On the WWDC25 keynote, Apple introduced a brand new AirPods function that will allow the headphones to pause once they sense that their wearer has fallen asleep. But it surely’s now been found that the perform is a bit more versatile than that implies.
A contributor to the tech website MacRumors has found code that signifies the function is tied to iOS 26, slightly than the AirPods line particularly, and suggests that it’s going to work on Apple’s Beats headphones too. A great factor, for the reason that Beats line-up is broader than the AirPods one and, within the type of the $70 Beats Flex and $80 Beats Solo Buds, boasts two choices far cheaper than even probably the most primary AirPods.
When you’re working iOS 26, a brand new choice to “Pause Media When Falling Asleep” will seem (and needs to be enabled by default, though this may be toggled within the Settings app as soon as headphones are linked). With this function activated, any audio that’s enjoying by means of your headphones will pause while you drift off, saving your home in a podcast or playlist. It should additionally shut off your headphones and thereby protect battery life.
Apple has not but revealed how headphones are in a position to sense when the wearer is asleep, nor have any clues to this been found in beta code. One pair of Apple headphones, the Powerbeats Professional 2, has the flexibility to observe coronary heart fee, which might doubtless be sufficient, however not one of the different fashions do. Actually, the monitor and sensor arrays fluctuate extensively throughout the Beats and AirPods ranges, so it’s laborious to see how one technique may very well be utilized to all of them. We don’t count on the function to increase to third-party headphones, however hopefully Apple will present extra readability quickly.
The brand new function is a part of the brand new iOS 26 iPhone software program replace, however to make use of it you’ll additionally have to replace your headphones with new firmware as properly. For AirPods this generally is a barely mystifying course of.