Apple’s iOS 27 developer beta is giving a first look at new AirPods features: customizable EQ for AirPods with an H2 chip, a redesigned AirPods section inside the iPhone Settings app, expanded Find My tracking via Apple Watch, and heart rate sharing through Gy
The changes start in the place AirPods owners actually live every day: the iPhone’s Settings screen. In the iOS 27 developer beta, Apple is laying out a set of updates for AirPods—some long-requested, some clearly built for real-life routines like working out without your phone.
The most eye-catching addition is customizable EQ. For years, AirPods users have asked for a way to tune sound to their ears instead of relying on fixed profiles. With iOS 27, Apple plans to let you customize your EQ to your liking, including sliders for the lows, mids, and highs.
If you’re already on the developer beta. you can test it now—but only if your AirPods have an H2 chip. The walkthrough is straightforward. You connect your AirPods to your iPhone, then open Settings, tap your AirPods, tap Audio and Routing, and tap Equalizer. While you dial in the sound. the iPhone plays your last listened track. so you can adjust the settings with music you already know.
Apple is also changing how AirPods settings appear in Settings. The company still hasn’t created a dedicated AirPods app, but iOS 27 expands the AirPods settings submenu. When AirPods are connected, they appear at the top of the Settings app. Previously. that panel could be a bit of a chore to swipe through because it could require scrolling through a single long page. The new redesign groups settings under easier-to-read labels. aiming to make the whole panel feel more consistent with other parts of the iPhone’s Settings.
Then there’s the Find My upgrade. built around a scenario that’s familiar to anyone who’s lost earbuds at the worst possible moment. Apple says it has consolidated all Find My features for Apple Watch into a single app. That matters for AirPods because it means you can use your Apple Watch to track down missing AirPods Pro without needing your iPhone nearby.
The use case is specific: if you have a cellular Apple Watch and leave your iPhone at home—say, you take your AirPods Pro to the gym—you can open the Find My app on your watch, tap on AirPods Pro, and the Apple Watch will help guide you precisely.
For people who bought into AirPods Pro 3 for health features. iOS 27 also brings a practical change—one tied to the gym. AirPods Pro 3 introduced heart rate tracking to the lineup. but there was a catch: unlike Apple Watch. AirPods Pro 3 didn’t share heart rate with gym equipment. Now, if the gym equipment supports GymKit, your heart rate can be shared via AirPods Pro 3.
The catch here isn’t technical; it’s availability. GymKit support has been somewhat limited, so the feature may still be difficult to take advantage of in everyday workouts.
As of now, all of these features are developer beta only. Apple says the features will eventually roll out to the public beta and should be released to everyone in September. If you’re waiting. the path is inside the iPhone: in the beta version. you can go to Settings. scroll to the bottom. and find an option to opt in to beta updates. After that, updates will automatically come to your AirPods when they’re sufficiently charged. There’s no way to force the update to happen sooner.
For AirPods owners, the message is clear: iOS 27 isn’t just tweaking a few settings—it’s moving sound control into the hands of users, making daily controls easier to navigate, and tightening the loop between AirPods and the devices people actually carry.
iOS 27 AirPods customizable EQ Find My Apple Watch Apple AirPods Settings GymKit AirPods Pro 3 H2 chip developer beta public beta
So basically they finally fixed AirPods sound? Took long enough.
Custom EQ sounds cool but I feel like it’s only for people with the newest AirPods with the H2 chip. Like great, my model is just gonna be stuck with the old settings forever. Also “heart rate sharing”??? I don’t remember signing up for that.
Wait, I thought AirPods already had Find My through the phone? So now Apple Watch is involved too which makes it sound like the watch is basically required? I’m confused. The title says iOS 27 but the dev beta part is always sketchy, and then they say sliders for lows mids highs like everyone hasn’t been asking for that since forever.
I don’t even care about the EQ sliders, I care that the Settings page finally looks less annoying. Every time I try to change something it’s like scrolling forever, so if it’s grouped better that’s good. But “expand Find My tracking” sounds like they’re tracking more stuff (Apple being Apple). Also the heart rate thing… if Gy is involved then it’s probably another subscription move or something.