Technology
10 cool AirPods features you probably didn't know about
When AirPods first hit the scene in 2016, they revolutionized the way we listen to music on the go.
Not only did they seamlessly integrate with the Apple ecosystem, but some models also delivered sound quality and noise-canceling capabilities that gave traditional audio brands a run for their money.
But what really sets AirPods apart is the array of innovative features that go way beyond what you’d expect from typical earbuds, features that might just surprise you.
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A woman wearing AirPods (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Top 10 hidden features of AirPods
Below are features that you may or may not know about to take your AirPods experience to the next level. The features below are for original, second-generation and first-generation AirPods Pro.
Apple Watch and AirPods (Apple)
1. Go hands-free and pair your AirPods with your Apple Watch
If you want to use your AirPods but don’t want to lug around the extra weight of your iPhone, you can use your AirPods with your Apple Watch. In order to get your AirPods set up to use with your Apple Watch:
- Go to your Apple Watch
- Press the crown on the right side of your Apple Watch
- Tap Settings
- Scroll down to Bluetooth and tap it
- The watch is now searching for your AirPods
- Grab your AirPods and lift the lid. Press and hold the button at the back of the case. This will put the AirPods in discoverable mode
- Tap where it says AirPods are not paired on your Apple Watch. It should now say connected
2. Use your AirPods as a microphone
When recording audio (e.g., Voice Memos, calls) or using voice-enabled apps, you can prioritize specific AirPods as the microphone. To turn on this feature:
- Go to settings on your iPhone
- Click Bluetooth
- Under My Devices, tap the (i) info icon next to your AirPods
- Select Microphone
- Select Automatically Switch AirPods (default), Always Left AirPod or Always Right AirPod
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Control panel on iPhone (Apple)
3. Share Audio with someone else
With iOS 13.1 or later (required for full functionality), you can temporarily share audio from your iPhone to two sets of AirPods or Beats headphones with H1, H2 or W1 chips (e.g., AirPods Pro). Both devices must be iPhone 8 or later, iPad Pro 2nd Gen or newer, iPad Air 3rd Gen or later or iPad mini 5th Gen or later.
- Wear your AirPods (connected to your iPhone) and start playing audio (optional but recommended for visibility)
- Open Control Center
- Tap the AirPlay icon (triangle with circles)
- Select Share Audio
- Bring the other person’s headphones near your iPhone and place AirPods in their case
- Open the lid
- Hold the pairing button until the prompt appears
- If undetected, ensure their headphones are in pairing mode (Hold case button)
- Select their headphones from the Share Audio menu
- The friend may need to tap Join on their device if sharing via iPhone proximity
- Adjust volumes separately via Control Center’s volume slider
4. Find your lost AirPods
The challenge of wireless earbuds is how easy it is to misplace or lose them or the case they are housed in. Apple has provided an easy way to help you keep track of both your case and AirPods with the “Find My” feature. To use this feature to find your AirPods or case:
- Open the Find My app on your iPhone
- Select the Devices tab
- Choose your AirPods. Under each device, you see a location or “No location found”
- If you think your AirPods are near you, click Play Sound
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5. Announce callers
Instead of fumbling to find your phone to find out who is calling you, you can have your AirPods announce who is calling you. To turn on this feature:
- Go to Settings on your iPhone
- Tap on Apps
- Tap Phone
- Tap Announce Calls
- Select Headphones Only
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6. Customize controls on your AirPods
Most users know that double-pressing the AirPods stems once or twice plays or pauses whatever audio you’re listening to or answers a call. You can, however, customize AirPods settings to provide a different function. If you want to customize each stem to do something else:
- Go to Settings on your iPhone
- Tap your AirPods
- Under Press and Hold AirPods, select Left or Right and choose what happens when you double-press that AirPod: Noise Control, Siri, Answer Call, Mute & Unmute or End Call
Steps to customize controls on AirPods (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
7. Find out what the different colored lights mean
The status light on your AirPods case uses colors and flashing patterns to indicate battery levels, charging status and pairing states. Location varies by model (front for AirPods Pro/3/4/Wireless cases; inside for Lightning cases on AirPods 1/2).
