Apple Is Reportedly Making AirPods Less Frustrating to Control

A pair of AirPods is one of the best options out there for putting content in your ears. Sound quality is very good, and they’re so feature-rich they’re starting to absorb some of the tasks that used to require a device with a screen, meaning yours might end up in your ears all day long.

But all that complexity during use can necessitate granular controls and a data display, and the existing AirPods controls leave a lot to be desired. A new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, however, strongly suggests that Apple has heard the outcry from users.

Gurman says that with the release of iOS 27, (and the accompanying OS updates for Mac and iPads) Apple is “revamping the AirPods settings menu to be more functional.” Though, crucially, he says AirPods aren’t getting an app of their own like the one for the Apple Watch.

Exactly what’s being updated is not clear. Personally I’d like to see a quick and easy way to scan for and install firmware updates, because the current process—wait and pray—is a little ambiguous for me. And the options for displaying my battery status are obscure and, in my case, a bit inconsistent.

Gurman also claims (based as usual on information from anonymous sources) that “major feature options are better highlighted” in the updated software.