- Audio recording of studio quality and remote control of the camera will be in public beta
- The public beta will be available in July 2025
- Apple does not recommend installing betas on devices you trust
Since the early days of iOS, there has been a frustrating delay between the big reveal on WWDC and the final version arriving in September (usually): We get to see funny new things and then have to wait for what feels like ever to get them – including on upgrades promised to AirPods.
Good news! Apple has promised to let you play with the new AirPods features in July 2025 for the first time. However, there is a catch: It will be part of iOS/iPados/MacOS Public Beta, so you should not expect the fully polished final versions and it is not a wise idea to install the beta software on your devices you trust every day. So while you can Get early access, you probably shouldn’t.
The new features are audio recording of studio quality and remote control of the camera. Apple says the former is for singers, podcasters, interviewers and other content creators and will deliver much better audio quality in recordings, in phone calls, in FaceTime and in third-party apps using Apple’s Callkit frames. It should also improve dictation accuracy, especially in noisy environments.
Camera remote is exactly what it sounds like: It allows you to trigger the camera app (or compatible third-party apps) by pressing the Airpods tribe to take a photo or start a video recording.
Public betas is better
The new features are for AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with ANC and AirPods Pro 2, and require an iPhone capable of running iOS 26 – which is most of the relatively recent, as iOS 26 will be available to phones going back to iPhone 11.
If you are really eager to experiment with the new features, you can get the developer’s beta of iOS 26 right now at developer.apple.com; All you need is a developer account. The public beta follows in July, which does not require a developer account.
But both options are not a good idea for most of us, I think. From the feedback I see online from early adopters, iOS 26 is still right from finished, and Apple very specifically urges people not to install develops Betas on their most important devices.
The public beta is a safer option, but there are still the usual warnings about beta -software that is unfinished -so there may be app — funds, strange bugs, deportation errors and other frustrations.
In a worse-case scenario, they can even mason your devices, making them completely useless-but this is risks you will agree to take when you sign the agreement to try the beta software. It is probably not worth the risk of getting clearer calls a few months early.
