Did you just unwrap new AirPods Pro? If so, it’s key that you know there is a lot more to the experience than just listening to music and podcasts. Here are some of my recommendations for new AirPods Pro users.
AirPods Pro fit test
When you unboxed your AirPods Pro, you probably noticed there were multiple different ear tip sizes inside. One thing you’ll want to do is make sure you have the best fit possible when wearing AirPods Pro. This helps things like noise cancellation performance, overall fit and comfort, and microphone performance.
- With your AirPods Pro in your ears and connected, open the Settings app and tap their name at the top.
- Tap “Ear Tip Fit Test” in the menu and tap the play button.
Now, your AirPods Pro will conduct a test to assess if you’ve achieved the optimal fit and notify you if you should try one of the other ear tip sizes. The AirPods Pro 3 includes five different sizes of ear tips that you can easily switch between.
AirPods Pro listening modes
AirPods Pro have multiple different listening modes from which you can choose.
- Active Noise Cancellation: Outward-facing microphones detect external sounds then counter with anti-noise, canceling the external sounds before you hear them. An inward-facing microphone listens inside your ear for unwanted internal sounds, which your AirPods also counter with anti-noise.
- Transparency Mode: Lets outside sound in, so you can hear what’s going on around you.
- Adaptive Audio: Adjusts the noise cancellation for you in response to and based on your surroundings.
With iOS 18 and newer, you can now customize Adaptive Audio to better fit your needs and “allow more or less noise.”
There are multiple ways to switching between listening modes with AirPods Pro 3. You can press and hold on the force sensor on the stem of an AirPod until a chime plays. You can also customize which modes to switch between when pressing the force sensor in the Settings app. You can also change listening modes in the Settings app.
Additionally, you can swipe down from the top right corner of your iPhone to open Control Center then touch and hold the volume slider.
Conversation Awareness
Conversation Awareness is a bit of a controversial AirPods feature. Some people love it, some people hate it. If you just unwrapped new AirPods Pro, it’s worth giving this feature a try to see where you land on the spectrum.
When you start talking while wearing your AirPods, Conversation Awareness kicks in to lower the volume of your audio and enhance the voices in front of you. Then, once the conversation is over, the feature automatically turns up the volume.
You can find Conversation Awareness in Control Center on your iPhone or in the AirPods menu of the Settings app.
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Controls
AirPods Pro 3 feature a Force Sensor in their stems that let you do certain things without reaching for your iPhone.
- Play and pause audio: Press the stem. To resume playback, press it again.
- Play the next track: Double-press the stem.
- Play the previous track: Triple-press the stem.
- Answer a call: When you receive a call, press the stem.
- Adjust volume: Lightly swipe up or down on the stem.
You can customize what the force sensor does in the AirPods menu of the Settings app.
Head gestures
In addition to the Force Sensor, you can also interact with your AirPods Pro by nodding your head up or down:
- Accept a call or reply to notifications and messages: Nod your head up and down.
- Decline a call or dismiss notifications and messages: Shake your head side to side.
You can enable this feature by navigating to the AirPods menu in the Settings app and tapping on “Head Gestures.” From there, you can select which gesture is associated with “Accept, Reply” and “Decline, Dismiss.”
Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features
Last year, Apple supercharged AirPods Pro with new hearing health features.
Now, you take a hearing test with your AirPods Pro to find out if you have hearing loss. You can then use AirPods Pro as a hearing aid if you have mild to moderate hearing loss.
Learn more:
Microphone features
AirPods Pro feature a number of different features for when you’re using the built-in microphone.
- Automatic: Automatically uses the Mic Mode that’s best for your call or recording. For example, Automatic uses Voice Isolation to block ambient noises during calls using the receiver, and it uses the Standard mic mode for calls using the speakerphone.
- Standard: Uses standard voice processing.
- Voice Isolation: Prioritizes your voice and blocks ambient noises.
- Wide Spectrum: Leaves ambient noises unfiltered.
To find these controls, during your call or recording, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center
Find My integration
AirPods Pro also integrate with the Find My app on your iPhone. This means that if you ever misplace the case or the buds themselves, you can locate them on a map in Find My. You can even play a sound to help you find them.
You can find your AirPods Pro in the “Devices” section of the Find My app. Here, you can play a sound, enable notifications so you don’t leave them behind, and more.
Best AirPods accessories
There are several ways to upgrade your AirPods Pro experience with accessories. Here are a few of my favorites:
Audio Sharing
One of my favorite features of AirPods Pro is audio sharing. This feature allows me to share the audio I’m listening to with someone else who is wearing AirPods or Beats headphones.
To activate audio sharing, simply tap the AirPlay button in the Now Playing screen, the Lock Screen, or Control Center. Then, tap the “Share Audio” button and bring the other person’s headphones close to yours. The two headphones will seamlessly pair together.
Audio sharing works with all generations of AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max. There’s also support for several different Beats products as well.
Live Translation
With this year’s release of iOS 26, AirPods Pro can now translate in-person conversations in real-time.
For example, if you speak English and you’re talking to someone who speaks Spanish, you can pop in your AirPods and enable Live Translation to hear what the other person is saying in English.
There are multiple ways to enable Live Translation:
- Open the Translate app on your iPhone.
- Press and hold the stem on both AirPods at the same time.
- Say something like, “Siri, start Live Translation.”
Wrap up
What AirPods Pro features are you most excited to try? Let us know down in the comments.
My favorite accessories right now:
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