Apple announced a slew of new software features for AirPods owners at WWDC on Monday, but it appears as if AirPods Max owners will miss out on all of them.
The over-ear headphones will not receive the update that enables the new Adaptive Audio feature, Personalised Volume and Conversation Awareness, as well as the Siri command that loses the need to say ‘Hey’ to wake the assistant.
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It’s also apparent that Apple isn’t even bringing the upgrade that improves on the already excellent speedy device switching, 9to5Mac reports.
Apple says the new Adaptive Audio listening mode is only available for the AirPods Pro (2nd generation). As explained at WWDC on Monday, the feature is a combination of two exiting features – Transparency (to allow you to hear wha’s going on around you) and Active Noise Cancelling which cuts out the noise completely.
With Adaptive Audio, the AirPods Pro will intelligently switch between both modes without the user having to manually do so. There’s also an absence of support for the Personalised Volume and Conversation Awareness features which Apple describes as follows:
Personalized Volume uses machine learning to fine-tune your media experience based on your preferences over time and the environment around you. If you begin speaking to someone nearby, Conversation Awareness automatically lowers any media volume, reduces background noise, and enhances the voices in front of you.
Why are the AirPods Max missing out? Well it probably comes down to hardware. The H1 chip sits within the AirPods Max, while the new AirPods Pro has a H2 chip.
It doesn’t mean that Apple will not be able to launch versions of these features at some point in the future, but the current absence makes the 2020 model much harder to recommend in the short term.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
