Owners of AirPods get a nice, if subtle, makeover iOS 16which was released on September 12, 2022.
The main Settings screen for your AirPods is now easily accessible from the very front of the Settings app when they’re connected, instead of being in the Bluetooth section of the app.
There are really useful options for your AirPods here, like customizing their controls; adjust how their charging works; make sure Find My is turned on to make them harder to lose; changing the ear detection system in case it doesn’t work for you; take the Ear Fit test AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro 2; and custom surround sound for Pro models, 3rd generation AirPods or AirPods Max.
Many people will own one of the the best AirPods models years and never came across this screen. Previously, to find this screen you had to go to the Settings app, then Bluetooth, then tap the little “i” symbol on the right—just tapping the name of your AirPods won’t get you there.
Now you can’t skip it by opening the Settings app, so hopefully this will make people even happier with their Apple headphones, although many will be happy with just the default settings.
However, AirPods still have customization options that aren’t available on this screen, so it’s not like AirPods are done with hidden options…
Let’s adjust the EQ and transparency, Apple
One major thing I’d like to see here is the ability to adjust the EQ, or at least a direct shortcut for doing so. At the moment, Apple doesn’t offer the ability to adjust the EQ just for a specific set of AirPods — you can only make an EQ setting that affects all music from the Apple Music app that you’re listening to.
I wish Apple would provide the ability to adjust the sound on individual AirPods models, but in the meantime, I’d be content with just a shortcut that takes you from the AirPods settings screen directly to the music settings, so at least people hoping to find this option, know where to go instead.
And another option I’d like to make more prominent is the ability to adjust the transparency mode – I’ve written before about how discovering hidden controls made a huge difference for me. And while the new Adaptive Transparency mode on AirPods sounds great and may solve some of my issues with it – and this is one of the main reasons to buy the AirPods Pro 2 yourself – this only works with one new model of AirPods. Those with the original AirPods Pro and AirPods Max may want to tweak the mode like I did.
However, the ability to adjust the Transparency mode remains locked for several layers in the Audio Accessibility settings. The good news is that the AirPods settings screen contains an accessibility shortcut… but you’re still there then you need to click on “Audio accessibility settings” and then “Headphone placement”, after which you will first see a blank screen (you need to turn on the switch at the top to even see anything).
I doubt Apple will ever bring this feature to the main AirPods settings — especially not in its current form, where it’s geared more toward the hearing-impaired and has tons of little tweaks you can make. But I would like to see a simpler version in the future, now that maybe more people are thinking about what changes to make to their AirPods.
At this point, if you need deep customization, you might be better off Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II or Sony WF-1000XM4.
https://www.techradar.com/news/ios-16-makes-it-easier-to-customize-your-airpods-but-theres-more-to-do/
