iOS 26 gave AirPods Pro a new setting you might want to turn on - 9to5Mac
Sleep detection in iOS 26 pauses AirPods playback when you fall asleep
I love my AirPods. I use them occasionally throughout the day, but every night for sure. I like to listen to podcasts and audiobooks right before I fall asleep. Usually, I set a timer in case I drift off without noticing. However, sometimes I forget to set it, or I want to listen just a bit longer and end up falling asleep without stopping the audio.
Well, apparently this is a common issue, because Apple has introduced a toggle in iOS settings to “Pause Media When Falling Asleep.” They don’t really tell us how they’re detecting when you fall asleep, but I hope it’s not using the Apple Watch’s sleep features because I really don’t like sleeping with my watch on.
This toggle appears in settings for those with AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4, but it is not on by default.
