Ahead of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference next week, there are plenty of predictions about what we’ll see from Apple. From iOS 26 to a game center replacement, the rumor mill is certainly churning with anticipation.
The latest leak could mean significant changes for your AirPods. Apple has been working on new AirPods upgrades that could be announced at the event, according to a report by 9to5Mac citing an unnamed source.
Five main AirPods features are being reported
Last year, the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 got head gestures that allow you to nod or shake your head to accept and dismiss calls. One of the new gestures that could be unveiled, according to 9to5Mac report, is the conversational awareness volume adjustment you can currently do by pressing and holding or swiping the AirPods stem.
Sleep detection is another reported potential new feature. This would auto-pause your music or podcasts if you doze off with your AirPods in. It’s not clear if this feature would stand on its own or be integrated with sleep detection on the Apple Watch.
According to the report, you could also be getting camera control through your AirPods. Clicking the AirPods stem would give you access to the iPhone or iPad camera, 9to5Mac reported. Audio Mix, which was announced with the iPhone 16 models, could also be coming. Audio Mix uses machine learning to adjust the quality of your audio to separate background noise from speech. A new mode for AirPods would join the three existing voice options: In-frame, Studio and Cinematic.
Finally, AirPods are rumored to get an improved pairing experience for shared iPads that could include fewer manual steps, according to the report.
There’s a chance that Apple delays or changes things before WWDC. Maybe we’ll get one or two features or all at once. We’ll just have to see what comes out of the event, which kicks off with a keynote on June 9.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
