Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk endorsed Apple Inc.’s AAPL latest health technology innovation, responding “This is cool” to CEO Tim Cook‘s announcement of AirPods Pro 2’s new hearing aid capabilities.
What Happened: Cook had shared his pride in Apple’s teams developing “powerful technologies that are improving people’s lives,” specifically highlighting the AirPods Pro 2’s personalized hearing aid feature. This development comes as Apple transforms its popular wireless earbuds into clinical-grade hearing assistance devices.
The new functionality addresses a significant global health challenge, with the World Health Organization estimating that 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from hearing loss. Traditional prescription hearing aids typically cost between $2,000 and $7,000, making them inaccessible to many potential users.
Apple’s comprehensive hearing health solution includes active hearing protection, an at-home hearing test, and hearing aid capabilities that adjust sound in real time based on personalized hearing profiles.
See Also: Meta, TikTok, Snapchat Could Face $32M Fines As Australia Enforces Social Media Ban For Under-16s
Why It Matters: The features are awaiting marketing authorization from health authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and are expected to launch this fall in over 100 markets.
This development builds on earlier research published in iScience journal, which found that AirPods Pro met four out of five standards for personal sound amplification products.
The AirPods line remains crucial to Apple’s wearables segment, which generated $9.04 billion in fiscal fourth-quarter revenue.
While Apple maintains its leadership in the true wireless stereo market with a 17% share, this represents a significant decrease from its 48.1% share in 2019, reflecting increased competition in the space.
The innovation comes as Apple continues to dominate the tech sector, with the company reporting overall fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $94.9 billion, exceeding analyst expectations and demonstrating strong performance across its product ecosystem.
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