Steady lights
- Green (AirPods in case, lid open): Both AirPods and case are fully charged
- Green (AirPods out of case, lid open): The case alone is fully charged
- Amber/Orange (AirPods in case, lid open): AirPods are currently charging (not yet full)
- Amber/Orange (AirPods out of case, lid open): Case has less than one full charge (not necessarily “one charge left”)
Flashing lights
- Flashing White: AirPods are in pairing mode (ready for setup)
- Flashing Amber/Orange: Indicates a pairing error requiring a reset, not just re-setup
- No Light: Case or AirPods are completely drained
Charging behavior
- Plugged in/Wireless charging: Amber = actively charging; Green = fully charged
- Optimized Charging (Pro/3/4): Pauses charging at 80% if enabled (Settings > Bluetooth > AirPods)
8. Use AirPods as a hearing aid
One of the most impressive features of AirPods is the ability to turn your iPhone into a remote listening device and AirPods into hearing aids. If you’re in a loud environment and can’t hear the person standing next to you, you can place the iPhone near the person you want to hear and the iPhone microphone will transmit whatever they say to the AirPods connected to the iPhone, making it easier for you to hear them. To enable this feature:
- Open the Control Center on your iPhone (usually accessed by swiping down on your phone’s screen)
- Tap the Hearing icon
- Tap Live Listen
- Place the iPhone near the sound source (works up to 50 feet)
Step to use AirPods as a hearing aid (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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9. Reach Siri without pulling out your phone
Most AirPods let you access Siri hands-free when connected to an Apple device with Siri enabled. If your hands are full, or you don’t want to use your iPhone, just say, “Hey, Siri,” to send texts, check battery life, skip songs, set timers and more. Note: On AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, you can also just say “Siri” without needing to say “Hey, Siri.” To use Siri with AirPods:
- Make sure Siri is enabled on your device (Settings > Siri)
- With AirPods in your ears, say “Hey Siri” (or just “Siri” on supported models)
- You can also activate Siri by pressing or tapping your AirPods (double-tap, press-and-hold or Digital Crown (depending on model)
10. Answer or decline calls without making a sound or pressing a button
You can answer or decline calls without saying a word or pressing any buttons by using the Head Gestures feature with your AirPods. When this feature is on, you can nod your head up and down or shake it side to side to accept or decline calls while wearing your AirPods. To enable Head Gestures once your AirPods are connected to your iPhone:
- Go to Settings
- Tap your AirPods name at the top
- Tap Head Gestures
- Toggle Head Gestures on
- Choose your preferred motion for Accept/Reply (Up and Down or Side to Side)
- Choose your preferred motion for Decline/Dismiss (Up and Down or Side to Side)
Now, when you get a call, Siri will announce the caller, and you can nod to answer or shake your head to decline without touching your phone or AirPods.
Kurt’s key takeaways
Apple has truly revolutionized the wireless listening experience with AirPods. Not only does it elevate your experience seamlessly within the Apple ecosystem, but it also makes your life better with plenty of hidden features. Whether you want to hear others more clearly or simply make your life easier, AirPods include an incredible number of features that pack a punch.
Have you explored all these hidden features of AirPods? Which hidden features are your favorites? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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I’ve recommended several OLED gaming monitors to readers over the years, and I’ve finally taken my own advice to buy one. Alienware’s new 27-inch 1440p QD-OLED has all the features that I want and a low $350 price that was too tempting to ignore.
The AW2726DM model has five things that make it stand out for the price: a 1440p QD-OLED screen with lush contrast, a fast 240Hz refresh rate, a semi-glossy screen coating to enhance details, a low-profile design without flashy RGB LEDs, and a great warranty (three years with coverage for burn-in).
I’ve been using Alienware’s new monitor for a couple days, and I’ve already spent hours with it playing Marathon. It was my first opportunity to see Bungie’s new first-person extraction shooter in its full HDR glory, and I can never go back. Switching on HDR wasn’t automatic, though it already looked so much better than my IPS panel without being activated.
Enabling it transformed how Marathon looked for the better, but made everything else about the OS look pretty washed-out. It’s a Windows issue, not an Alienware issue. It’s easy to enable HDR every time I launch a game and disable it afterward with the Windows + Alt + B keyboard shortcut, but unfortunately triggers HDR for all connected displays. This includes my IPS monitor that imbues everything with a terrible gray hue when HDR is on. So, using the system settings is the best way to adjust HDR for just the QD-OLED.
