Apple is adding manual EQ controls to AirPods in iOS 27, a feature rival headphone makers shipped years ago.
Starting with iOS 27, AirPods users will be able to adjust their own bass, midrange, and treble settings. Apple's earbuds have long included Adaptive EQ — a system that automatically shapes audio to the geometry of the ear canal — but that runs silently, with no user controls. This is the first time Apple is putting those adjustments in the listener's hands.
A customizable EQ has been standard in premium wireless audio for years. Sony, Jabra, and a range of mid-tier competitors have offered multi-band tuning through companion apps for some time, often with more granular controls than a simple three-band slider. Apple has charged a premium for AirPods without matching rivals on audio customization, and this update closes one of the more obvious gaps in that argument.
The details that would determine whether this is actually useful — how many bands, how granular the controls are — haven't been announced.