Technology

Apple transforms AirPods Pro 2 into low-cost hearing aids

Published

2 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Apple transforms AirPods Pro 2 into low-cost hearing aids

Apple announced a handful of new products during its “It’s Glowtime” event this month. While the iPhone 16 lineup grabbed most of the attention, the most intriguing announcement came from a different product line. The Cupertino-based company in California revealed that its top-tier earbuds, the AirPods Pro 2, will now double as over-the-counter hearing aids through a software update, which is a feature that has also received FDA approval.

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Apple AirPods Pro 2 (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

AirPods become more than just wireless earbuds

During the iPhone 16 event, Apple discussed the new hearing aid capability designed to assist people with mild to moderate hearing loss. At the time, Apple mentioned that the feature was still awaiting FDA approval. However, on Sept. 12, the FDA announced it had cleared the software-based hearing aid technology.

“Hearing loss is a significant public health issue impacting millions of Americans,” the FDA’s Michelle Tarver noted in a statement. “Today’s marketing authorization of an over-the-counter hearing aid software on a widely used consumer audio product is another step that advances the availability, accessibility and acceptability of hearing support for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.”

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The FDA approved AirPods after rigorous testing

The FDA said it cleared Apple’s hearing aid feature after running a clinical study with 118 people in the U.S. who had mild to moderate hearing loss. The study found that users got similar results from the hearing aid software when they “self-fitted” the AirPods, compared to those who had a professional fitting.

“Results also showed comparable performance for tests measuring levels of amplification in the ear canal, as well as a measure of speech understanding in noise. No adverse events related to the device were observed in this study,” the FDA added.

When turned on, this feature uses the results from the Hearing Test to give users a clinical-grade hearing aid experience. It makes real-time adjustments, boosting sounds around them based on their environment. Apple also mentioned that users can set up the Hearing Aid feature with an audiogram provided by a hearing health professional for even more personalized settings.

AirPods Pro 2 (Apple) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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The feature can save people a ton of money

Behind-the-ear hearing aids can range from $1,000 to $6,000, while the Apple AirPods Pro 2 are priced at just $249.89. That’s a massive difference, and the AirPods even deliver similar results, as noted by the FDA. This is fantastic news for people with hearing issues, as they can now get effective assistance without breaking the bank.

It’s still unclear when Apple will roll out the update to enable the hearing aid feature, but it’s expected to drop sometime this fall. Once available, the feature can be accessed through the settings in iOS 18 when a pair of AirPods Pro 2 are connected. The hearing aid capability will launch in over 100 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany and Japan.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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FDA cautions: OTC hearing aids are not a substitute for professional care

Now, the FDA has one word of caution. Over-the-counter hearing aids are not a replacement for professional medical evaluations or prescription hearing aids. While OTC hearing aids provide increased accessibility for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, they have limitations and are not suitable for everyone with hearing impairment. The FDA emphasizes that OTC hearing aids are intended only for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, not for children or those with more severe hearing loss. For individuals with more significant hearing difficulties or complex hearing needs, prescription hearing aids fitted by hearing health professionals remain the recommended option.

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Kurt’s key takeaway

The AirPods Pro 2 already comes packed with handy features like transparency mode, which lets in ambient sound, conversation awareness, noise cancellation and more. Adding the hearing aid feature turns them into an all-in-one package. Since many people already have AirPods in their ears all day, those with hearing loss might feel more comfortable using them compared to traditional hearing aids.

Would you consider using AirPods as a hearing aid if you have mild to moderate hearing loss? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

EA is launching a social app for its sports games

Published

2 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Press Room

EA is launching a social app for its sports games

EA’s sports games are huge franchises, and soon, the company is launching a mobile app to add even more of EA Sports into your life. As part of an investor presentation today, the company officially announced the EA Sports app, which will soft launch for iOS and Android in Spain this fall.

