Apple AirPods finally get update that lets you control iPhone by moving your head – and I’ve already tried it out
APPLE is now rolling out an update to millions of AirPods that will let you control your iPhone just by moving your head.
It means you can silently reject phone calls by shaking your head from side to side – and I’ve already tried it out.
Apple announced the new feature back in June at its annual WWDC event.
The company confirmed that it was coming to the AirPods Pro, which sit in the middle of Apple’s headphones line-up.
At the time, Apple said: “AirPods are one of the best ways to interact with Siri on the go, and with Siri Interactions, that experience gets even more personal, private, and convenient.
“AirPods Pro users will be able to simply nod their head yes or gently shake their head no to respond to Siri announcements, which is particularly helpful in crowded or quiet areas where they may not want to speak out loud.
“Enabled by machine learning on the H2 chip, Siri Interactions allow users to answer or dismiss calls, interact with messages, manage notifications, and so much more — all without speaking.”
Now it’s finally rolling out to AirPods Pro, but there are some catches.
HOW TO GET SIRI INTERACTIONS FOR AIRPODS
First, it’ll only work if you have a pair of Apple AirPods 2.
Secondly, you’ll need to have them paired to an iPhone running iOS 18.
That won’t be available publicly until Monday, September 13.
However, if you signed up to the iOS 18 beta then the new feature should work for you.
You’ll also need to make sure that you’ve actually received the AirPods update.
There’s no guaranteed way to manually update the firmware on your Apple AirPods.
However, it should happen automatically as it began rolling out on Tuesday.
To check, just go into your AirPods settings to see if you’re on firmware version 7A294.
POD POWER HAS ME NODDING YES!
Here’s what Sean Keach, Head of Technology and Science at The Sun, has to say…
I had a chance to try out the new AirPods head-nodding feature at Apple Park during the Glowtime event on September 9.
The feature lets you say yes or no to Siri actions, like answering incoming phone calls.
It was extremely easy and required basically no training because, believe it or not, I’ve nodded my head before. I suspect you have too.
You don’t have to do an awkward exaggerated neck-breaking nod, or swing your head from side to side for this to work.
A simple but subtle gesture that could be missed by other people is all it takes.
Importantly, it feels very intuitive. You can imagine using it all the time once it’s fully available.
You can use it for basically any Siri announcement that has a yes-or-no choice.
But I suspect it’ll get most use for dismissing calls – especially if you’re somewhere crowded, like in a packed elevator.
How satisfying will it be to just shake those bothersome callers away?
If you see that version, it means you have the new update.
A Reddit thread about the update has received well over a thousand upvotes.
And fans pointed out that the feature actually adds a second bonus feature for free too.
In Apple’s release notes for the update, it confirms that Voice Isolation has been added to the AirPods Pro (2nd gen).
“This update also adds Voice Isolation to calls with AirPods Pro 2 to help ensure you come across clearly by removing background noise around you for whoever you are speaking to,” Apple explained.
If you don’t have the iOS 18 beta then these new features won’t work for you.
Instead, you’ll simply have to wait for the general iOS 18 public release on Monday, September 13.