Apple’s beta software cycle has had a busy week, with updates like iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 hitting first, then tvOS 26 beta 3 landing a day later. Now today, Apple has released new AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 beta firmware. Here’s what you should know.

This summer, Apple has made AirPods beta firmware easier than ever to install. And it seems like coordinated with that change is a shift to more frequent beta releases.

Historically AirPods betas have debuted much more sporadically than those for iOS, macOS, and so on. As a result, you would often see several new iOS betas in-between AirPods firmware revisions.

But here we are, the same week as iOS 26 beta 3 debuted, and Apple has just released a third AirPods firmware beta. It is exclusive to AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4.

The new update carries version number 8A5308b ( ).

Previously released beta firmware was version 8A293c and debuted back in late June .

New firmware being only available for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 makes sense because most of the new iOS 26 features are exclusive to those models , requiring an H2 chip.

If you’re looking to upgrade AirPods, Amazon currently has several models at all-time lows.

AirPods Pro 2 are , down from $249. AirPods 4 are , down from $129.