It turns out that Adaptive Transparency will remain exclusive to the new AirPods Pro 2 after all.
Recently users of the original AirPods Pro reported seeing the option appear when using the older wireless earbuds. This prompted speculation that Apple was bringing the feature to the AirPods Pro. But now that's not so, according to Apple analyst Mark Gurman.
He tweets that the emergence of the feature for the older pair was merely a bug.
I’m told this is a bug https://t.co/4BPBmpLbgIOctober 3, 2022
Adaptive Transparency promises to reduce the effects of loud noises like pneumatic drills and sirens while still allowing in other ambient sounds, so you can stay aware of your surroundings.
It uses Apple's H2 chip, which is exclusive to the AirPods Pro 2. So it makes sense that it wouldn't be enabled on the original AirPods Pro.
Apple still hasn't commented on the feature appearing for the older model. But Gurman's comments certainly suggest this was a mistake on Apple's part. If so, we'd expect it to be rectified with the next version of the iOS 16.1 Beta.
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