After the third iOS 16.1 beta arrived last week, 1st-gen AirPods Pro users got a big surprise: Adaptive Transparency, one of the excellent new features announced with the 2nd-gen AirPods Pro, was added for the older model as well. Now, it seems as though that’s not actually happening.
According to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, the addition of the Adaptive Transparency toggle in the iOS 16.1 beta is “a bug” and will presumably be removed before release. As it stands, Adaptive Transparency will only be available on the new AirPods Pro, and not the 1st-gen model or AirPods Max, which both have standard transparency mode.
While transparency mode allows users to hear outside sounds while wearing their earbuds, Adaptive Transparency is a new feature for the second-generation AirPods Pro that lets you hear your surroundings while reducing the volume of any noise over 85dB. Apple says the feature uses on-device processing that relies on the “powerful H2 chip … which reduces loud environmental noise — like a passing vehicle siren, construction tools, or even loud speakers at a concert — for more comfortable everyday listening.”
You can read our review of the 2nd-generation AirPods Pro for detailed impressions and testing, but it seems like original AirPods Pro owners still have one more reason to upgrade.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.