As spotted by Federico Trevisani, the second macOS Tahoe beta lets you enroll in beta testing of AirPods firmware updates directly on a Mac. A similar interface was already introduced on the iPhone and iPad with the first iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 betas.
First, connect your AirPods to your Mac. Next, open the System Settings app and click on the Bluetooth menu. Then, select the (i) symbol next to your AirPods. On the ensuing page, scroll down to the bottom and click on "AirPods Beta Updates. Finally, there is a toggle to enable beta firmware updates on your AirPods. Firmware updates will be installed when your AirPods are in their charging case and near the Мас.
Apple currently offers AirPods beta firmware updates to registered developers only. However, that will soon change. Apple plans to start offering public betas of AirPods firmware updates in July for the first time, beginning with the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2.
Apple already released a developer beta of an upcoming firmware update for the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 earlier this month. With the new firmware, the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 gain support for improved audio quality for phone calls and video calls, plus studio-quality audio recording for interviews, podcasts, and videos. There is also an option to use AirPods as a camera remote with the Camera app to take photos or start a video recording. Plus, these AirPods models can automatically pause audio if it is detected that you fell asleep.
