Apple Releases new AirPods Beta Firmware to Developers

Apple has issued a new AirPods Beta Firmware to developers after the release of the first betas of iOS 16 and macOS 13 earlier this week. While this isn’t the first time Apple has issued AirPods beta software, it has only happened once before. Through its Developer Portal, Apple has supplied instructions for installing the latest software. To enable the “Pre-Release Beta Firmware” option under the “AirPods Testing” section in Xcode 14 beta on a Mac, developers must first link AirPods to the iPhone.

After selecting this option in Xcode, it might take up to 24 hours for AirPods to update, according to the instructions. It’s worth noting that the iPhone, iPad, or Mac with which the AirPods are paired must be running iOS 16, iPadOS 16, or macOS 13 to install the beta firmware. It’s also worth noting that the beta firmware is only available for the second-generation, third-generation AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max AirPods. For the time being, the first-generation AirPods haven’t gotten the update. Aside from “improvements to Automatic Switching,” it’s also unclear what’s new in the update.

Perhaps the new AirPods Beta Firmware is connected to a new feature dubbed “Personalized Spatial Audio,” which uses the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera to build a “personal profile” for Spatial Audio. For customers using iOS 15 betas, Apple issued a beta firmware for AirPods last year that enabled Spatial Audio for FaceTime and Ambient Noise Reduction. There is no method to downgrade the firmware like there was with the prior beta.