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Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) Wireless Earbuds, Up to 2X More Active Noise Cancelling, Adaptive Transparency, Personalized Spatial Audio MagSafe Charging Case (Lightning) Bluetooth Headphones for iPhone
Brand | Apple |
Color | White |
Ear Placement | In Ear |
Form Factor | In Ear |
Noise Control | Active Noise Cancellation |
About this item
- RICHER AUDIO EXPERIENCE – The Apple-designed H2 chip pushes advanced audio performance even further, resulting in smarter noise cancellation and more immersive sound. The low-distortion, custom-built driver delivers crisp, clear high notes and deep, rich bass in stunning definition. So every sound is more vivid than ever..Note : If the size of the earbud tips does not match the size of your ear canals or the headset is not worn properly in your ears, you may not obtain the correct sound qualities or call performance. Change the earbud tips to ones that fit more snugly in your ear
- NEXT-LEVEL ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION – Up to 2x more Active Noise Cancellation than the previous AirPods Pro for dramatically less noise on your commute, or when you want to focus. Adaptive Transparency lets you comfortably hear the world around you, adjusting for intense noise—like sirens or construction—in real time.
- CUSTOMIZABLE FIT – Now with four pairs of silicone tips (XS, S, M, L) to fit a wider range of ears and provide all-day comfort. The tips create an acoustic seal to help keep out noise and secure AirPods Pro in place.
- SOUND ALL AROUND – Personalized Spatial Audio surrounds you in sound tuned just for you. It works with dynamic head tracking to immerse you deeper in music and movies.
- HIGHER LEVEL OF CONTROL – Now you can swipe the stem to adjust volume. Press it to play and pause music or to answer and end a call, or hold it to switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Adaptive Transparency.
- A LEAP IN BATTERY LIFE – Up to 6 hours of listening time with Active Noise Cancellation enabled — 33% more than AirPods Pro (1st generation). With the charging case, you can get 30 hours of total listening time with Active Noise Cancellation enabled — 6 hours longer than AirPods Pro (1st generation).
- A MORE CAPABLE CASE – Keep track of AirPods Pro with Precision Finding and a built-in speaker. A lanyard loop keeps your AirPods Pro close. Charge with an Apple Watch or MagSafe charger, or use the Lightning connector or a Qi-certified charger.
- MAGICAL EXPERIENCE – Quick access to Siri by saying “Hey Siri”. Easy setup, in-ear detection, and automatic switching between devices. Audio Sharing lets you share a song or a show between two sets of AirPods on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV.
Compare Apple AirPods
Price | From: $199.00 | From: $79.99 | From: $169.00 | From: $449.99 |
Ratings | 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,955) | 4.7 out of 5 stars (621,624) | 4.2 out of 5 stars (713) | 4.6 out of 5 stars (3,018) |
Fit | Customizable | Universal | Universal | Customizable |
Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode |
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Chip | Apple H2 headphone chip U1 chip in charging case for Precision Finding | Apple H1 headphone chip | Apple H1 headphone chip | Apple H1 headphone chip (each ear cup) |
Hey Siri | Always on | Always on | Always on | Always on |
Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking |
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Battery life (listening time on one charge) | Up to 6 hours of listening time | Up to 5 hours of listening time | Up to 6 hours of listening time | Up to 20 hours of listening time |
Battery life (listening time with charging case) | Up to 30-hours | More than 24-hours | Up to 30-hours | - |
Bluetooth |
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LED Charging Light Location | Front of Case | Top of Case | Front of case | - |
Qi Compatible |
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Adaptive EQ |
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Case | MagSafe Charging Case (USB-C) with speaker and lanyard loop | Lightning Charging Case | Lightning Charging Case | Smart Case |
Technical Details
AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Weight |
AirPods Pro (each): 0.19 ounce (5.3 g), MagSafe Charging Case: 1.79 ounces (50.8 g) |
Dimensions |
AirPods (each): 0.94 by 0.86 by 1.22 inches (24.0 by 21.8 by 30.9 mm), MagSafe Charging Case: 1.78 by 0.85 by 2.39 inches (45.2 by 21.7 by 60.6 mm) |
AirPods Sensors (each): |
Dual beamforming microphones, Inward-facing microphone, Skin-detect sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer, Touch control |
