Apple's AirPods 4 and second-generation AirPods Pro have an Adaptive Audio feature that includes Adaptive Noise Control, Personalized Volume, and Conversation Awareness, which are all features that adjust sound and Active Noise Cancellation in response to the environment around you. If you haven't used Adaptive Audio, it could be worth a look – especially since iOS 18 allows you more control over the feature.

airpods 4 new purple

What is Adaptive Audio?

Adaptive Audio on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 combines three powerful features. Adaptive Noise Control intelligently blends Transparency and Active Noise Cancellation based on your environment. Personalized Volume automatically adjusts audio levels according to your preferences and surroundings. Meanwhile, Conversation Awareness lowers volume and enhances voices when you're speaking with someone.

Prior to iOS 18, Adaptive Audio was an all-or-nothing setting, but with an iPhone or iPad with up-to-date software, you can customize how aggressively these features respond to your environment.

How to Customize Adaptive Audio

Connect your AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4 to your iPhone running iOS 18 or later.
Open the Settings app.
Tap your AirPods at the top of the Settings menu.
Tap Adaptive in the "Noise Control" menu, then scroll down to the "Audio" menu sub-section and tap Adaptive Audio.
Use the slider to adjust between Less Noise and More Noise.

Moving the slider toward "Less Noise" will strengthen noise cancellation, while moving it toward "More Noise" will allow more ambient sound to filter through when Adaptive Noise Control is active.

When Would You Use This?

This customization is particularly useful in varying environments. If you commute on noisy public transport but still want to hear announcements, you might prefer a middle setting. If you work in an open office and need to focus while still being able to hear your desk phone, you could slide toward "More Noise." If you're studying in a coffee shop but find even small distractions pull your focus, you might try "Less Noise."

Apple has been tying AirPods updates to iOS updates in recent years. In iOS 18, for example, Apple added a suite of hearing health capabilities that test for hearing issues and allow AirPods Pro 2 to be used as a hearing aid if problems are detected. Looking ahead, Apple says that AirPods will gain a new live translation feature later this year.

Related Roundups: AirPods 5, AirPods Pro 3

Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Buy Now), AirPods Pro (Neutral)

Related Forum: AirPods

Top Rated Comments

ignatius345

21 months ago

Adaptive is SO good for commuting. I like being able to hear stuff around me (like people saying "excuse me" in the subway or whatever) but also having the ANC ramp up when a subway train or an ambulance siren is blasting out high-decibel noise. It's important to have situational awareness but also tune out the loudest stuff.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

ignatius345

21 months ago

On the first gen AirPods Pro, I needed to toggle on noise cancelling when walking across freeway bridges, but on the second gen, the adaptive mode works so well that I can leave it on all the time - as you say, being easily able to hear conversation, but blocking loud sounds well.

But I turned the Conversation Awareness off after about the first hour - because any random mouth noise, like clearing your throat, would mute the audio for a while - it was a neat idea, but annoying in practice.

Adaptive is also great for phone calls. Full ANC is pretty much unusable on calls because it's like talking with a pillow over your head, but Adaptive will gently ramp up noise cancellation while also piping a little bit of your own mic back through the audio (aka sidetone) so you can hear your own voice.

I was super disappointed when the second generation of AirPods Max shipped without an H2 chip and thus none of the more advanced audio features like this.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

CarlJ

21 months ago

Adaptive is SO good for commuting. I like being able to hear stuff around me (like people saying "excuse me" in the subway" or whatever) but also having the ANC ramp up when a subway train or an ambulance siren is blasting out high-decibel noise. It's important to have situational awareness but also tune out the loudest stuff.

On the first gen AirPods Pro, I needed to toggle on noise cancelling when walking across freeway bridges, but on the second gen, the adaptive mode works so well that I can leave it on all the time - as you say, being easily able to hear conversation, but blocking loud sounds well.

But I turned the Conversation Awareness off after about the first hour - because any random mouth noise, like clearing your throat, would mute the audio for a while - it was a neat idea, but annoying in practice.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

victorvictoria

21 months ago

That depends entirely on your eartips.

The stock ones that Apple ships with the AirPods? ANC is surprisingly good, but far from perfect.

A quality third-party replacement, such as the AZLA SednaEarfit? They’ll give your over-the-ear headphones a run for the money.

But … with custom-molded silicone eartips such as Snugs … your headphones are the ones left behind. Far behind.

My Snugs in “off” mode are much better earplugs than those foam things you squish and roll before you stick them in your ears.

And, with ANC … put it this way. I have a 1955 Volkswagen Beetle. While it’s possibly the quietest ’50s-era Bug in the Southwest, that’s not saying an awful lot. But the Snugs with ANC on makes the car sound like a desk fan in a library.

I use them as hearing aids. My thousands-of-dollars prescription hearing aids can’t hold a candle to this setup. While the hearing aids definitely do an excellent job at making speech easier to understand, the AirPods basically give me perfectly normal young healthy hearing.

And then add all those fancy adaptive (etc.) features on top … this is the future of hearing health, truly. Just need to work on the form factor, especially the laughably-short battery life.

I wrote waaay too long a writeup here:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-hearing-health-ben-goren-kdilc

b&

How much did they pay you for that endorsement? If it ain't much, you got robbed! 🤣 🤣 🤣
And your claims are refuted by Snug's own website! (And they even spelled "achieve" wrong! Duh!

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

BenGoren

21 months ago

These noise controlling/cancelling features are not what a new buyer should base his decision on. Even with the best fit possible, noise is getting in around them, and they're not even close to being as effective as a pair of over the ear headphones like the Sony WH1000-xm4 or 5.

The AirPods offer very nice, crystal clear sound, buy them for that. Don't expect to walk into a noise restaurant or movie and be comfortable.

That depends entirely on your eartips.

The stock ones that Apple ships with the AirPods? ANC is surprisingly good, but far from perfect.

A quality third-party replacement, such as the AZLA SednaEarfit? They’ll give your over-the-ear headphones a run for the money.

But … with custom-molded silicone eartips such as Snugs … your headphones are the ones left behind. Far behind.

My Snugs in “off” mode are much better earplugs than those foam things you squish and roll before you stick them in your ears.

And, with ANC … put it this way. I have a 1955 Volkswagen Beetle. While it’s possibly the quietest ’50s-era Bug in the Southwest, that’s not saying an awful lot. But the Snugs with ANC on makes the car sound like a desk fan in a library.

I use them as hearing aids. My thousands-of-dollars prescription hearing aids can’t hold a candle to this setup. While the hearing aids definitely do an excellent job at making speech easier to understand, the AirPods basically give me perfectly normal young healthy hearing.

And then add all those fancy adaptive (etc.) features on top … this is the future of hearing health, truly. Just need to work on the form factor, especially the laughably-short battery life.

I wrote waaay too long a writeup here:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-hearing-health-ben-goren-kdilc

b&

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

victorvictoria

21 months ago

These noise controlling/cancelling features are not what a new buyer should base his decision on. Even with the best fit possible, noise is getting in around them, and they're not even close to being as effective as a pair of over the ear headphones like the Sony WH1000-xm4 or 5.

The AirPods offer very nice, crystal clear sound, buy them for that. Don't expect to walk into a noise restaurant or movie and be comfortable.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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