When Apple issues the firmware upgrade needed to use AirPods Pro 2 as a hearing aid, it will put the company into direct competition with existing over-the-counter (OTC) products.
Most OTC hearing aids offer Bluetooth headphone functionality, so a single device will serve both functions either way, but AirPods will offer two significant advantages …
Both AirPods and OTC hearing aids allow you to create a hearing profile designed to address your specific issues. If you have difficulty hearing particular frequencies, for example, the device can boost the volume of these to compensate.
But Wired notes that almost all OTC hearing aids revert to dumb headphone mode when using them to listen to streaming content – that is, the compensation they offer when listening to ambient sound is disabled.
One of the most impressive features is something no one else has provided: these hearing settings are applied to the streaming experience too. So if you have trouble hearing highs, those settings will also be applied to phone calls, music, movies, and games—all automatically. Most (if not all) other OTC hearing aids shut their hearing aid features off altogether whenever you are streaming media, so this could represent a real, game-changing improvement for people with hearing loss.
Additionally, one of the benefits of a prescription hearing aid is that it can be programmed using an audiogram generated by a professional audiologist, while simpler OTC devices can’t. But AirPods Pro 2 act like prescription devices in this regard, allowing you to upload an audiogram.
As Wired notes, this will put Apple into a highly unusual position for a company which normally charges premium prices compared to its competitors. When most OTC hearing aids typically cost $300-400, Apple’s $249 price mean it will actually offer a cheaper product, as well as a better one.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
