Apple’s new Conversation Awareness feature in iOS 17 automatically reduces the volume of music and switches to Transparency Mode when the user starts talking to someone. However, some users in the iOS 17 beta have been turning off this feature. Apple is now investigating why users are disabling this feature, which is designed to help people stay aware of their surroundings while listening to music.
[O]ver the past few days, Apple has been sending out a feedback survey to users who have opted to turn off Conversation Awareness. In the survey, which can be answered directly from the iPhone, Apple asks users who have installed the AirPods beta firmware to rate their overall experience using the new conversation-detecting feature.
Apple wants to know if there are any critical issues when Conversation Awareness is triggered, or when AirPods return to their previous state (like a delay to detect when someone is talking). Another question aims to find out whether users prefer audio content to be fully paused rather than having the volume reduced when the feature is activated.
I’ve installed the beta firmware on my second-generation AirPods Pro, and personally, while Conversation Awareness is quite useful when I’m walking outside, I always turn it off when at home. That’s because I often sing out loud when listening to songs, and that makes Conversation Awareness trigger all the time.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s nice to see, and it makes sense that, Apple is actively soliciting feedback to fine-tune a new feature during the iOS 17 beta period.
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The perfect device for feedback resides in a user’s hands. As visionary as the feature is, it can always be fine tuned, as Apple is doing.
Sounds like users don’t like being nannied by Apple, one of the best features of the AirPods is that people don’t bother you as much when you’re wearing them. We don’t need Apple to help facilitate their interruptions.