Can You Use New AirPods Pro 2 on Older iPhone or iPad?

If you’ve recently acquired some new AirPods or AirPods Pro, you might be in a situation where you’re wondering if the latest models of AirPods work with an older iPhone or iPad. This is a very important question, since many people will be in a situation where they themselves either buy new AirPods or gift them, but yourself or the recipient has an older model iPhone or iPad.

For example, let’s say the latest fancy new AirPods Pro 2 with Hearing Aid Functionality are gifted to someone that has an older iPhone that is stuck on iOS 16, and an older iPad that also can’t be updated beyond iOS 16, so will the AirPods still work? The answer is yes, sort of, and it’s somewhat complicated, as we’ll explain.

Can You Use New AirPods 4 or AirPods Pro 2 with Hearing Aid features on old iPhone or iPad? With iOS 16?

Here’s What You Need to Know
AirPods Pro 2 have a lot of incredible advanced features, including FDA approved Hearing Aid functionality.

But it turns out that the iPhone or iPad the AirPods Pro are setup with must be able to use iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or newer in order to access the hearing aid features, including the entire hearing test and setup.

In a situation like this, the AirPods Pro 2 will still connect to the older iPhone or iPad, but the hearing aid features will not work or be available.

Standard AirPods 4 will be less hobbled by linking with an older device, as they do not have the hearing aid functionality to begin with.

AirPods Features Requiring Modern iOS

You can still pair AirPods with older iOS and iPadOS versions, but some features of AirPods and AirPods Pro 2 will require newer versions of iOS/iPadOS system software, including:

• Hearing Aid features – iOS 18 and newer
• Live Listen – iOS 16 and later
• Adaptive Audio – iOS 17 and newer
• Conversation Awareness – iOS 17 and newer
• Conversation Boost – iOS 18 and newer
• Personalized volume – iOS 17 and newer
• Transparency mode – iOS 16 and newer
• Noise cancellation – iOS 16 and newer

Using AirPods Pro 2 as Hearing Aids Requires iOS 18 or Newer

The AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aid feature is popular, especially with those with mild to moderate hearing loss, and who don’t want to splurge on multiple-thousands of dollars for an official hearing aid. But it’s critical to note that the hearing aid features of AirPods Pro 2 require iOS 18/iPadOS 18 or newer, meaning some devices will not be compatible with this feature if they’re not running the latest iOS/iPadOS versions, or can’t be upgraded to the latest versions of system software.

If you want to take full advantage of AirPods Pro 2 and the hearing aid features, you will need to make sure you have a more modern iPhone or iPad that is able to run iOS/iPadOS 18 or newer, and update to the latest version of system software on that device. If you simply want to use AirPods or AirPods Pro as regular earbuds and wireless headphones, you can use them with older model iPhone and iPad devices, as well as just about anything that connects to Bluetooth, but the features will be more limited.

Keep all of this in mind as you shop for AirPods, AirPods Pro, iPhone, and iPad!