Yes, Im nodding at nothing AirPods Pro head gesture controls are that good

Date:
Fri, 23 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Description:
When the temperatures drop, and you don't want to touch your iPhone or AirPods, gesture controls are a hand-saver. Here's how to set them up for Apple's excellent Bluetooth audio device.

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Theres a massive cold front moving across much of the United States, and temperatures in New York City are in the low 20s but it feels more like the teens with the wind chill. Im still rocking AirPods Pro 3 on my walks, of course, listening to Bruce Springsteen , but Im keen to keep my hands in my coat pockets and rely on hands-free controls.

Alongside keeping my fingers crossed that the AirPods microphones are good enough to pick up my voice and transcribe things properly, Ive also been relying on a lesser-known feature: gesture controls. Yes, they might make me look a little weird to folks passing me on the sidewalk, but shaking my head up and down or left and right is a surprisingly simple way to have a notification read aloud or not as well as to respond to a message or ignore it entirely.

Maybe best of all, you dont need the very latest AirPods from Apple. The Cupertino-based tech giant rolled these out in 2024, and gesture controls are supported on AirPods 4 (with or without noise cancellation), AirPods Pro 2 , and AirPods Pro 3 . Theyre also easy to enable in Settings on your iPhone.

Lets break that down and explain why these head-based controls are so handy and how they complement the hands-free experience. Make sure Gesture Controls are on and customize them (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

The first step is to open Settings on your iPhone while its connected to your AirPods. From there, youll see your AirPods listed at the top of Settings in my case, they appear as Jacobs AirPods Pro.

Tap that to open the AirPods settings panel, then scroll down to the section labeled Head Gestures and tap it. On that screen, youll find a brief explanation of how the feature works, along with the option to turn it on or off.

You can also decide which gesture up and down or side to side is used for accepting and declining. Youll need to assign one to each, and you can test them out right there. Id recommend doing so, as it can take a few deliberate head movements in the right direction to trigger the desired action.

This is also where you can adjust other controls to your liking, such as what a single press or a long press on the stem does. Of course, your options will vary depending on which AirPods model youre using. Gesture controls are great for getting a point across quickly (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

What I like most about these controls is that theyre generally faster than interrupting Siri while the assistant is in the middle of announcing a notification. Theyre also far less awkward than blurting out a command when youre walking near other people or standing in a crowded transit hub.

They also help you get back into your groove whether thats a favorite
walking track or a podcast with fewer interruptions. If a long Slack message starts being announced, for example, you can quickly shake your head side to side to dismiss it and let the crossfade bring your audio back up. An inside look at the internals of AirPods Pro 3. (Image credit: Apple)

Its especially useful if you find yourself in a Quiet Car on your commute. In my case, NJ Transits first and last cars are designated quiet zones, where
all conversations must be kept to a whisper making this a perfect control option since it doesnt require you to say a word.

So yes, AirPods head controls have been around for a bit, but as temperatures continue to drop, Id much rather be shaking my head and keeping my hands in
my pockets than triggering a command with my fingers or my voice. And it
still lets me keep listening to the Boss .

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/yes-im-nodding-at-nothing-airp ods-pro-head-gesture-controls-are-that-good


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