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

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...

Top Rated Comments

Hopefully Smarter Avatar
16 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
16 months ago
I definitely cried. The muffled perspective followed by the clear voices is powerful
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Godspeed8230 Avatar
16 months ago
Why didn't anyone inform poor Dad that there are hearing aids available? :D
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alwaysfindsaway Avatar
16 months ago
I’m not crying, you are!!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
phenste Avatar
16 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
16 months ago
Lots of videos from Apple, this year.
By the way this was so heartwarming.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)