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Door staff@engadget.com (Luke James) - 25 Oct 2026
You can only change the settings on a pair of AirPods via an Apple device; without one, you're stuck with the defaults or whatever they were last set to. That includes the press-and-hold action on the stem along with automatic ear detection, the feature that pauses your music when you take an earbud out. Spatial Audio and head tracking are also controlled from Apple devices, as are Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness and Personalized Volume.
Live Translation, which is available on recent models including AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 5, does its processing via an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone (iPhone 15 Pro or newer). The Hearing Test, Hearing Aid and Hearing Protection features on AirPods Pro 2 and 3 are set up on an iPhone or iPad, and the heart rate readings taken by AirPods Pro 3 go to Apple's Fitness app.
Automatic switching, meanwhile, only works across devices signed in to the same Apple Account, and since Apple uses that instead of standard Bluetooth multipoint, AirPods won't stay connected to two non-Apple devices at the same time. That's one of the reasons why you shouldn't buy new headphones without Bluetooth multipoint.
AirPods do retain some functionality when paired with a non-Apple device, though. Pressing the stem while connected to a Galaxy still plays, pauses and skips tracks, according to SoundGuys — though you can't customize those controls. The site also found noise cancellation on AirPods Pro 2 is about the same on Android as on iOS. Sound quality is less certain, since AirPods stream over Bluetooth using the AAC codec, and SoundGuys' older testing found Android phones performed worse with it than an iPhone.
Live Translation, which is available on recent models including AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 5, does its processing via an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone (iPhone 15 Pro or newer). The Hearing Test, Hearing Aid and Hearing Protection features on AirPods Pro 2 and 3 are set up on an iPhone or iPad, and the heart rate readings taken by AirPods Pro 3 go to Apple's Fitness app.
Automatic switching, meanwhile, only works across devices signed in to the same Apple Account, and since Apple uses that instead of standard Bluetooth multipoint, AirPods won't stay connected to two non-Apple devices at the same time. That's one of the reasons why you shouldn't buy new headphones without Bluetooth multipoint.
AirPods do retain some functionality when paired with a non-Apple device, though. Pressing the stem while connected to a Galaxy still plays, pauses and skips tracks, according to SoundGuys — though you can't customize those controls. The site also found noise cancellation on AirPods Pro 2 is about the same on Android as on iOS. Sound quality is less certain, since AirPods stream over Bluetooth using the AAC codec, and SoundGuys' older testing found Android phones performed worse with it than an iPhone.