Apple is bringing a big new feature for AirPods that many people wanted for over 10 years. At their WWDC 2026 event, Apple said iOS 27 will have a custom equalizer for AirPods.
This lets users change their AirPods sound right from iPhone settings. Before, AirPods used fixed sound tuning and only had limited audio options in accessibility and music settings. Now you can adjust the sound yourself instead of using what Apple gives you.
The custom EQ shows a picture graph that changes as you move settings. You can drag a line up or down to make bass, voices, or other sounds louder or softer. While music plays, the graph shows your changes right away so you know exactly what your adjustments will do. This helps you see the effect before you finish changing your sound.
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Apple started developer testing right after the announcement. A public beta version will come next month, and the full update will be ready later in 2026, probably in September when iOS 27 launches officially. This means you will wait about 3 months to use this new sound control feature.
The custom EQ works on AirPods with Apple's H2 chip: AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods Max 2. It also works on iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 so you can change settings on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The EQ changes all audio through your AirPods not just music from Apple Music, so it works for videos, calls, games, and any other sound.
Apple did not say if this custom EQ will work with other Bluetooth headphones or earbuds from different brands. Apple also did not tell if you can save more than one sound profile for different situations. More details will come when developers and beta testers get iOS 27 in the next few weeks.
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This custom EQ joins other AirPods audio features like Adaptive Audio, Personalized Spatial Audio, and Conversation Awareness on models that support them. Before this, you could only use Headphone Accommodations and preset EQ options in Apple Music, which did not let you control your sound directly like the new custom EQ does.