battery capacity, you don't need to worry so much about whether you have the right USB-C cable. Things should charge just fine, and fast enough, given that the battery case only sports a 523 mAh battery.

Audio / Video

Are Apple AirPods waterproof? Everything you need to know

AirPods 3 on an athlete.

So, you just bought yourself a nice new pair of AirPods, or you're thinking about it because they're among the best wireless earbuds you can buy, and you're wondering if they're waterproof. The answer is no, AirPods are not waterproof and you should not wear them while swimming or in the shower or during a water balloon fight. But, if the pair of AirPods you've got (or got your eye on) is either the third-generation AirPods or the first or second-generation AirPods Pro, then you're in luck as they are water resistant.

We're going to get into what all that means and break down how water resistant each AirPods model is and what their water-resistance ratings mean for your daily activities. Let's go.
Water resistant vs. waterproof
As we mentioned above, none of Apple's AirPods -- AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPod Max -- are waterproof. But what is "waterproof" anyway? From an electronic device standpoint, being waterproof means that the device is watertight and can be completely submerged in water. There's a common ratings system designed for electronics to measure this (as well as dust and dirt resistance) known as the IP (Ingress Protection) rating, which we cover in our post on the water-resistance rating system.