Apple Wants to Improve Your Hearing Health With Its New AirPods Lineup

One of the big announcements at Apple’s Glowtime event was the new redesign of its popular AirPods. The AirPods 4 will now come in two different models: the AirPods 4 and the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). These are also being updated to use USB-C charging, and the Airpods 4 with ANC will also have wireless charging with the Qi-certified charger. Apple promises a 30-hour battery life, too, so you won't have to scramble to charge them up all the time.

The AirPods 4 will have new features like environment-aware Transparency mode, which helps users stay aware of sound in their environment, and Conversation Awareness, which automatically lowers the media volume when speech is detected. Once speech stops, your media volume returns to the previous volume.

Another update to the AirPods 4 is the open-ear design and improved microphones. Along with the H2 chip and advanced audio and the AirPods 4 with ANC, the sound should provide a more elevated audio experience.

This new AirPod family includes the AirPods Pro 2, which comes with a new health experience that will deliver a scientifically proven hearing test and end-to-end hearing health experience. The AirPods Pro 2 also adds a clinically-graded hearing aid feature for those with mild to moderate hearing loss.

If you’re more of an over-the-ear AirPod fan, the AirPods Max got a slight update. They’ll come in five dynamic colors (starlight, orange, purple, blue, and midnight) and now feature USB-C charging.

Pricing for the new AirPods 4 is $129, while the ANC version is $179. The AirPods Pro 2 will run $249, and the new AirPods Max with USB-C sharing will be $549. You can pre-order them all now at the Apple Store, and they will be generally available on September 20.