iOS 14: How to Enhance Speech, Movies, and Music When Listening on AirPods, AirPods Max, and Beats - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

iOS 14: How to Enhance Speech, Movies, and Music When Listening on AirPods, AirPods Max, and Beats

by

In iOS 14, Apple continues to build out its extensive accessibility features, and here we're going to show you how you can use the new Headphone Accommodations to amplify certain sounds if you're having difficulty hearing them.

AirPods Pro lifestyle apple
Headphones Accommodations works with Apple and Beats headphones, and is designed especially for those who are hard of hearing: It's able to amplify soft sounds and adjust frequencies to make music, movies, calls, and more sound crisper and clearer.

Follow the steps below to activate the Headphones Accommodations feature in iOS 14 and later.

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap Accessibility.
  3. Scroll down to the Physical and Motor menu and select AirPods.
    settings

  4. Tap the Audio Accessibility Settings option in blue text.
  5. Tap Headphone Accommodations.
  6. Toggle the switch next to Headphone Accommodations to activate it and extend the menu of options.
    how to use headphone accommodations c

From here, you can access a range of options such as tuning audio for Balanced Tone, Vocal Range, or Brightness, and adjusting the volume of soft sounds to be louder.

accessibility
There's also a Custom Audio Setup that walks through a test with soft speaking and different music to determine whether you have specific audio preferences that should be compensated for with the Headphone Accommodations feature.

accessibility
Headphone Accommodations works with the Transparency mode on ‌AirPods Pro and AirPods Max‌ too, making quiet voices louder and tuning the sounds of the environment around you to meet your audio needs.

Top Rated Comments

75 months ago

I hate the word "enhance" when it comes to these audio processing features, a great way to instantly destroy all the hard work done by the artists to master these tracks. Listen to the music how it was intended to be
Agreed on original artist intent however this set of features is originally intended for people with hearing deficiencies. Which I think is great.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
76 months ago
As a person with moderate high frequency hearing loss, this is EXACTLY what I have been hoping Apple would do. Bravo!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
76 months ago
Good step in the right direction. For those with tinnitus, where high frequencies can agitate the condition, there needs to be something a little more manual, like an equalizer or an option to decrease higher frequencies.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DoctorTech Avatar
75 months ago

I hate the word "enhance" when it comes to these audio processing features, a great way to instantly destroy all the hard work done by the artists to master these tracks. Listen to the music how it was intended to be
We don't all hear the same. I have some hearing loss from over exposure to loud noise over the past 30 years. My hearing is fine at lower frequencies but not so much at higher frequencies. This "enhancement" will allow me to hear the music as the artist intended by boosting volume of frequencies that I don't hear as well. I am REALLY looking forward to this feature!

I am hoping Apple will also make this feature available in MacOS and TVOS. I often watch YouTube and/or Apple TV on my laptop and/or television via my Apple TV box. The majority of the time, I am the only one in the room so it would be nice to put on by PowerBeats Pros and listen to enhanced audio of TV, movies and videos.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Grohowiak Avatar
75 months ago
Sounds like a good old equalizer with auto settings.
Funny that till this day we have to use third party apps on iOS and Mac if we want to do this ourselves.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Stig Avatar
75 months ago
I’m on the latest public beta and I only have the regular AirPods, this setting for me is in accessibility > Audio/Visual > Headphone Accommodations
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 27 on iPhone 17 1

iOS 27 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday May 2, 2026 8:43 am PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, and there are already many rumored features and changes for iPhones. The first developer beta of iOS 27 will likely be available immediately following the keynote, and a public beta typically follows in July. Following beta testing, the software update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...
Apple Announces 2026 Pride Band Watch Face and iPhone Wallpaper Article 2

iOS 26.5 Coming Soon With These New Features

Monday May 4, 2026 8:40 am PDT by
iOS 26.5 is expected to be released next week, following more than a month of beta testing. The update is relatively minor, but there are a couple of new features and changes across the operating system that we have recapped below. iOS 26.5 lays the groundwork for end-to-end encryption for RCS in the Messages app and ads in the Apple Maps app, and it will include a new Pride wallpaper and a...
Related Apple News: Ipad | Sport | Entertainment | Opinion | Iphone