iOS 18.1 AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Aid not available in many countries

Question

Level 1

22 points

iOS 18.1 AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Aid not available in many countries

I upgraded from AirPods Pro to AirPods Pro 2 solely because Apple announced the availability of hearing aid on iOS 18.1 and that they will be accessible in over 100 countries. The list of countries was published last Monday, not several weeks ago when the announcement was made.

I assumed Mexico was on that list, but I was mistaken. Hearing aid a

is not available in my country. Why didn’t Apple release the list of countries before?

This is not what we, as users from other countries like Canada and the UK, expect from Apple.

AirPods Pro (2nd generation)

Posted on Oct 30, 2024 5:06 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

ChepeNicoli Author

Level 1

22 points

Oct 31, 2024 9:21 AM in response to Carol B.

Of course, this is a user forum. I'm not expecting any response from Apple. I just wanted to share my experience that I've read on other forums like Reddit and Twitter. I'm not the only one who upgraded to the Pro 2 because of the hearing aid announcement.

Apple should have published the list when it made the announcement, in my opinion, and update it as it is authorized in different countries.

I'm sure COFEPRIS (our FDA) will authorize these new functions, but it may take more than a year. Hopefully, it will only take a few weeks, but I don't know. Sometimes this type of permission can take time, as it was with the Apple Watch, the ECG (electrocardiogram), that took more than a year

Reply

Answer 2

Oct 31, 2024 10:56 AM in response to ChepeNicoli

Well, my country is not on the list and when I upgraded to iOS 18.1 and upgraded the firmware of my AirPods Pro the hearing test and hearing aid features were not available. This morning both options mysteriously appeared on my iPhone 15 pro. No idea how these things work!

Reply

Answer 3

Carol B.

Level 6

13,615 points

Oct 31, 2024 5:57 AM in response to ChepeNicoli

First of all, this is a user to user community forum. No one here can answer as to why or when Apple releases information. I can understand why you are disappointed. But I can only guess that Apple wanted to release the list with as much information as possible, including the latest approvals. A country can only be added to the list once its appropriate agency approves the hearing aid feature.

Reply