In a press release, EA says the app will be a “socially-driven app” with features like a discovery feed to keep up to date on news and highlights from their favorite teams, interactive challenges you can play during and after live games, and community “arenas.” With the soft launch in Spain, the app will have “a combination of sports content, live sports data, social messaging, interactivity, challenges and more centered on Global Football in collaboration with longstanding partner LaLiga,” EA says.

EA also says that it aims to add more sports to the app in the future. That’s not surprising — it’s called the EA Sports app, after all — franchises like Madden NFL or EA Sports College Football seem like likely candidates to get folded in at some point, too.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson recently said that sports would be one of the things the company would “double down” on, so this new app appears to be part of those efforts.

Technology

Instagram is putting every teen into a more private and restrictive new account

Published

9 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Press Room

Instagram is putting every teen into a more private and restrictive new account

Starting today, Instagram will begin putting new and existing users under the age of 18 into “Teen Accounts” — a move that will affect how tens of millions of teens interact with the platform. The new account type automatically applies a set of protections to young users, and only users 16 years of age and older can loosen some of these settings.

For starters, the accounts of all minors on Instagram will be private by default (not just teens under 16) and will come with some of Instagram’s existing restrictions for young users, such as those that prevent strangers from direct messaging them. But other new features are coming, too, including a Sleep Mode that silences notifications from 10PM to 7AM.

“This really standardizes a lot of the work that we’ve done, simplifies it, and brings it to all teens,” Antigone Davis, Meta’s global head of safety, said during an interview with The Verge. “It provides essentially a set of protections that are in place and are already populated.”

Teens will also get to pick age-appropriate topics they can see more of in Instagram’s recommendations and on the Explore page, such as “sports,” “animal & pets,” “travel,” and more. Instagram will continue limiting the types of content teens see on Reels or on the Explore page. It will also send alerts reminding teens to take breaks from the app.

Parents can now decide when Sleep Mode is enabled and see who their teen has messaged in the past week.

Image: Instagram

Along with these changes, Instagram is updating some of its parental controls. Parents who want to supervise their teen on the app will be able to see who their child has messaged in the past seven days (without seeing the contents of the messages). They’ll also get to see which topics their teen has chosen to view most often.

While Instagram will let teens over the age of 16 tweak these settings, younger teens will need the permission of a parent to make any changes, like making their account public. Parents will then have to set up Instagram’s supervisory tools to approve the change.

Instagram’s teen accounts are rolling out gradually to users in the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada. Teens who sign up for new accounts will see the change first, followed by existing users within about a week. Meta plans on bringing Teen Accounts to the European Union later this year and will expand the feature across its other platforms in 2025.

“We know some teens are going to try to lie about their age to get around these protections”

But even with these protections coming to all teens on Instagram, questions remain about how well Meta can apply them. “We know some teens are going to try to lie about their age to get around these protections,” Davis says. “Which is why we are going to be building up new opportunities to verify a teen’s age.” Users who attempt to change their age from under 18 to over 18 are already required to record a video selfie, upload their ID, or have other users vouch for their age, but Instagram’s new systems take things a step further.

The platform can now use AI to scan for signals that may indicate a user is under 18. For example, if a user says they’re 18 when creating an account but someone on the app tells them “Happy 14th birthday,” Instagram can use that to inform their real age. “One of the challenges for age broadly is it can be very hard to know,” Davis says. “We have to take a multi-layered approach because there’s no one foolproof way to do this.”

Since Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked a trove of internal documents detailing the company’s studies on the mental health of teens in 2021, lawmakers have taken a harder stance on social platforms and their effect on kids. Instagram has rolled out a slew of child safety features over the past few years and launched parental controls in 2022 in response. The platform has even agreed to help researchers study its impact on the mental health of teens and young adults.

All of this still hasn’t put lawmakers at ease. Nearly 40 US states are backing the surgeon general’s proposal to put warning labels on social media platforms, while the Senate passed landmark online child safety legislation in July.

