Casey Liss

And to be clear, the hearing test thing, there's two sides of that. When they do that, they're measuring how well each of your ears hears different frequencies. And they do two things with that. One, they can change the audio that you're playing, your podcast, your music, whatever, the audio playing from your phone.

They modify that audio with an equalizer to make it sound more like it's supposed to. But the second thing is, with the hearing aid mode, sound coming in from the outside world hits the microphones on your AirPods and then gets replayed inside your ear, also applying that audiogram in sort of hearing aid mode.

They modify that audio with an equalizer to make it sound more like it's supposed to. But the second thing is, with the hearing aid mode, sound coming in from the outside world hits the microphones on your AirPods and then gets replayed inside your ear, also applying that audiogram in sort of hearing aid mode.

And in terms of like this versus like quote unquote real hearing aids, obviously one advantage that real hearing aids have is they're very often much smaller and more discreet than AirPods. But of course, the main advantage that AirPods have is... people might already own them, right?

And in terms of like this versus like quote unquote real hearing aids, obviously one advantage that real hearing aids have is they're very often much smaller and more discreet than AirPods. But of course, the main advantage that AirPods have is... people might already own them, right?

Or if you're worried about having a hearing aid or you're like nervous about it or embarrassed or whatever, just try the feature. There's like the barrier to entry of like, am I the type of person who needs to go and get a hearing aid? A lot of people don't want to go over that barrier. But am I the type of person who either already owns or can buy AirPods at the Apple Store?

Or if you're worried about having a hearing aid or you're like nervous about it or embarrassed or whatever, just try the feature. There's like the barrier to entry of like, am I the type of person who needs to go and get a hearing aid? A lot of people don't want to go over that barrier. But am I the type of person who either already owns or can buy AirPods at the Apple Store?

Yeah, much lower barrier. You don't buy that and say like, oh, I'm buying a hearing aid. And then once people start using them, But if they find that it is useful and people say, you know, we love that you love your new hearing aid, dad, but you're always wearing your AirPods. It looks kind of weird.

Yeah, much lower barrier. You don't buy that and say like, oh, I'm buying a hearing aid. And then once people start using them, But if they find that it is useful and people say, you know, we love that you love your new hearing aid, dad, but you're always wearing your AirPods. It looks kind of weird.

Why didn't you just get a quote unquote real hearing aid for 10 times the price that is much, much smaller and that won't fall out of your ears as easily and the charge lasts longer and yada, yada, yada. And so I feel like this is a great example of Apple sort of.

Why didn't you just get a quote unquote real hearing aid for 10 times the price that is much, much smaller and that won't fall out of your ears as easily and the charge lasts longer and yada, yada, yada. And so I feel like this is a great example of Apple sort of.

lowering the barrier to entry, getting people over the hump to do a thing that they wouldn't have otherwise done, even if it turns out that AirPods are not sufficient for their needs or eventually become insufficient for their needs or are not as good as a real thing or whatever, just because it starts them down the path. Just like the sleep apnea stuff and all those other things of like...

lowering the barrier to entry, getting people over the hump to do a thing that they wouldn't have otherwise done, even if it turns out that AirPods are not sufficient for their needs or eventually become insufficient for their needs or are not as good as a real thing or whatever, just because it starts them down the path. Just like the sleep apnea stuff and all those other things of like...

it's not as good as going to a doctor. It's not as good as getting a sleep test or whatever, but people who are like afraid to find out or don't want to sleep in a weird place or do a sleep test or trial or whatever, but they do own a watch and they will say, okay, I'm going to wear my watch when I sleep just to see. And what does it say?

it's not as good as going to a doctor. It's not as good as getting a sleep test or whatever, but people who are like afraid to find out or don't want to sleep in a weird place or do a sleep test or trial or whatever, but they do own a watch and they will say, okay, I'm going to wear my watch when I sleep just to see. And what does it say?

What it basically says is maybe sleep apnea, talk to your doctor, right? And that is the first step to getting them over the hump to saying like people wondering, is there something wrong or whatever? Maybe this will give them a little push to say, oh, actually, the watch totally says that it's sensing sleep apnea. Is it right? Is it wrong? Go to your doctor and find out.

What it basically says is maybe sleep apnea, talk to your doctor, right? And that is the first step to getting them over the hump to saying like people wondering, is there something wrong or whatever? Maybe this will give them a little push to say, oh, actually, the watch totally says that it's sensing sleep apnea. Is it right? Is it wrong? Go to your doctor and find out.

Versus I'm just going to sit here and fret. Do I have sleep apnea? I don't know. I don't want to find out. I don't want to have a CPAP, blah, blah, blah, blah. This is one of the great strengths of Apple Health stuff.

Versus I'm just going to sit here and fret. Do I have sleep apnea? I don't know. I don't want to find out. I don't want to have a CPAP, blah, blah, blah, blah. This is one of the great strengths of Apple Health stuff.

Not that it solves all your problems, but that it lowers the barrier to entry for people who are afraid of health stuff, whether it's afraid of getting into exercise, afraid of asking if they need a hearing aid, afraid of going to the doctor and asking about sleep apnea.