AirPods are by far Apple’s most personal product. You’d share your MacBook, iPad, or even iPhone, but you’d be hard-pressed to share your AirPods with another person. They are private; they go inside your ear canal. And that is what makes Apple’s upcoming AirPod update quietly so innovative.
Ahead of WWDC, Apple’s annual developer conference, sources at the company have leaked that your very personal AirPods may be even more personal. They’re going to know about the most private moment of your day.
Sleep is arguably the most private, vulnerable moment of our days. Many people largely do it out of the sight of others — except for the occasional subway nap or park snooze. Our bedrooms and beds are private. Many of us go to sleep with our earbuds playing music, a podcast, or some other audio as we drift off to sleep.
Audiologist Dr. Valerie Pavlovich Ruff told Health Essentials, a publication of the world-famous Cleveland Clinic, that wearing your earbuds to sleep can be beneficial to stop ringing from tinnitus or other medical problems. There’s also the fact that our minds race before bed, and wearing earbuds or AirPods can help, Pavlovich Ruff says.
“Emotional stress can cause ringing in your ears, too,” Pavlovich Ruff told the publication in 2022. “This is why many people might want to fall asleep listening to something soothing or relaxing just for stress relief.”
Of course, it's critical to wear comfortable earbuds and ensure the volume is at a safe level. That’s where Apple comes in.
This week, 9 to 5 Mac reported that a “sleep auto-pause” feature may debut as soon as Monday’s WWDC 2025 keynote. The publication reports that engineers at Apple is developing technology that will sense when the AirPods wearer falls asleep and the AirPods will automatically pause.
This auto-pause has two significant benefits. Most importantly, even if you listen at a high volume, it won’t be at that high volume for the entirety of your sleep. And two, far less critical to your health, your AirPods battery will be preserved.
We know that Apple Watch’s sleep feature kicks on automatically when you fall asleep, tracking your deep, core, and REM sleep. What we don’t know is whether those AirPods will enter auto-pause mode based on data from your Apple Watch (which is connected to your iPhone) or if they will sync with your iPhone directly and bypass the Apple Watch.
If it does sync to Apple Watch, you could very well take a nap, and the auto-pause feature won’t kick on. Anybody who wears an Apple Watch and takes the occasional Saturday afternoon nap will know that naps don’t often register as sleep within the Apple Health app.
The most private moment of your day — when you doze off for a good night’s sleep — may be recognized by your Apple Watch, iPhone, and your AirPods. Just don’t forget to keep the volume down.
The 9 to 5 Mac report also included other features that may be available on AirPods as soon as Monday.
They include new head gestures for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 to control conversation awareness, a noise-control feature that you can currently control by touching the tip of your AirPods.
Apple may also announce improvements that help multiple users share an iPad, like in a classroom setting.
Perhaps great news from streamers and anyone who makes video is the ability to control your iPhone camera by pinching the tip of your AirPods.
On the audio side, AirPods will also sound differently depending on your environment by using AI. It will also enable the wearer to choose from three voice options, reports 9 to 5 Mac, “in-frame, studio, and cinematic.”
Whatever Apple announces regarding AirPods or anything else, we’ll know on Monday, June 9, when WWDC kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern.
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