I landed on this QD-OLED after having spent a ton of time researching pricier models. The unanimous takeaway from reviewers was that LG’s Tandem RGB WOLED panels are some of the brightest out there, but also tend to exhibit lousy gray uniformity in dark scenes. QD-OLED monitors, on the other hand, offer slightly better contrast than WOLED and don’t suffer from those same uniformity issues. However, blacks sometimes appear as dark purple in bright rooms on QD-OLED panels, meaning they’re ideal for rooms that don’t have a bunch of light bouncing around.
There’s no perfect choice, and honestly I got tired of doing research, so I jumped in with the cheapest OLED. I’m glad that I did. Shopping for an OLED gaming monitor can be hard, but it can also be this easy. AOC makes a model that’s discounted to $339.99 at the time of publishing, and its specs are comparable.
As expected, the AW2726DM isn’t a cutting-edge monitor. Its QD-OLED panel isn’t as fast or as bright as some other pricier options, and it doesn’t have USB ports for connecting accessories. Considering its low price, it’s easy for me to overlook those omissions. I’d have a much harder time accepting them in a pricier display.
The fact that I mostly use my computer for text-based work at The Verge is what prevented me from upgrading to an OLED monitor. My 1440p IPS monitor is bright, it’s good at showing text clearly, and it has a fast refresh rate for gaming. Alienware’s QD-OLED is less bright, and some might be bothered by how text looks (I have to really squint to see the slight fringing from this QD-OLED’s subpixel layout). But I have a life outside of work, which includes playing a lot of PC games. That’s the slice of myself I bought this monitor for, and I’m so happy I did.
Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge
Technology
Michael and Susan Dell surpass $1 billion in donations backing AI-driven hospital project
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Billionaire Michael Dell and his wife, Susan Dell, have become the first donors to give more than $1 billion to the University of Texas at Austin, funding a massive new medical research campus and hospital system powered by artificial intelligence.
The couple’s latest investment includes a $750 million gift to help build the UT Dell Medical Center, a planned “AI-native” hospital expected to open in 2030 as part of a more than 300-acre advanced research campus.
University officials said the project will integrate research, clinical care and advanced computing to improve early disease detection, personalize treatment and expand access to care in the rapidly growing Austin region.
The Dells’ support builds on decades of contributions to UT, including funding for its medical school, scholarships and research programs.
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Michael Dell and Susan Dell attend the Breakthrough Prize ceremony as they become the first to donate more than $1 billion to the University of Texas at Austin. ( Craig T Fruchtman/WireImage)
“By bringing together medicine, science and computing in one campus designed for the AI era, UT can create more opportunity, deliver better outcomes, and build a stronger future for communities across Texas and beyond,” Michael Dell and Susan Dell said.
The gift ranks among the largest in the history of higher education, alongside major contributions like Phil Knight’s $2 billion pledge to Oregon Health & Science University and Michael Bloomberg’s $1.8 billion donation to Johns Hopkins University.
The new UT Dell Medical Center will be developed in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center, integrating cancer care into a system designed to connect prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
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The University of Texas at Austin campus at sunset. (iStock)
“We will deliver better outcomes for patients by providing research-driven cancer care that is precise, compassionate and hope-filled,” Peter WT Pisters, president of UT MD Anderson, said.
Officials said the facility will be built from the ground up to incorporate AI, rather than retrofitting older infrastructure — an approach they say could transform how hospitals operate.
Independent experts have cautioned that AI in health care can introduce risks if not carefully validated. A widely cited study published in the journal Science by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Chicago found that a commonly used healthcare algorithm underestimated the needs of Black patients due to biased training data, highlighting broader concerns about equity in AI-driven systems.
The project also includes funding for undergraduate scholarships, student housing and the Texas Advanced Computing Center, where officials are developing one of the nation’s most powerful academic supercomputers.
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Artificial intelligence technology is expected to play a key role in diagnosis and patient care at the planned UT Dell Medical Center. (iStock)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the investment will help position the state as a national leader in healthcare innovation.
“Texas already dominates in technology, energy and business, and now we will further cement our leadership in health care innovation as well,” Abbott said.
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The university said it plans to break ground on the medical center later this year and has launched a broader campaign to raise $10 billion over the next decade.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
SpaceX and Cursor are now working closely together to create the world’s best coding and knowledge work AI.
The combination of Cursor’s leading product and distribution to expert software engineers with SpaceX’s million H100 equivalent Colossus training supercomputer will allow us to build the world’s most useful models.
Cursor has also given SpaceX the right to acquire Cursor later this year for $60 billion or pay $10 billion for our work together.
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