{"id":514599,"date":"2026-07-07T19:52:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/514599\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T19:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:52:08","slug":"airpods-firmware-beta-lets-developers-use-new-ios-27-features","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/514599\/","title":{"rendered":"AirPods firmware beta lets developers use new iOS 27 features"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple has released a new firmware developer beta build for AirPods<\/a> and AirPods Pro, preparing the personal audio devices for upcoming iOS 27 changes. <\/p>\n

Apple periodically updates the firmware of its accessories and peripherals to account for new features being added to its operating systems. With iOS 27<\/a>, macOS 27<\/a>, and others undergoing testing, that same process also happens for firmware updates. <\/p>\n

Tuesday’s new firmware, build 9A5314b, is for the AirPods 4, AirPods Pro<\/a> 3, and AirPods Max<\/a> 2. The firmware is only available to developers, not to the general public. <\/p>\n

The firmware can be downloaded by using the AirPods with an Apple device running iOS 26<\/a> or later, iPadOS 26<\/a> or later, or macOS 26<\/a> or later. There is an option under the AirPods settings interface to enable beta firmware installation. <\/p>\n

After enabling it, the update process happens automatically, while recharging and within range of the host device. <\/p>\n

Audio changes<\/p>\n

While Apple doesn’t state what the firmware is for, it is almost certainly going to enable Apple’s personal audio devices to work properly with changes<\/a> in its 27-generation operating systems. <\/p>\n

Those changes include a redesign of the AirPods settings submenu, including easy-to-read labels and groupings similar to other Settings elements. <\/p>\n

A new customizable EQ is also on the way, found under Settings, AirPods, Audio and Routing, then Equalizer. <\/p>\n

Apple Watch<\/a> users will also be able to use Find My<\/a> to track down a pair of missing AirPods Pro. Lastly, for AirPods Pro 3, the heart rate tracking will now sync with GymKit on supportive exercise equipment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple has released a new firmware developer beta build for AirPods and AirPods Pro, preparing the personal audio…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[111,139,69,145],"class_list":["post-514599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}