AirPods Custom – With iOS 27 arriving this fall, AirPods users will be able to manually tune sound using a new Custom EQ feature—adjusting highs, mids, and lows directly in the AirPods settings.
For a lot of AirPods owners, the appeal has always been that the tuning largely takes care of itself. Adaptive EQ steps in to automatically adjust the sound as needed to maintain audio quality. But that approach is getting a new sibling in iOS 27.
When iOS 27 arrives this fall, AirPods will gain a Custom EQ feature that lets users take the controls. In the AirPods settings menu, people will be able to adjust the highs, mids, and lows—tuning the sound manually rather than relying only on the automatic balancing that Adaptive EQ provides.
The change is simple in concept, but the details are still thin. The mention of Custom EQ is only a single sentence on the iOS updates page. leaving a key question unanswered: which AirPods models will support the tool. There’s also no clear information yet about how any EQ tweaks will be saved. or whether those adjustments will carry across devices.
Even with the uncertainty, the direction is clear. Apple has previously used WWDC, a largely software-focused event, to preview audio features that land on hardware. And with the next iPhone batch expected in just a few months alongside iOS 27. it’s likely more will be revealed before the rollout—potentially including support details and whether new AirPods hardware plays a role.
AirPods iOS 27 Custom EQ Adaptive EQ Apple audio features earbuds tuning