Apple has a hot new product. It’s a hearing aid.
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When the world’s most valuable company held its latest glitzy event this week, Apple offered a peek at its highly anticipated AI tools and the next iPhone. And one more thing that could quietly turn out to be the most important release of them all.
It wasn’t a new product. In fact, it’s a product you might already own. The company showed off a feature that will transform the most popular wireless earbuds into something else altogether—something that Apple believes will meaningfully, almost magically improve the lives of millions of people.
A hearing aid. As soon as it rolls out the software update this fall, Apple will instantly make the AirPods Pro 2 into a medical device, essentially turning every pair of the company’s top-selling headphones into over-the-counter hearing aids. Audiologists expect it will be the best low-cost option for most Americans who need hearing aids but don’t wear them.
It’s meant for people with perceived mild to moderate levels of hearing loss. And those are exactly the people who might never otherwise get a hearing aid. Whether it’s because of price, stigma or their refusal to admit they’re getting older, people with the least severe hearing problems are the ones most reluctant to seek help.
Most feel it’s not worth their money, time and energy to find a solution. Some don’t even know they have a problem. But walking around with something in your ear has become so completely normalized—even cool!—that medical professionals believe people who might not wear a hearing aid will feel perfectly comfortable popping in AirPods.
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