Technology

National Security Agency is urging Americans to reboot our phones once a week

Published

9 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Press Room

National Security Agency is urging Americans to reboot our phones once a week

We spend a lot of time on our smartphones, whether texting, scrolling on social media, checking emails or staying on top of the latest news. We typically only power off our devices when an issue or bug appears or when the battery dies (although that’s not intentional).

However, the National Security Agency recommends powering off and on your smartphone every week to protect yourself from cyberattacks. The spy agency has also listed some general mobile device best practices, which I have been telling you about from time to time.

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A person holding a Google Pixel smartphone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Why you should restart your phone weekly, according to NSA

The NSA recommends rebooting your smartphone weekly to protect against zero-click exploits, which attackers use to eavesdrop and gather data from phones. While rebooting won’t completely thwart more advanced schemes, many modern cyberattacks involve a sequence of multiple vulnerabilities that need to be exploited in succession. Restarting your phone makes the attacker start over, which can disrupt their progress.

How restarting your phone helps it stay secure

Restarting your phone not only helps you avoid cyberattacks, but it also makes your phone run smoothly. Manufacturers recommend restarting your phone regularly to prevent it from slowing down or freezing.

A quick restart clears out background apps, fixes overheating, resolves memory issues and improves call signals, even if it’s just for a short time. Most importantly, it gives your device a fresh start, which means smoother performance and a longer-lasting battery. This applies to both Android phones and iPhones.

Limitations of restarting your phone

However, the NSA warns that turning your phone off and on again will only sometimes prevent these attacks from being successful.

“Threats to mobile devices are more prevalent and increasing in scope and complexity,” the NSA said while warning that some smartphone features “provide convenience and capability but sacrifice security.”

A person holding an iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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NSA has more mobile security tips for you

The NSA also advises that you disable Bluetooth when not using it, update your phone with the latest version of the operating system and apps as soon as updates become available and disable location services when not needed. The NSA further warns you not to open email attachments and links.

The spy agency specifically asks you to “not connect to public Wi-Fi networks,” to disable Wi-Fi when not in use and to delete unused Wi-Fi networks. This is solid advice, considering how much cybercriminals use Wi-Fi to exploit you. Earlier in June, I reported on a vulnerability in Windows devices that allows bad actors to hack into your PC just by being connected to the same Wi-Fi network as you.

The NSA also recommends using strong lock-screen PINs and passwords, advising a minimum of a six-digit PIN, as long as your smartphone is set up to wipe itself after 10 incorrect attempts and to lock automatically after 5 minutes of inactivity.

Setting a strong password for every app or software you use and also remembering them can be challenging. I personally use a password manager to generate and manage my passwords, and you can consider using one, too.

A smartphone on a desk (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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4 additional ways to secure your smartphone

While the tips mentioned above are quite useful, here are a few additional security measures you might consider following.

1) Have strong antivirus software: The best way to protect yourself from clicking malicious links that install malware that may get access to your private information is to have antivirus protection installed on all your devices. This can also alert you of any phishing emails or ransomware scams. Get my picks for the best 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.

2) Use a VPN: Consider using a VPN to protect against being tracked and to identify your potential location on websites that you visit. Many sites can read your IP address and, depending on their privacy settings, may display the city from which you are corresponding. A VPN will disguise your IP address to show an alternate location. For the best VPN software, see my expert review of the best VPNs for browsing the web privately on your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.

3) Enable two-factor authentication: Enable two-factor authentication whenever possible. This adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second form of verification, such as a code sent to your phone, in addition to your password.

4) Change your password: You can render a stolen password useless to thieves simply by changing it. Opt for a strong password, one you don’t use elsewhere.

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Kurt’s key takeaway

The NSA’s advice isn’t a cure-all for your security problems, but I completely agree with the suggestion to turn your devices on and off regularly. It only takes a minute or two each week and is a great habit to develop. You might even want to make it a daily routine, like part of your bedtime routine. Also, it’s important to keep your phone’s software and apps up to date and to avoid clicking on unknown links and attachments.

How often do you restart your devices and have you noticed any benefits from doing so? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.

Follow Kurt on his social channels:

Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:

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