At its bombastic Worldwide Developers Conference keynote today, Apple announced some new features for the AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), and AirPods Pro 2.
Studio-quality audio recording lets interviewers, podcasters, singers, and other creators record their content with better sound quality, even while on the go or in noisy places with the help of Voice Isolation.
Apple also promises “more natural vocal texture and clarity” across iPhone calls, FaceTime, and CallKit-enabled apps. Studio-quality audio recording and improved call quality work when you’re connected to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. This also supports the Camera app, Voice Memos, dictation in Messages, video conferencing apps like Webex, and “compatible third-party camera apps”.
And then there’s camera remote. While using the Camera app or a compatible third-party camera app on your iPhone or iPad, you can press and hold the AirPods stem to take a photo or start a video recording, then press-and-hold again to stop the recording.
These features will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month, and will be part of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26.