Which 8 Useful AirPods Tips for New Owners

1. Use Find My AirPods to keep your AirPods safe.

 Apps can track Apple's latest AirPods, including the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro 2, if they are stolen or misplaced. AirPods can take advantage of the Find My iPhone network, so you can leverage the iPhones, iPads, and Macs of other people to track down a lost set of AirPods wherever they end up, as long as the battery holds out.

You're also going to want to make sure you enable "Notify When Left Behind" so you can get alerted right away if you're out and about and forget your AirPods somewhere. To turn it on, open up the Find My app, tap on your AirPods in the list, and toggle on the "Notify When Left Behind" option.

 The AirPods Pro 2 go even further and include a built-in speaker in the case so that you can use the "Play a Sound" feature to track them down if they're lost somewhere nearby.

2. Activate or deactivate automatic device switching.

 Apple's AirPods have a feature that allows them to automatically connect to whatever device is in active use, so if you swap from your iPhone to your Mac, the AirPods connection is meant to transition from one device to another as you do.

 Automatic switching can be useful, but there are instances where you might not want it turned on if it's switching between devices inappropriately. You can manage by following these steps.

1. Connect your AirPods to your iPhone.
2. Open the Settings app.
3. Tap on your AirPods in the section
4. Tap on "Connect to This iPhone."
5. Choose "When Last Connected to This iPhone" to turn automatic switching off and "Automatically" to turn it on.

With "Automatically" turned on, your AirPods will connect to your iPhone when it's in active use and your AirPods are in your ears. With "When Last Connected to This iPhone" selected, AirPods will only connect to the last connected device, rather than the device in active use. This feature also works with AirPods 2, AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max.

 Note that you will need to disable automatic switching for each device connected to your i loud account if you're not a fan of the feature and want it off entirely. There's no master toggle, with Apple handling it on a per-device basis.

3. Turn on Announce Notifications.

 AirPods are able to their turn it on:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on "Notifications."
3. Tap on "Announce Notifications."
4. Toggle on "Announce Notifications."
5. Toggle on "Headphones."

With both Announcement Notifications and Headphones toggled on, Siri will read out notifications from apps of your choice when you have the AirPods in and will give you an opportunity to respond. So if you have an incoming text message, Siri will read it out and give you a chance to send out a reply, all hands-free.

 You can choose which apps to use to announce Notifications with so that you get important notifications without having Siri read them all to you.

4. Check your AirPods' battery life:

 If you want to keep tabs on your AirPods' battery life, there are multiple ways to do so. AirPods will tell you the battery level when you connect them to a device, or you can use the "Battery" widget on an iPhone or an iPad.
Siri can also tell you how long your AirPods' battery life is, and if your AirPods are connected to your Apple Watch, the control center displays battery life information. For more on the different ways to check your AirPods' battery life, see the next section.

5. Use the force sensor to control playback.

 If you've upgraded to the AirPods 3 or AirPods Pro 2 from the original AirPods, the AirPods 2, or the AirPods Pro, or if you're new to AirPods entirely, you might not be familiar with the physical controls.
The AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro have a built-in force sensor in the stem. The force sensor can be used for controlling media playback with different presses.

• Single press: audio play/pause
• double press to skip forward.
• To go backward, triple-tap.
• Press when there's a call to answer an incoming call.
• Hang up by pressing twice on a phone call.
• Press and hold to activate Siri or swap between ANC and transparency (AirPods Pro only).

On AirPods Pro, you can customize what the long press force sensor gesture does because it can be set to Noise Control or Siri. The AirPods 3 do not have active noise cancellation and are limited to Siri for the press-and-hold gesture.

 The AirPods Pro also have touch-based gestures available for adjusting the volume.

• Swipe up on the AirPods Pro to increase volume.
• Swipe down on the AirPods Pro to lower the volume.

Note that if you have AirPods 2, there is no Force Sensor included, and these gestures won't work. With AirPods 2, you can double tap to do things like play or pause, with the tap gesture customizable in the Settings app.

6. Make sure spatial audio is activated.

 Spatial audio is a feature that offers immersive three-dimensional sound and is able to follow the movement of the iPhone with supported audio and video. Spatial audio can be toggled on or off using the Control Center, and it is available for AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max.

1. With your AirPods connected to your iPhone or iPad, open up the Control Center.
2. On the volume slider, you should see a little icon that looks like the AirPods. If you don't see it, reconnect your AirPods. Long press on the volume slider. Tap on the "Spatial Audio" option.
3. Choose between Off, Fixed, or Head Tracked (on supported devices).

Off disables spatial audio completely, whereas fixed enables spatial audio but disables head-tracking functionality. Head Tracked enables the full spatial audio feature, including head tracking.

 You can also preview what spatial audio sounds like by connecting your AirPods to your phone, selecting them in the Bluetooth section of the Settings app, and choosing the "Spatial Audio" option.
For an even more personalized experience, tap on "Personalized Spatial Audio" in the AirPods section of the Settings app with your AirPods connected. Your phone will use the True Depth camera to scan both of your ears for customized spatial audio.
Spatial audio works with the Apple TV app and Apple Music, but many third-party apps also support it, like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, YouTube, and more.

7. Use active noise cancellation.

 Active Noise Cancellation is an AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro 2 default feature that just works out of the box, but it is helpful to know how to turn it on and off. ANC is also available on the AirPods Max.

1. With the AirPods Pro connected to your iPhone, open up the Control Center.
2. Long press the volume icon to activate it.
3. Select Noise Control.
4. Drag the slider to "Noise Cancellation," Off, or Transparency depending on the mode that you want.
5. Alternatively, press and hold on the stem of the AirPods to manually swap between ANC and Transparency mode, or use the AirPods Pro section in the Settings app to access Noise Control.
6. If you're using the Settings app, drag the Noise Control slider to your preferred position. Turn on ANC on the left, turn it off in the middle, and turn on Transparency on the right.

Active Noise Cancellation is normally a feature that's enabled when you have both of your AirPods in your ears, but there is a trick to getting it to turn on when you're just using one.

1. With AirPods Pro connected, launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the AirPods Pro tab, just under your Apple ID banner.
3. Scroll down, then tap Accessibility.
4. Scroll down again, then under "Noise Control," toggle on the switch next to "Noise Cancellation with One AirPods."

8. Use Adaptive Transparency (AirPods Pro 2 Only)

The second-generation AirPods Pro have an expanded Transparency feature that is able to adjust to the surrounding sound, toning down loud noises like construction work, sirens, and other disturbances while not blocking out all sound.

It is typically enabled by default, but if you want to turn it off or double-check, follow these instructions.

1. With the AirPods Pro 2 connected to your iPhone, open up the Settings app.
2. Tap on AirPods Pro 2.
3. Scroll down to Adaptive Transparency and toggle it on or off.

Adaptive Transparency will cut down on all loud sounds, so it is ideal for day-to-day use and for situations like concerts where the music might be loud enough to cause hearing damage.