What exactly is transparency mode?

[Jong875]

How does this work? OFF on the AirPods still has quite a bit of noise reduction due to jamming something in your ear, but I don’t get that transparency mode you hear
the outside world louder than OFF and yet it has noise cancelation still on? What exactly is it doing? Using the outside Mic to playback the outside in ear?

 

[Closingracer]

How does this work? OFF on the AirPods still has quite a bit of noise reduction due to jamming something in your ear, but I don’t get that transparency mode you hear
the outside world louder than OFF and yet it has noise cancelation still on? What exactly is it doing? Using the outside Mic to playback the outside in ear?

It basically uses the outside mic to pump in the sound into your ear. So instead of canceling the sounds it takes it and pumps it into your ears to hear what’s happening.

 

[rgarjr]

I believe transparency mode just opens up a hole breaking the seal between inside your hear and the pods. ANC Mode, listens to ambient noise and counters it. Also of course creates a seal with your ear and pods.

 

[Ralfi]

Opens a tunnel within the Airpods that allows external sounds in via amplification.

 

[CharlesShaw]

I’m really enjoying transparency mode at the gym. To me, it sounds as if my personal music is being played over the gym’s sound system (a sort of AR, I guess). I’ve always had earbuds jammed in my ears during my workouts, but now I don’t feel so isolated.

 

[CarlJ]

I believe transparency mode just opens up a hole breaking the seal between inside your hear and the pods.

Opens a tunnel within the Airpods that allows external sounds in via amplification.

To be clear, they're doing this electronically, not mechanically - in all cases, you're physically isolated from outside sound, somewhat, by virtue of having the APPs in your ears, but in transparency mode they're sampling some sound from the APP's external mics and mixing this into whatever audio you're listening to on the inside.