Communicating with people while wearing Apple AirPods Pro has never been more difficult: By simply pressing and holding the stem of the headphones, you can activate transparency mode and easily hear your surroundings. However, Apple has taken it a step further with the introduction of a new feature called Conversation Awareness in the AirPods Pro 2.
When this setting is enabled, the headphones will detect when you start talking. The music volume automatically reduces, and the AirPods Pro amplify the voice of the person you’re speaking with while minimizing background noise. If you’re listening to a podcast, the audio will pause momentarily to ensure you don’t miss any important moments.
Conversation Awareness is a great option for convenient dialogue, but not ideal for self-reflection or monologues.
This feature is different from the normal transparency mode, as it specifically focuses on voice frequencies and reduces other distractions. It’s more focused on the voices in front of you.
When you end a call, the sound through the headphones will return to normal volume, and if the noise canceling mode is turned on, ambient sounds will disappear in just a few seconds. However, Conversation Awareness isn’t for everyone: if you talk to yourself or your pet a lot, or tend to sing along to music, it’s best to turn it off.
- Once you’ve connected your second-generation AirPods Pro to your iPhone, open Settings and tap on the AirPods section located above Airplane Mode.
- Scroll down, past the noise reduction and call control options, until you reach the Audio section.
- Here you’ll see toggles for personalized volume, another new AirPods Pro feature, as well as Conversation Awareness and Loud Sound Reduction features.
- Turn on Conversation Awareness. After this, AirPods Pro will begin to activate this mode every time you have a loud conversation.
- You can also enable Conversation Awareness mode through the Control Center. According to my observations, this method is faster than going through the settings menu.
- Swipe down from the top right corner of your iPhone to open Control Center.
- Hold the volume control on the screen.
- Here you’ll see shortcuts for audio modes, Conversation Awareness, and spatial audio.
- Turn Conversation Awareness on or off depending on your preference.
