> I want to commend Apple if they did the right thing and built a database mapping (model,volume_setting)->physical_volume
Even if they did, it would be out of date the moment it shipped.
But no, there's no reason to believe they'd do anything like that. It would be interesting if headphone manufacturers reported the dB range when connecting with Bluetooth to enable something like that, but I've never heard of such a thing. (That is an area where Bluetooth could enable something like that, in a way that the 3.5mm jack couldn't.)
Software updates aren't just for distributing first party malware, you know -- they could also conceivably be used to update a device database. We have the technology.
This is probably an "all of the above" situation. Implement on AirPods and push for a standard and make measurements of popular old models and have a fallback that assumes industry averages. On the scale of Apple, this is not much to ask.
Even if they did, it would be out of date the moment it shipped.
But no, there's no reason to believe they'd do anything like that. It would be interesting if headphone manufacturers reported the dB range when connecting with Bluetooth to enable something like that, but I've never heard of such a thing. (That is an area where Bluetooth could enable something like that, in a way that the 3.5mm jack couldn't.)