What is Transparency Mode on Airpods?

By: Emmanuel

What does transparency mode mean on my Airpods?

Transparency mode on Airpods is a helpful feature that allows you to control the passage of background sounds into the Airpods, which helps to improve your environmental awareness. It’s a new noise control feature that Apple added to more recent models of Airpods.

The feature gives you a perspective of what is happening around you. While using the Transparency Mode on your Airpods, it allows you to hear everything happening around you. This feature is available to those using the Airpods Pro and Airpods Max.

How the transparency mode on Airpods works?

Transparency Mode works with speaker ducts around the Airpods. These ducts are usually blocked to prevent you from hearing external sounds to enrich your audio experience.

When you activate Transparency Mode, the Airpods will allow the passage of sounds through these ducts so that you can hear sounds and noise around you. This design enables the Airpods to produce excellent sound while allowing you to gain situational awareness.

In transparency mode, voices and ambient sounds are clearly heard, while the background noise, music, and other sound coming from your paired device is also blended into the soundscape.

How to activate the Transparency Mode on Airpods

There are four different ways you can activate the transparency mode on your Airpods. You can choose any option that suits you best, depending on your situation.

Activate Airpods Transparency mode through the Control center

Going through the control center of your device is the easiest way to turn on the Transparency Mode on your Airpods. What you need to do is:

Connect your device to your Airpods.
Go to the control center of your device by either swiping down from the top or swiping up from the bottom, depending on the model of your device.
Tap and hold the volume slider until an additional menu appear.
Then you will see an Airpods icon if they are connected.
Select the Noise Control icon in the lower left corner.
Select “Transparency.”

Activate Transparency Mode on Airpods through your Settings

You can also go to the settings on your device to turn on the transparency mode. Follow the steps below:

Ensure your Airpods are connected to your device.
Go to the Settings and open it.
Select Bluetooth.
Click on the “i” information icon beside the Airpods Pro or Airpods Max.
Go to the noise control section.
Select “Transparency.”

Activate Airpods transparency mode using your Airpods

Even without touching your device, you can still activate the Transparency Mode on your Airpods.

All you need to do is to press and hold the force sensor (the same area you tap when you want to play/pause or answer and end phone calls) on the stem of either of your Airpods Pro. Press and hold the force sensor until you hear a chime sound.

On the Airpods Max, you switch to Transparency Mode by pressing the noise control button. The button is found on the rear of the left speaker pod.

For both types of Airpods, you can move from one type of noise control to another for every single press of their respective control buttons i.e. Noise Cancellation, Transparency Mode, and off. This switching can be customized in the Bluetooth settings of your Apple device.

Activate the Transparency Mode on Airpods with Siri

You can activate the Transparency Mode on your Airpods without moving your hands. All you have to do is:

Connect your Airpods to your device.
Then say, “Hey Siri, Turn on Transparency mode.”
And Siri will automatically turn it on.

How to deactivate the Transparency Mode on Airpods

If you no longer want to use this feature, you can turn it off; just say, “Hey Siri, Turn off Transparency,” and Siri will turn it off for you.

If you want to turn it off without going through the above process, you can follow the instructions in the first three sections outlined earlier and tap “off” when you get to the Noise Control section.

Can I customize Transparency mode on Airpods?

Yes, you can customize the transparency mode on your Airpods using your device to channel sounds that suit you best. There are different ways you can customize the transparency mode. One is customizing the ambient noise you hear, and the second is using the conversation boost.

How to customize the amount of ambient noise coming through Transparency Mode on Airpods

You need to understand that ambient noise is sounds coming from your surroundings. When using the transparency mode, the ambient sound might be pretty loud, and you want to reduce it. This is how you can do that:

Connect your Airpods to your device.
Go to the Settings on your device, then select Accessibility.
Scroll down and search for Audio/Visual, then select it.
Go to Headphone Accommodations and turn it on.
Tap on the Transparency mode to turn it on, and also turn on the Custom Transparency mode.
Then, turn on Ambient Noise Reduction.
Now drag the slider to select how much ambient noise you want to be blocked in the transparency mode.

How to Customize Conversation Boost on Airpods Transparency Mode

The conversion boost helps you focus on the person you are conversing with while your Airpods are on Transparency mode. This makes one-on-one conversations easier. To customize the conversation boost on your Airpods:

Connect your Airpods to your device.
Go to the Settings on your device, then select Accessibility.
Scroll down and search for Audio/Visual, then select it.
Go to Headphone Accommodations and turn it on.
Tap on the Transparency mode to turn it on, and also turn on the Custom Transparency mode.
Once the Transparency mode is turned on, select the Conversation booster and turn it on.

Difference between Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode

The noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode features are new noise control features added to recent models of Airpods by Apple. Although they are under the same noise control category, they are different.

What they mean

Noise Cancellation, fully known as Active Noise Cancellation, is a feature that eliminates all background noise to make you enjoy the audio from your Airpods. In contrast, the Transparency Mode allows you to hear the sounds from your environment virtually through your Airpods.

How they work

Airpods with Noise Cancellations have a microphone on their exterior to listen to sounds coming from the environment and then cancel them out from interfering with the Airpods’ audio by creating an inverse sound wave using the internal microphone.

Transparency works similar to Active Noise Cancellation, but instead of canceling the sound coming from the surroundings, it allows the ambient sound to pass through so you can hear what is happening around you.

When to use the Active Noise cancellation feature and Transparency mode

Since noise cancellation eliminates all background noise, you can activate this feature when you want to ignore the world. For instance, when you’re taking a metro or on a flight. This feature blocks distractions around you like people talking or music playing.

The transparency mode makes you aware of your surroundings while listening to your device’s audio. For instance, you can listen to what a person is saying and receive audio from your device without skipping the conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions about Transparency Mode on Airpods

Q. Does Transparency mode Amplify sounds on Airpods?

A. No, Transparency Mode on Airpods does not amplify sounds, but it allows you to be aware of your surroundings so you can hear people better or adjust the ambient sound to suit you.

Q. How long do Airpods last on Transparency Mode?

A. If your Airpods are fully charged, you can get 4-5 hours of listening time with the transparency mode or active noise cancellation.

Q. Does Transparency mode on Airpods drain the Airpods battery?

A. Yes, the transparency mode feature may draw more power from the battery, but the power drawn is insignificant.

Q. Does Transparency mode increase noise?

A. Yes, transparency mode on our Airpods can cause you to hear more noise than you would typically do if you were to use the Airpods without it.

Wrap up

For every new Airpods released, Apple adds new features, and for recent models of Airpods, the transparency mode is what you get. This article explains everything you need to know about Transparency mode on Airpods.

If you have any questions about the Transparency mode, kindly drop them in the comment section below. Thanks for reading.

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