iOS 12 Will Bring Live Listen Hearing Aid Support To AirPods

Apple’s iOS 12 update for iPhones and iPads won’t be out until later this year but most of its new features have already been announced. Interestingly, one its newly discovered features will bring hearing aid functionality to the AirPods.

For those who are unaware, there are Made for iPhone hearing aids that can work with iOS devices that have the Live Listen special feature. Live Listen lets users who have hearing aids use an iPhone as a directional microphone to better hear people they are having conversations with. With iOS 12, Live Listen will not only work for Apple-certified hearing aids, but also for the AirPods wireless earphones, as first discovered by TechCrunch.

Enabling Live Listen in iOS 12 will allow owners to use their AirPods as their hearing aids. Users only have to place their iPhone or any compatible iOS device on a table and direct it toward the person they are talking to. Acting as a directional microphone, the iPhone will route the person’s voice to the user’s AirPods.

Apple’s Live Listen feature was launched way back in 2014 and was intended to be used by people with hearing aids. The feature allowed users to better hear people they are talking to especially in crowded and noisy environments. The feature also works when trying to hear someone talk from across the room.

Bringing Live Listen support to the AirPods makes the wireless earphones more appealing to consumers who have hearing problems. This also means that people who have hearing impairment won’t have to buy dedicated hardware to take advantage of Apple’s Live Listen feature. They could just buy the $159 AirPods and use it like a real hearing aid. This is also great for users who don’t really need a hearing aid, but may have mild hearing loss, as pointed out by The Verge.

The AirPods are already quite popular. During the holiday season last year, Apple’s wireless earphones were very in demand and were hard to obtain. They were sold out in most of Apple’s online and retail stores around the world. With the AirPods getting this new feature, it gives users another reason to buy the device.