Apple appears ready to fix one of the most crowded parts of the iPhone Settings app. AirPods have gained head gestures, hearing aid tools, sleep detection, personalized audio controls, and more over the years, but Apple has kept adding those features to the same settings screen instead of making the layout easier to understand.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple will revamp the AirPods control panel in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27, with a layout that feels “more functional, better organized and more streamlined.”
AirPods Still Won’t Get a Dedicated App
Apple currently shows the AirPods settings menu near the top of the Settings app when users connect a pair of earbuds. That shortcut helps, but the actual screen has become harder to scan because every new feature sits inside one growing menu.
The report says Apple has heard user feedback about a dedicated AirPods app, similar to the Apple Watch app and Vision Pro companion app, but that change is not coming this year. Instead, Apple plans to clean up the existing menu and make key controls easier to find.
“I don’t anticipate an AirPods app this year, but Apple has heard the feedback,” Gurman wrote. “The company is revamping the AirPods settings menu to be more functional, better organized and more streamlined.”
This update should matter most to AirPods Pro users because Apple has added many advanced features that casual users often miss inside Settings. A cleaner menu can help users manage hearing aid features, head gestures, noise control, and other options without digging through a cluttered screen.
Apple will unveil iOS 27 at WWDC 2026 on June 8, where Siri and AI features will likely take the spotlight, but this smaller AirPods change could improve daily use for millions of people.
