I'm not convinced Apple's custom EQ for AirPods is enough

After years of testing headphones, earbuds, and speakers, I’ve downloaded more companion apps than I care to admit. Almost all of them come with some kind of custom EQ. Sony has it. Sennheiser has it. Soundcore has it. Nothing even offers a full parametric EQ. Most Bluetooth speakers come with EQ options these days.

AirPods never did.

That finally changes with iOS 27. Apple is adding custom EQ controls to AirPods for the first time, but after years of waiting, it sure feels like the company did the bare minimum: just three sliders for bass, midrange, and treble.

Apple always preferred automatic tuning

For years, AirPods occupied a strange place in the audio world. They’re among the most popular earbuds and headphones on the planet, yet they lacked a feature that’s become standard across the industry.

That wasn’t an oversight. While other brands kept expanding customization options, Apple focused on making customization feel unnecessary. Features like Adaptive EQ and Loudness-dependent EQ (LDEQ) automatically adjusted the sound based on how the AirPods fit in your ears and how loudly you listened, without asking users to even touch a slider. The bet was that most listeners would rather trust Apple’s tuning than build their own.

AirPods finally get EQ, but there’s a catch

So after a decade of building features designed to make EQ feel unnecessary, here’s what Apple finally delivered: three bands. Bass, midrange, and treble. No frequency points. No dB values. No graph. No advanced mode.

That’s one of the simplest EQ implementations among major audio brands. Nothing offers a full parametric EQ. Sony gives you a 10-band EQ and a dedicated Clear Bass slider. JBL goes up to 12 bands. Even Bose, long regarded as having the weakest EQ of the big brands, gives you the same three bands but shows you the exact numerical value as you raise or lower each one. Apple gives you three generic controls and little indication of what’s happening behind them.

Apple didn’t have to stop at three sliders

Of course, Apple would probably argue that most AirPods owners don’t want a 10-band EQ, and frankly, Apple is probably right.

Most casual listeners aren’t adjusting exact frequency bands or building custom sound profiles. They’re trying to answer a much simpler question: “Can I get a little more bass?” or “Can I make voices easier to hear?” For those listeners, three sliders make a lot more sense than a screen full of controls.

Still, Apple didn’t have to choose between simplicity and flexibility. Plenty of competitors offer both. Apple could have hidden a more advanced EQ behind a menu, and most users would never know it was there. Three sliders will be enough for most listeners. The problem is that anyone who wants more is out of luck.

A very Apple solution

When the iOS 27 announcement dropped, there was a genuine moment of excitement. After all these years, AirPods were finally getting EQ.

Then I saw the sliders. Somewhere, a 1984 car stereo is nodding in solidarity.

Look, it’s something. After years of nothing, three bands is technically progress. It’s just hard not to see it as the bare minimum.