You need to enable this new AirPods feature immediately (and here’s how to do it)

Apple has brought many new features to the AirPods, one of which is best to enable immediately. This is how you do it!

New features for AirPods

A range of new features are available for the AirPods! Apple has not only brought major changes to the iPhone with iOS 26, the AirPods have also been improved. You don’t need the new AirPods Pro 3 for certain features, because Apple has also brought them to previous models. One of those new functions is sleep detection, which you can also enable on the AirPods 4 and the second generation of the AirPods Pro.

With sleep detection, the AirPods register whether you have fallen asleep while listening. Are you no longer awake? In that case, the earphones automatically pause the media. This way your music, podcast, series or movie won’t keep playing all night (or day). This prevents the entire series or movie from playing while you were sleeping. Sleep detection also ensures that your AirPods are not empty when you wake up.

This is how you enable sleep detection

The new function of the AirPods has several advantages, but you must enable it in the settings of the earphones. Sleep detection is part of iOS 26, so make sure your iPhone is updated to the latest software version. You can find this on your iPhone under ‘Settings > General > Software update’. Have you installed iOS 26 on your iPhone? Then you enable sleep detection on your AirPods as follows:

If the AirPods don’t appear at the top of the settings, you can also find the new earbuds feature under ‘Settings > Bluetooth > My devices’. Tap the information symbol (i) there to turn on the new part of the AirPods. Unfortunately, sleep detection is not available on all AirPods, only the AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are equipped with the new feature.

More about the AirPods

Sleep detection is a useful new feature of the AirPods, but you have to turn it on yourself. After installing iOS 26, the improvement is disabled by default on the AirPods. Therefore, make sure that you enable sleep detection immediately, because that is good for the battery of the AirPods and for your hearing. This prevents audio from continuously playing while you are sleeping.

Apple has brought even more new features to the AirPods with iOS 26. With the new software version you can use the earphones as a camera remote control and the sound quality of the AirPods has greatly improved. Unfortunately, this does not apply to all AirPods, only these models have been expanded with new functions in iOS 26. Are your AirPods not getting any new functions and are you looking for new earphones? Then view the lowest prices of the AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro 3 here, so that you never pay too much: