Let’s be honest: when you first popped your AirPods Pro into your ears, you were probably sold immediately. The silence of Active Noise Cancellation kicking in is nothing short of magical, and the convenience of instant pairing makes wired headphones feel like ancient history. For most people, that is where the journey ends. You put them in, you listen to music, and you take them out. It works, and it works well.
But here is the secret that power users know: your AirPods Pro are actually tiny, sophisticated computers packed with features that go far beyond just "playing music." Apple has buried some of the most useful functionalities deep within the settings menus—features that can protect your hearing, help you focus in a noisy office, or even act as a hearing aid.
If you are still using your AirPods Pro exactly how they came out of the box, you are missing out on about half of what they can do. Let’s dive into the hidden features that will transform how you listen to the world around you.
1. The Magic of Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness
For the longest time, we only had two choices: Noise Cancellation (shut out the world) or Transparency Mode (let the world in). Both are great, but real life is rarely that binary. Sometimes you want to block out the construction noise down the street, but you still need to hear a car honking or a barista asking for your order.
If you have the second-generation AirPods Pro, you have access to a game-changer called Adaptive Audio. This mode dynamically blends Transparency and Active Noise Cancellation based on your environment. It effectively turns down the vacuum cleaner but leaves the volume up for a siren.
Even more impressive is Conversation Awareness. We have all been there: you are jamming to a playlist, someone walks up to talk to you, and you have to awkwardly fumble to pause your music or pull an earbud out. With Conversation Awareness enabled, the AirPods detect when you start speaking. They instantly lower the media volume and enhance the voice of the person in front of you.
Pro Tip: If you like singing along to your music while walking down the street, you might want to toggle Conversation Awareness off. Otherwise, your AirPods will constantly lower the volume every time you belt out a chorus!
How to enable these features:
- Put your AirPods Pro in your ears and open Settings on your iPhone.
- Tap on your AirPods settings (it appears near the top of the menu).
- Scroll down to the Audio section.
- Select Adaptive to turn on the blended mode.
- Scroll further down and toggle the switch for Conversation Awareness to On.
2. Turn On "Background Sounds" for Instant Focus
In the age of open-plan offices and noisy coffee shops, staying focused is a superpower. Many of us subscribe to apps like Calm or search for "Rain Sounds" on Spotify to drown out distractions. However, Apple actually built a white noise machine directly into the iOS operating system, and it works flawlessly with AirPods Pro.
This feature is called Background Sounds. Unlike a music track, these sounds are generated by the system, meaning they don’t use up your data, they loop perfectly, and—crucially—they can play underneath other media. You can listen to a podcast while a gentle rain falls in the background, or play classical music over the sound of a flowing stream.
The available sounds include Balanced Noise, Bright Noise, Dark Noise, Ocean, Rain, and Stream. It is arguably the best productivity tool on the iPhone, yet it is tucked away in the Accessibility settings.
How to access Background Sounds quickly:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds to turn it on and choose your sound.
- The Faster Way: Open your Control Center (swipe down from the top right).
- Tap the Hearing icon (it looks like an ear). If you don't see it, add it via Settings > Control Center.
- Tap Background Sounds to toggle it on/off or change the sound instantly.
3. Customize the Sound Profile with Headphone Accommodations
Everyone’s hearing is different. Some of us hear high frequencies perfectly, while others need a little boost in the vocal range to understand dialogue clearly. Out of the box, AirPods Pro are tuned for a "flat" or neutral response that appeals to the widest range of people. But why settle for generic when you can have bespoke?
Hidden inside the Accessibility menu is a feature called Headphone Accommodations. This allows you to tune the audio output to suit your specific ears. You can choose preset optimizations like "Balanced Tone," "Vocal Range" (great for podcasts), or "Brightness" (great for bringing out details in music).
If you want to get really technical, you can even import a personalized audiogram. If you have had a hearing test and have the data on your phone, your AirPods can re-equalize every song and phone call to compensate for frequencies you might be missing.
Note: This feature also applies to Transparency Mode. You can actually use Headphone Accommodations to amplify soft sounds in the real world, effectively turning your AirPods Pro into a mild hearing aid for conversations in noisy restaurants.
How to tune your audio:
- Navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual.
- Tap on Headphone Accommodations and toggle it On.
- Tap Custom Audio Setup.
- Follow the on-screen wizard. It will play samples of music and ask you which version sounds better, eventually creating a custom profile just for you.
4. Use "Siri Announce" to Stay Connected Without the Screen
The true goal of wearable technology is to help us look at our screens less. One of the most underutilized features for this is Announce Notifications. When enabled, Siri will gently lower the volume of your music and read incoming messages to you. You can then reply instantly just by speaking—no need to say "Hey Siri" first.
This is incredibly useful when you are cooking with messy hands, working out at the gym, or carrying groceries. You can filter this so Siri doesn't read every notification (which would be annoying). You can set it to only announce Direct Messages or notifications from specific apps like Slack or WhatsApp.
Furthermore, you can control your phone entirely with your voice. Many users don't realize that the AirPods Pro microphones are incredibly sensitive. You can whisper commands like "Turn up the volume," "Skip track," or "Battery level" without ever touching your device.
Setting up Announce Notifications:
- Go to Settings > Notifications.
- Tap Announce Notifications.
- Toggle it On.
- Scroll down to choose which apps are allowed to interrupt you. We recommend keeping this list short (e.g., Messages, Calendar, and Delivery apps) to maintain your sanity.
5. Precision Finding: Never Lose the Case Again
If you own the AirPods Pro (2nd Generation), the charging case is significantly smarter than its predecessor. The older models were notoriously difficult to find if they slipped between couch cushions because the case itself didn't have a speaker—only the earbuds did.
The newer MagSafe Charging Case (USB-C or Lightning) has a built-in U1 Ultra Wideband chip and a loud speaker. This means you can use Precision Finding in the "Find My" app. Instead of just seeing a general location on a map, your iPhone will turn into a compass, guiding you with an arrow and distance counter (e.g., "4ft to your right").
You can also make the case chirp loudly. This is a lifesaver when you are rushing out the door in the morning and can't remember if you left them in your jacket pocket or on the nightstand.
Quick Tip: The case also makes a sound when it starts charging. If you find this annoying (especially at night), you can turn off "Enable Charging Case Sounds" in your AirPods settings menu.
How to find them:
- Open the Find My app on your iPhone.
- Tap the Devices tab.
- Select your AirPods Pro.
- Tap Find. If you are close by, the screen will switch to the green circular interface guiding you directly to the hidden case.
Your AirPods Pro are capable of much more than just delivering great playlists. By taking five minutes to tweak these settings, you aren't just customizing a gadget; you are upgrading your daily soundtrack, protecting your focus, and ensuring you never miss a beat—or a conversation.