Apple celebrated Thanksgiving by unveiling its annual holiday advertisement "Heartstrings" on Thursday—a two-minute commercial that highlights the AirPods Pro 2's new hearing health features and emphasizes themes of accessibility and hearing loss.
The two-minute commercial, titled "Heartstrings," is available on the company's YouTube channel where it has been watched over 1.4 million times and on X (formerly Twitter), where it has 17.7 million views.
This year's ad highlights the AirPods Pro 2 and the new hearing health features that were introduced with the release of iOS 18.1 at the end of last month. Notably, Heartstrings appears to be Apple's first holiday spot that prominently features themes of disability and accessibility within its narrative.
The advertisement depicts a family unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning. The father, who is subtly shown to be experiencing hearing loss, sits quietly as the muted sounds of tearing wrapping paper and chatter fill the room.
The moment becomes poignant when he inserts his AirPods and his daughter begins to play an acoustic guitar, with nostalgic clips of her childhood appearing on the screen. He hears everything clearly for the first time.
Taking to X to share the commercial, Apple CEO Tim Cook posted, "I'm so proud of the many teams across Apple developing powerful technologies that are improving people's lives. The Hearing Aid feature on AirPods Pro 2 uses your personalized sound profile so you can hear the moments that matter."
X users responded positively, praising both the technology and the emotional tone of the commercial, with one saying, "This is one of the best ads of all time. As a father of a 3 and 6 years old having some hearing issues my self this is heart wrenching and warming at the same time."
Another explained the benefits, "Best part of allowing Apple Airpods to double as hearing aids is that there is less stigma with wearing Airpods compared to hearing aids. Also the button that tunes out all sound is great."
Another underscored how the ad tugged at heartstrings, replying to Cook's post, "Jesus you guys really tried to tear peoples souls open with this one didn't you."
Several others replied to Cook's commercial for the new AirPods Pro 2 praising it not for its technology or sentiment but for seemingly having "no woke poison," calling it a "normal non woke advertisement," and praising the Apple CEO for "get[ting] the difference between patriotic and woke," with one X user saying, "Make Ads Great Again."
Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro offer several enhancements over their predecessors. They feature the H2 chip, which improves audio quality and active noise cancellation (ANC).
The Adaptive Transparency mode allows users to remain aware of their surroundings by reducing the intensity of loud noises. Additionally, touch controls on the stems enable easy volume adjustments. The battery life has been extended to up to 6 hours of listening time with ANC enabled, and the charging case now includes a built-in speaker and a lanyard loop for added convenience.
As its commercial shows, with AirPods Pro 2, Apple has introduced new hearing health features aimed at users with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. These enhancements include a clinical-grade Hearing Aid function, a Hearing Test, and active Hearing Protection.
The Hearing Aid feature allows AirPods Pro 2 to function as over-the-counter hearing aids. Users can perform a hearing test using their iPhone or iPad, which generates a personalized hearing profile stored in the Health app.
This profile customizes the amplification of sounds in real-time, enhancing clarity during conversations and media playback. The feature is intended for individuals aged 18 and over with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.
The integrated Hearing Test employs pure-tone audiometry, a standard clinical method, to assess hearing ability. Users can complete this test in minutes, and the results are securely stored in the Health app. This data can also be shared with healthcare providers for further consultation.
Active Hearing Protection minimizes exposure to loud environmental noises across all listening modes. Using machine learning, the H2 chip reduces louder, intermittent noises at 48,000 times per second, while the ear tips provide passive noise reduction.
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