Apple Hearing Aid Feature Now Available In South Africa

Apple's AirPods Pro 2 were set apart from other Bluetooth earbuds in the market when US regulators last September approved their use as hearing aids, opening up a potentially lucrative new market for the California-based technology giant.

Tech journalist Nafisa Akabor revealed recently on her Recharged website that the hearing aid feature is available for South African iPhone and iPad users.

"The hearing aid feature specifically applies to the AirPods Pro 2 model, with either USB-C charging or the Lightning connector, running the latest firmware version 7B21. Your iPhone or iPad also needs to be updated," she wrote.

Hearing health settings, which include an optional hearing test, can be found in the AirPods Pro 2 submenu in the iPhone's settings. The functionality only works in conjunction with iOS 18 or iPadOS 18.