Apple is prepping major new hearing health and body-temperature features for AirPods, planning cheaper models, a transition to USB-C charging ports, and exploring how it could better position AirPods as a hearing aid, Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg News.

Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:

The capabilities will come in addition to already-announced software features that were part of iOS 17, as well as plans for new AirPods Pro and Max models.

The company is working on a new hearing test feature that will play different tones and sounds to allow the AirPods to determine how well a person can hear. The idea is to help users screen for hearing issues, not unlike how the Apple Watch ECG app checks for heart problems. The hearing test could “Sherlock” — or make irrelevant — existing apps like Mimi. (Apple held a meeting with its developers a few years ago.)

Separately, Apple is exploring how it could better position AirPods as a hearing aid, a $10 billion-a-year market that’s ripe for reinvention.

Apple has already added hearing-aid-like features, such as Conversation Boost and Live Listen, but they don’t yet have regulatory approval. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration eased hearing aid purchase rules, allowing for over-the-counter sales without an exam or prescription. That’s created more of an opening, and Apple has hired engineers from traditional hearing aid makers as part of this effort.

There’s also engineering work being done on adding sensors to the AirPods so they can determine body temperature via a wearer’s ear canal.

MacDailyNews Note: The health features are “likely several months or even years away,” Gurman notes.

To use Live Listen, you need to add it to Control Center:

1. Go to Settings > Control Center.
2. Scroll down and tap the Add button add icon next to the Hearing button hearing icon.
3. Tap Settings to save the changes.

How to use Live Listen:

1. Open Control Center on your iPhone or iPod touch, or your iPad.
2. Tap the Hearing button hearing icon.
3. Tap Live Listen.
4. Place your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in front of the person that you want to hear. If you can’t hear well enough, make sure to adjust the volume on your device.

You can also see your headphone audio levels in real time as you’re listening to content. You can quickly glance to see detailed decibel-level information.
To use Live Listen with an external wired microphone, connect the microphone to the Lightning port or headphone jack on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Note: If you can’t connect to your AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Powerbeats Pro, or Beats Fit Pro, or if Live Listen won’t turn on, make sure that Bluetooth is on and that your headphones are charged.

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