One of our most-wanted features is coming to AirPods Pro 2, and it's not one of the 5 new AirPods features that Apple announced at its WWDC 2024 event. The new feature will give you much more control over how the Adaptive Audio mode works (via 9to5Mac), enabling you to adjust how much noise it blocks from the outside, and giving the kind of smart control we expect from the best noise cancelling earbuds from other manufacturers.
The Adaptive Audio mode combines two ANC features: active noise cancellation, and Transparency mode. The former removes ambient sound, while the latter lets it in so you can remain aware of your surroundings, mixing it in with your music. The Adaptive Audio mode is a bit smarter, using the noise cancellation power to cut down unneeded background noise, while still allowing speech or traffic to come through. But at the moment there's just a single setting for Adaptive Audio: you can have it on, or you can have it switched off. iOS 18 will change that.
