AirPods to get 3 exciting new features
Your AirPods will reportedly get some major upgrades as Apple debuts iOS 26 next week at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC).
While the event is rumored to feature fewer AI advances than expected, WWDC typically brings some big news. Perhaps chief among the expected news is Apple's latest iOS, which will reportedly be called iOS 26, to match the upcoming year, instead of the previously expected iOS 19.
With that new software could come some big changes for your AirPods. Apple-focused site 9to5Mac exclusively reported this week that some of the AirPods upgrades are expected to come with iOS 26.
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Here are three exciting new AirPod features to expect, according to 9to5Mac:
A new head gesture that will end a Conversation Awareness volume adjustment, which, as of now, requires you to press and hold the AirPod stem.
A new camera control feature, where tapping an AirPod stem will take a picture. This might be way easier than using the iPhone's timer feature.
A sleep detection system that'll auto-pause when someone falls asleep while using their AirPods.
Now, keep in mind that the report from 9to5Mac relies on unnamed sources within Apple, so it is not guaranteed that we will get all these features at WWDC. That's not to say the report isn't true; just that Apple can always change course.
We'll just have to wait until Monday's WWDC to see what, exactly, happens for AirPods.
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
