Apple has just revealed two new AirPods features as part of its WWDC 2025 Keynote, revealing new software updates for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac and everything else.
Everything else includes Apple’s best AirPods because AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC all get two new features as part of the new updates.
The first feature is “Study Quality Audio Recording”, while the second is “Camera remote”-Boths are small updates compared to the huge airpod hearing aid mode that was revealed last year, but both appear to be useful regularly.
Only the three models get these upgrades because they are the only models with H2 chip that drives them. Yes, even the newly updated AirPods Max with USB-C won’t get them because they still use the old H1 chip.
Here’s what Apple has revealed about the upgrades so far.
Audio recording of studio quality
The first feature promises richer sound quality when using your AirPods microphones to record or during calls. Apple says “Interviewers, podcasters, singers and other creators can detect their content with greater sound quality and even detect while on the move or in noisy environments with voice insulation.”
Now I don’t think you need to be a content creator to take advantage of this. Apple says “users will also enjoy more natural vocal texture and clarity across iPhone calls, FaceTime and Callkit-enabled apps”, so hopefully that means your WhatsApp calls and everything else gets a boost in clarity. Apple says it will also work in voice memos, video recording apps and dictation tools.
We test the microphone and voice quality for all the best earplugs we recommend, so I look forward to seeing how this improves things because Apple already increased AirPods Pro 2’s voting quality.
Camera control
Apple says “catching content at a distance is lighter than ever with the camera’s remote control.” You can now press and hold onto AirPods’ tribe to take a photo or start a video recording and then you can repeat the action to end the recording.
Apple highlights being able to hear an soundtrack while dancing as a main advantage of this tool, but for those of us who do not live our lives, a Tiktok trend at a time, it really works useful if it also works when your AirPods are not in your ears so you can trigger the camera to a family photo.
There are a few bit of information we don’t know here – first is whether they work when they are not in your ears, as I mentioned above, and secondly, if you need to choose whether Gestus triggers photos photos or Video, or if there is a way to make it do it either (maybe the left can make video and right can make photos).
I have to say it feels like this one could have been an upgrade to AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro 1. Gen too -I really don’t think it needs H2 chip, but Apple has only announced it to AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models.
