Apple Highlights Using AirPods Pro 2 as Hearing Aid in Heartwarming Holiday Season Ad

Apple today shared its annual holiday season ad, and it's a tearjerker. The video is titled "Heartstrings" and highlights the new hearing aid feature on AirPods Pro 2 with a heartwarming father-and-daughter moment on Christmas morning.


"For so many of us, sound and how we hear shape how we connect to the world around us," said Apple, in the video description. "Yet, people with hearing loss wait an average of 10 years before getting their hearing tested and fitted for hearing aids. Leaving millions unaware they're living with hearing loss and without the assistance they need."

Apple's clinical-grade hearing aid feature on AirPods Pro 2 is still rolling out around the world. It is currently available in the U.S., Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, and select other countries. The feature requires AirPods Pro 2 with firmware version 7B19 or newer, paired with a compatible iPhone or iPad running iOS 18.1 or iPadOS 18.1 or later.

AirPods Pro 2 also gained hearing test and hearing protection features in select countries.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Available Next Month With These 8 New Features

Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
homepod mini thumb feature

New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and AirTag Were Expected This Year — Where Are They?

Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen. Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Announces Launch of U.S. Passport Feature in iPhone's Wallet App

Wednesday November 12, 2025 9:15 am PST by
Apple today announced that iPhone users can now create a Digital ID in the Apple Wallet app based on information from their U.S. passport. To create and present a Digital ID based on a U.S. passport, you need: An iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26.1 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later running watchOS 26.1 or later Face ID or Touch ID and Bluetooth turned on An Apple Account ...
Tesla Charging

Tesla Working to Add Apple CarPlay Support to Vehicles

Thursday November 13, 2025 8:31 am PST by
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
m1 chip slide

Five Years of Apple Silicon: M1 to M5 Performance Comparison

Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 2

Wednesday November 12, 2025 3:29 pm PST by
Apple today provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26.2, which adds a few new features worth knowing about. Measure App Apple's Measure app now features a Liquid Glass design for the level, with two Liquid Glass bubbles instead of white circles. Games App There's now an option to sort games in the Games app Library by size, in addition to Name and Recent. CarPlay The...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
apple intelligence erroneous support list

Apple Intelligence Apparently Too Smart for M1 Macs After Listing Error

Wednesday November 12, 2025 2:49 am PST by
Update: It took a day, but Apple has now corrected its Apple Intelligence device compatibility list to show support for the earliest Apple silicon Macs. The original article follows. Apple's website is causing some confusion among Mac owners, and for good reason – its device compatibility listing for Apple Intelligence appears to have dropped support for M1 Macs. The U.S. version...

Top Rated Comments

Hopefully Smarter Avatar
13 months ago

Why didn't anyone tell Dad that there are actual hearing aids available? :D I mean no sane person would solely rely on Apple AirPods to improve their hearing. And unlike sleep apnea you actually know that you are hard of hearing.
they did. He didn’t hear them. /s
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Grimace Avatar
13 months ago
I definitely cried. The muffled perspective followed by the clear voices is powerful
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Godspeed8230 Avatar
13 months ago
Why didn't anyone inform poor Dad that there are hearing aids available? :D
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alwaysfindsaway Avatar
13 months ago
I’m not crying, you are!!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
phenste Avatar
13 months ago
yall in the comments always find a way to be ****ing gross about this and I’ll never understand it. Apple made OTC hearing aids for $250 (that also happen to be…AirPods…) and it’s a fantastic thing. they’re far from perfect; I don’t remember any first-gen Apple product ever being perfect. forgive me for continuing to be a pest in these threads when hearing loss is an issue that’s deeply affected several of the closest people in my life + I can see decades-out the potential this has to change the course of an actual epidemic the entire world is facing, in a culture where everything is loud for the sake of being loud.

happy Thanksgiving yall, grateful to live in a timeline where I own a product that does double-time as hearing protection and hearing aids. I’ll continue to wear them the same way I wore my Watch every day from day-one; being the dork who normalizes wearable tech is fun if you just lean into it. especially when the main purpose of that wearable becomes health.

?‍?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JippaLippa Avatar
13 months ago
Lots of videos from Apple, this year.
By the way this was so heartwarming.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)