Apple’s Adaptive Transparency feature is designed not just to protect hearing in urban streets, but at live concerts as well.
A key feature of Apple’s new AirPods Pro 2, and one that helps to situate them near the top of our list of the best true wireless earbuds, is the new Adaptive Transparency mode. For the latest AirPods offering, Apple supercharged its Transparency feature to protect users’ ears from construction equipment, blaring car horns, and other sources of everyday urban noise, something it does by tapping the processing capabilities of the new, billion-transistors-strong, H2 chip.
During a briefing I had with the company following the AirPods 2 release, I learned that Adaptive Transparency was also developed with concerts and other performances in mind, and that the same feature meant to shield your ears from nearby power tools could also save them from the aural assault of live rock n roll.
This sounded like something I needed to put to the test.
I had high expectations for Adaptive Transparency ever since Apple made its surprise announcement of the AirPods Pro 2 in early September. And while the version that arrived with Apple’s latest earbuds is more basic than I had anticipated, it’s still a very welcome feature, specifically because of the way it limits loud noises when the AirPods 2 is in Transparency mode.
Sound gets measured in decibels (dB), with normal noise like background conversation registering around 60 dB. According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), when nearby noise is elevated to the 80-85 dB level – about what you hear from a nearby lawn mower or leaf blower – prolonged exposure to it can cause hearing loss. Louder sounds like an approaching subway (100 dB) or a sporting event or concert (105 – 110 dB), can cause damage when you’re exposed for a short period of time – as little as 5 minutes.
