Leaked iOS 26 Information Unveils Exciting New AirPods Capabilities
Apple HQ appears to have experienced a leak in the days leading up to its WWDC 2025 keynote, with new information about the firm’s forthcoming software updates continuously surfacing online. After revealing a few surprises related to iOS 26 on Tuesday, 9to5Mac came back today with insights about fresh features expected for Apple’s AirPods this fall.
As reported by 9to5Mac, several new functionalities are presently being developed for Apple’s wireless earbuds. The anticipation is that these new additions will be incorporated into the iOS 26 and macOS 26 software updates, though the site cautions that Apple may “opt to postpone or alter” these features, so there’s no assurance we’ll see them this fall.
New AirPods features anticipated in iOS 26
Among the speculated features, the most captivating is camera control. 9to5Mac indicates that AirPods users will have the ability to press the AirPods stem to capture a photo with a paired iPhone. This specific feature was found on Apple’s EarBuds but has not been seen on AirPods yet.
The report further mentions that AirPods will soon support new head gestures. Apple unveiled head gestures on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 in 2024, permitting users to move their heads to answer or decline calls, as well as interact with messages and notifications. In iOS 26, Apple is expected to introduce additional gestures, possibly including one that would allow users to end or prolong a Conversation Awareness volume adjustment.
Additional new functionalities headed to Apple’s AirPods in iOS 26 comprise sleep detection to automatically pause content when the user drifts off, a “studio quality” mic mode akin to the iPhone’s Audio Mix feature, and a better pairing process.
Join the WWDC 2025
As for which AirPods will receive these updates, we’ll need to wait until Monday for clarification. Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote is set to commence on June 9 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. Even if these new features are not unveiled during the keynote, we typically discover a broad array of new functionalities that Apple didn’t have the opportunity to cover once the event concludes.
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