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Apple’s Adaptive Transparency feature of the AirPods Pro 2 won’t be retrofitted to the original model, with the inclusion of the feature in an iOS 16.1 beta reportedly being a mistake.
Apple’s third beta of iOS 16.1 unexpected an option included in the Settings app to seemingly enable Adaptive Transparency on the first-generation AirPods Pro. However, despite appearing in the OS build, it was not a functional element for users.
While it gave some hope that the feature will work for the older personal audio accessories in the future, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman Posted on Twitter that his sources say “this is a bug”. In clarifying comments on Monday, Gurman adds, “It’s not meant to work,” and was probably only accessed by accident.
Adaptive transparency for the second generation AirPods Pro is an improvement over the original Transparency mode, which allows some ambient sounds to pass through while reducing the volume of drones and persistent sounds. Adaptive Transparency adds that sudden loud sounds are automatically muted, while the listener remains aware of their surroundings.
Apple hasn’t mentioned the possibility of Adaptive Transparency being made available on older hardware, and it’s unlikely that the switch will be made due to the component changes in the latest models.