AirPods Pro Hearing Aid Amongst ‘Best Inventions’ List Shows Apple Still Wows

Following the release of iOS 18.1 and Apple Intelligence earlier this week, TIME today announced Apple’s much-ballyhooed hearing aid feature for AirPods Pro—which shipped as part of the aforementioned software update—has been named one of the publication’s 200 best inventions of the year. The new software joins a long yet distinguished list that includes Adobe’s Acrobat AI Assistant, LG’s Signature OLED T transparent television, and Samsung’s Neo QLED 8K television.

Alice Park, credited with the byline for the blurb on AirPods Pro, wrote in part the hearing aid feature represents Apple’s “latest foray into optimizing the potential health uses of its devices” following Apple Watch. Park also notes the company’s chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, said the Cupertino-based tech titan believes strongly it has “a moral responsibility to do more in this space, since so many people have our devices with them.” Williams’ comment jibes with what I wrote in my original reporting, which observed that as AirPods (of any surname) have been increasingly more laden with silicon and sensors, technological progress dictates that of course AirPods eventually cross the rubicon towards becoming more than mere passive listening devices.

Park goes on to write the hearing aid function is available in a product that costs only $250, a relative bargain bin price compared to traditional prescription hearing aids that can cost as much as, to keep the Apple ties tightened, a Vision Pro or Mac Pro at $3,500 and $6,999 respectively, depending on a person’s hearing needs and tolerances. In this context, the fact AirPods Pro cost only a fraction of what more professional hearing aids do means the earbuds arguably are the best product Apple makes in terms of the bang-to-buck ratio. Nothing can get the almighty iPhone to cede its crown, but AirPods Pro’s value proposition skyrocketed into the stratosphere following this week’s update.

That TIME has recognized Apple for its work in accessibility is big news in itself. It’s rare to find accessibility earnestly mentioned by the big, mainstream outlets—late last year, Kevin Roose of The New York Times reached out and asked me to contribute some accessibility-couched insight for his Good Tech Awards—so it’s noteworthy that TIME has recognized the proverbial gravity of the situation with AirPods. In a society, let alone a segment of the media business, where disabled people effectively have to Oliver Twist our way to get people to acknowledge our existence, today’s a good day for the representation meter. Whatever its technical limitations, that AirPods Pro now are over-the-counter hearing aids means a lot more people are going to have better hearing in the coolest packaging. Where traditional prescription hearing aids may not be in the cultural zeitgeist, AirPods certainly are firmly entrenched.

What’s more, the honor by TIME lends credence to Soundly co-founder and CEO Blake Cadwell’s comments on the significance of Apple ‘s presence in the over-the-counter hearing aid market. It’s a big deal; if there’s a single company who could do the most to shatter the societal stigmas around hearing loss and wearing hearing aids, it’s Apple. There’s a saying in political circles that goes “as California goes, so goes the nation.” Such a sentiment is apt in terms of Apple and accessibility.

“There are very few brands that can transform public opinion and actions in the way Apple does,” Cadwell said. “The hearing feature in AirPods Pro marks a milestone in culture’s acceptance of hearing aids and hearing loss as a more normal part of daily life. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050, 1 in every 10 people will have disabling hearing loss. It’s something that also affects me personally. My own journey with hearing loss is what led to the creation of Soundly along with a deep sense of wanting to help others going through a similar process that can often feel frustrating and confusing.”

Apple is a $3 trillion behemoth. It needs not sympathy nor is it above criticism. As my all-time favorite band Linkin Park likes to scream, heavy is the crown. That notion speaks to accessibility as well, but the reality is Apple deserves as much laudation as can be mustered for their work in accessibility. It is a bonafide value for the company, one that starts with Tim Cook at the top of the food chain and funnels downward throughout the organization. Compare and contrast Apple’s philosophy with that of Humane’s—the chasm is as wide as the Grand Canyon.

Accessibility matters! Apple knows it—evidently, TIME does too.