AirPods gain a system-wide custom EQ in Apple’s public beta
A new three-band control lets users adjust lows, mids, and highs across all audio on supported AirPods. The setting is useful, but installing beta firmware comes with an important limitation: it cannot be removed manually.
Apple’s current AirPods public beta introduces a manual custom equalizer in the Settings app. It offers three controls—low, mid, and high frequencies—and applies the selected profile to any audio played through the headphones. Users can launch a song from Apple Music inside the settings screen to hear changes in real time.
This is the first straightforward, user-adjustable, system-wide EQ Apple has offered specifically for AirPods. It is not literally Apple’s first form of audio adjustment: Apple Music has long included preset equalizer profiles, and iOS provides accessibility-oriented Headphone Accommodations. Those options are either tied to particular playback or designed for hearing needs rather than manual tuning across all AirPods audio.
The public beta supports AirPods Pro 3, both Lightning and USB-C versions of AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with or without Active Noise Cancellation, and AirPods Max 2. These are the supported H2-equipped models listed by Apple. The feature requires a device running an iOS 27 or macOS 27 beta.
There is a meaningful beta warning. Apple says AirPods beta firmware cannot be removed after installation. The headphones continue running beta software until Apple releases a newer non-beta version. Turning off beta updates prevents future beta enrollment but does not restore the previous firmware. For most users, waiting for the commercial release remains the lower-risk choice.
A three-band equalizer is modest beside the more granular controls offered by some competitors, but its system-wide scope matters. It gives AirPods owners a direct way to soften bass, bring voices forward, or reduce treble without changing apps or relying on fixed presets.