What is transparency mode and how does it work in headphones?

Apple popularized a feature called “transparency mode” on your fitted AirPods Pro headphones. The feature was also later added to Apple's expensive on-ear headphones.. Then, What exactly does transparency mode do and how is it used?

Transparency mode on AirPods Pro and Max

The AirPods Pro are Apple's first pair of noise-canceling headphones. Active noise cancellation (the ANC for short) use microphones to monitor ambient noise around you. Headphones do their best to mask these frequencies or “cancel” noise.

Noise-canceling headphones are generally in-ear type, as a better seal with the ear means less noise will passively enter. When you turn off ANC, hears much more noise than reaches his ears, specifically the low frequencies that travel the furthest, like traffic noise or engine hum.

Silicone ear tips are quite good at passively blocking noise, which means it can still be difficult to hear the world around you, even when you turn off the ANC. This is where transparency mode comes in..

Using the microphones already found in the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, Apple's response channels the outside world into your ears at a comfortable volume. It does it with an imperceptible delay, which was a hindrance with an earlier implementation of this technique for the original AirPods called Live Listen.

How to use transparency mode on AirPods

You can switch between ANC and transparency mode on Apple AirPods Pro by pressing and holding an earbud (the default setting), or by pressing the noise control button on the AirPods Max. You can leave the transparency mode on all the time, but it doesn't necessarily work fine this way.

To be able to hear people speak, as an example, when you pay for a post in a store, you probably need to pause the music even at a moderate volume to hear what is happening. If you are listening to spoken word audio, like a podcast or a YouTube video, it's much easier to listen to people without pausing the content first.

Some AirPods owners bet on transparency mode as a security feature, since it allows them to enjoy music and other content at low volume without being oblivious to the threats around them, like when they walk at night or use public transportation alone.

Best of all, you don't need an iPhone to take advantage of the feature, since both ANC and transparency mode work with Android (or with any other Bluetooth audio device you connect them to).

Other headphones also have transparency mode

Although AirPods Pro introduced many users to transparency mode, many other wireless headphones now support the function, including the Jabra Elite 75t and the Sony WF-1000XM4, two of our top alternatives for the best wireless headphones for iPhone and iPad users.