If you are sitting in a noisy restaurant or attending a lecture in a massive auditorium, it can be incredibly difficult to hear the person speaking directly to you. To help users in challenging acoustic environments, Apple built a powerful accessibility feature called “Live Listen” that essentially turns your iPhone into a highly directional microphone and your AirPods into a makeshift hearing aid.
When activated, your iPhone will capture audio from its bottom microphone, digitally enhance the frequencies of human speech, and instantly beam that audio via Bluetooth directly into your AirPods.
How to Add the Live Listen Shortcut
Because Live Listen is an accessibility feature, it is not turned on by default. You must first add the toggle to your iPhone’s Control Center.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Control Center.
- Scroll down to the section labeled “More Controls”.
- Find the icon labeled Hearing (it looks like a blue square with a white ear icon).
- Tap the green + (plus) button next to Hearing to add it to your active Control Center list.
How to Use the Feature
Now that the shortcut is available, you can trigger the feature whenever you are wearing your AirPods.
- Put your AirPods in your ears and ensure they are connected to your iPhone.
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone screen to open the Control Center (or swipe up from the bottom if you have a Home button).
- Tap the new Hearing icon (the ear).
- A small menu will appear displaying the battery life of your AirPods. Tap the large button labeled Live Listen.
The button will instantly turn green, and the feature is now active.
Best Practices for Live Listen
Once Live Listen is on, you do not need to hold your phone. For the best results, place your iPhone flat on the table, pointing the bottom edge (where the primary microphone is located) directly toward the person speaking.
You can adjust the volume of the incoming audio using the physical volume buttons on the side of your iPhone. To turn the feature off, simply open the Control Center, tap the Hearing icon again, and tap the Live Listen button to deactivate it.