Did you hear? 👂
Apple has turned millions of AirPods Pro into hearing health devices.
Not with new hardware. Not with radical redesign.
Just a clever software update and a fresh vision of what existing technology could become.
This is product evolution at its finest. Take something people already use, identify a deeper need — and expand its entire purpose.
The FDA’s approval of Apple’s hearing test and hearing aid features opened a whole new market.
But here’s what’s really smart: Apple has transcended adding features — they’re now shifting harmful perceptions.
When earbuds become de facto healthcare devices, wearing them everywhere becomes more acceptable. Because when hearing assistance comes through familiar, popular technology, it feels less stigmatizing.
Think about the layers:
- Prevention (protecting current hearing)
- Awareness (testing and monitoring)
- Assistance (actual hearing aid functions)
- And social acceptance: removing stigmas
This last one is huge. A good friend of mine has a cochlear implant, and she and her partner have become vocal hearing advocates. They’ve opened my mind to how unmanaged hearing loss leads to social withdrawal and worse: cognitive decline.
For product makers, this illustrates something really meaningful: maybe your biggest opportunity is NOT a new product. Instead, it could be finding a new purpose or user base for an existing one.
Action for you: Write down your product’s core capabilities, no matter how intimately you know them. Think with fresh eyes about what other needs these capabilities have the potential to serve. Imagine the product doing its thing in use cases where it‘s never been before. Which related problems could you solve by looking at your product completely differently?
Laurier
P.S. I already thought it was pretty cool how my father-in-law’s hearing aid connects with his phone and any other Bluetooth device. And one of our octogenarian friends recently got two new hearing aids that came with a handheld microphone — which he soon “confiscated” from his sweet wife. Everything in moderation!