Apple Rolls Out Public Beta AirPods Firmware With Call, Recording and Camera Remote Upgrades

Testing arrives through a new AirPods settings toggle in the OS betas, reflecting Apple's tighter hardware–software release cadence.

Overview

Build 8A5343a is now available to public beta testers for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, matching the developer build released earlier this week.
The pre‑release firmware enables improved audio quality for phone and video calls on supported models.
Studio‑quality audio recording is included for uses such as interviews, podcasts, and videos.
AirPods gain a camera‑remote function that can trigger photos or start video recording in the Camera app.
Installation requires a host device on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS Tahoe, with beta firmware delivery accessible from the AirPods settings interface.