AirPods' custom equalizer in iOS 27 is bigger than you think

This year's WWDC brought many announcements, and one small but notable detail was an equalizer for AirPods coming in iOS 27. The feature got only a brief onstage mention, but Apple showed a graphic EQ that lets users create custom profiles or pick Apple’s recommended settings.

The preview suggested controls for lows, mids and highs, although Apple did not say how fine-grained those adjustments will be. Until now, AirPods sound changes were limited to preset EQ profiles in Apple Music, reflecting Apple's prior confidence in the tuned sound profile made by its engineers.

An equalizer is a standard feature for consumer headphones, and even limited EQs offer meaningful control. Bose, for example, lets users toggle bass, mids and treble on a 20-point scale, while JBL provides a 10-band, frequency-specific EQ. I don't expect Apple's equalizer to match JBL's detail, but it may be similar to Bose's — and the ability to change sound is the important gain for users.

airpods, ios 27, equalizer, graphic eq, custom profiles, apple music, preset eqs, lows, mids, highs