Apple is finally giving AirPods users an equalizer — a feature that has been standard on competing earbuds for years.
The EQ controls are technically available now, but only through Apple's beta software track. Getting access requires installing multiple pre-release builds, which Apple discourages for everyday users for good reason: beta software breaks things. A stable, general-availability release has not been announced. The feature covers both standard AirPods and AirPods Pro models.
The addition matters because Apple has sold AirPods as a premium product for nearly a decade without offering users any way to tune the sound profile. Sony, Bose, and Jabra have shipped companion-app equalizers for years — some with per-genre or per-app presets. If Apple's implementation is competitive, it closes a long-standing gap that audiophiles have used to justify buying elsewhere. If it's limited, it will fuel exactly that argument.
AirPods dominating the earbuds market despite this omission is either a testament to Apple's ecosystem pull or a reminder that most buyers never touch EQ settings anyway.