These are the new features coming to AirPods this year

At WWDC 2024 today, Apple announced new features coming to AirPods and AirPods Pro later this year. There are new ways to interact with Siri, a new Voice Isolation feature, and Personalized Spatial Audio for gaming.

For AirPods Pro (2nd generation), Apple is adding a new feature that allows you to shake your head “yes” or “no” to respond to Siri interactions:

AirPods Pro users will be able to simply nod their head yes or gently shake their head no to respond to Siri announcements, which is particularly helpful in crowded or quiet areas where they may not want to speak out loud. Enabled by machine learning on the H2 chip, Siri Interactions allow users to answer or dismiss calls, interact with messages, manage notifications, and so much more — all without speaking.

Also for AirPods Pro (2nd generation), there’s a new Voice Isolation feature, which isolates and enhances voice quality while removing significant background noise for the listener:

To deliver the best call quality no matter the environmental conditions, AirPods Pro introduce Voice Isolation, expanding the game-changing feature available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Machine learning, running on the H2 chip in AirPods Pro and the paired iPhone, iPad, or Mac, isolates and enhances voice quality while removing significant background noise — like wind around the caller — for the listener.

Finally, Apple is expanding Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking for gaming. This feature will work across AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max:

Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking will be available for gaming across AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max — delivering the immersive audio customers have come to love when listening to music, or watching movies and shows. When using AirPods Pro, gamers will now have the best wireless audio latency Apple has ever delivered for mobile gaming. AirPods Pro users can also enjoy improved voice quality, including 16-bit, 48kHz audio, when chatting with teammates and other players. To make it easier to implement the most immersive listening experience for games with advanced sound design, a developer API is now available

The new firmware is available today for developer beta testers. New AirPods features will be available this fall as a free firmware update