Apple rolls out new AirPods Pro beta with Conversation Boost

Apple rolls out new AirPods Pro beta with Conversation Boost

Conversation Boost in iOS 15 lets AirPods enhance the audio in face-to-face communication.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple this week rolled out its second AirPods Pro beta, adding Conversation Boost for the first time. The new feature, designed for those with hearing impairments, can be used to amplify the voice of a person you’re talking to.

Registered developers got their hands on the very first AirPods Pro beta just over two weeks ago. In its release notes, Apple explained that Conversation Boost, first previewed during WWDC 2021 in June, wasn’t yet available.

But Conversation Boost is present in the second AirPods Pro beta, according to testers — and you can get your hands on it now.

AirPods Pro get Conversation Boost

Conversation Boost “is designed to help people with mild to moderate hearing challenges stay more connected in conversations,” explained Apple engineer Gagan Gupta during the feature’s initial unveiling.

“Through computational audio and beamforming microphones, Conversation Boost focuses your AirPods Pro on the person talking in front of you, making it easier to hear and follow along in a face-to-face conversation.”

To make the feature even more effective, Apple also gives AirPods Pro users the ability to reduce ambient noise that might be cluttering up the conversation, making others even more difficult to hear.

Conversation Boost coming this fall

To try out Conversation Boost for yourself, you’ll need to install the second AirPods Pro beta — version 4A362b. We have a guide on how to do that for those with Apple Developer accounts.

For those without Apple Developer accounts, Conversation Boost and other new AirPods Pro features — including the ability to track your buds using the Find My service — will launch alongside iOS and iPadOS 15 this fall.