Apple AirPods To Gain Brilliant New Feature In iOS 12 Upgrade: Ears-On

Of course, we’re familiar with an Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S9 improving with age: newer software brings extra features. But this improves-with-age design is less common in the case of headphones, unless there’s a bug that needs squishing. But one of the features announced for this Fall’s iOS 12 is scheduled to add to the capabilities of the Apple AirPods.
By the way, while there have already been several rumors of new, improved AirPods 2, with extra features such as noise-canceling, water-proofingand even to be followed by a third-generation model, this upgrade will come to all current AirPods as soon as iOS 12 arrives, this Fall. This means, of course, that anyone who signs up to the Public Beta of iOS 12 can benefit from the improvement as soon as it goes live.
The feature is called Live Listen. It allows the microphone of an iPhone to transmit audio to paired AirPods. Live Listen has been around for four years for certain hearing aids so they could pick up the audio from the iPhone, amplifying it for the listener. Until now it has only worked with Made for iPhone hearing aids but with iOS 12 you can add AirPods to that list.

I’ve tried it and it works sensationally. I mean, really, it takes your breath away.

You’ll be familiar with the scenario of a busy, noisy room where you’re on the other side of a just-too-big dinner table, struggling to hear everything your interlocutor is saying

With Live Listen, all you need to do is place your iPhone in front of your fascinating conversationalist and what the phone microphone picks up will be in your AirPods

It’s a successful, powerful effect. So powerful it takes a little getting used to. The conversation I simply couldn’t hear became completely audible and my endless polite nodding and smiling actually took on some sensible meaning now I had logged back into the conversation

AirPods have their own microphones in them, of course, but the advantage of using the iPhone microphone is it can work as a remote mic, next to the person you’re talking to or by the TV so you don't need to increase it so high the neighbors complain.