Power and Battery |
Up to 6 hours of listening time on a single charge (up to 5.5 hours with Personalized Spatial Audio and Head Tracking enabled), Up to 4.5 hours of talk time with a single charge. AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case: Up to 30 hours of listening time, Up to 24 hours of talk time, 5 minutes in the case provides around 1 hour of listening time or around 1 hour of talk time |
Release Date |
9/9/2022 |
Additional information |
Up to 2x more Active Noice Cancellation compared to AirPods Pro (1st Generation). |
WARNING:
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the sound quality, comfort, and fit of the headphones. For example, they mention the sound is amazing, the spatial audio is great, and the noise cancelling is pretty good. Some appreciate the value, and quality. That said, opinions are mixed on battery life, connectivity, and performance.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the sound quality of the headphones. They say the sound is amazing, the foam tips increase sound isolation, and the spatial audio is great. They are better able to adapt to external sounds while in passthrough mode. The noise cancelling is pretty good and the sound transparency mode is excellent. They look good, sound great, and easy to use. The wireless earbuds provide an unrivaled listening experience with their advanced features.
"...The active noise cancellation technology effectively blocks out external noise, allowing me to fully immerse myself in my favorite music, podcasts,..." Read more
"...Good: Sound quality & noise cancellation are next level. I have a set of Bose noise cancelling I was using and haven’t picked the Bose up since...." Read more
"...Gen1 MAX, and two (this is the best) they can actually live-cancel loud outside noises that would exceed the dB limit set by the device to which they..." Read more
"...Pros:1. Outstanding audio quality with active noise cancellation.2. Customizable fit for comfort and effective noise isolation.3...." Read more
Customers like the quality of the headphones. For example, they say the build quality is great, the durability and water resistance are crucial features, and the earbuds are a solid pair of wireless earphones. Some say the ANC quality is excellent, and they're the most stable ear buds they've used. Overall, most find them to be a quality of life improvement and a great product for the price.
"...The durable construction ensures they can withstand the rigors of an active lifestyle without compromising on performance...." Read more
"...cancelling out the vast majority of noise so that it's well within safe levels for my ears, while still letting me hold conversations with shocking..." Read more
"...Seriously improved: The H1 only sampled 200 times per second, while these sample 48,000 times per second, fast enough to compensate for..." Read more
"...Not so good: the case is just a little less robust. So far it’s worked fine, but I could see this possibly breaking in the future...." Read more
Customers like the value of the headphones. They say it's completely worth it, worth every penny, and a solid choice for Apple enthusiasts seeking exceptional sound. They also mention that the noise cancellation is really good.
"...comfort, and high-fidelity sound, the AirPods Pro are a worthwhile investment." Read more
"...but honestly, the separation, sound stage and quality is really, just excellent...." Read more
"...foremost, the audio quality of the AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) is outstanding...." Read more
"...While on the premium side, the features and quality justify the investment for a truly exceptional audio experience...." Read more
Customers like the comfort of the headphones. For example, they say the tips provide a secure and comfortable fit for extended use, and the soundstage is gentle. Some mention that the headphones feel and look good, and fit snugly and securely in their ears.
"...If you're in search of wireless earbuds that combine convenience, comfort, and high-fidelity sound, the AirPods Pro are a worthwhile investment." Read more
"...you wear on your head that are surprisingly lightweight and have a gentle, natural soundstage...." Read more
"...This ensures not only a comfortable wearing experience but also enhances the effectiveness of the noise cancellation feature...." Read more
"...It amplifies background noise (again, keyboards become particularly unpleasant)..." Read more
Customers like the fit of the headphones. They mention that it provides a comfortable and stable fit even during extended use. They also appreciate the larger size of the driver and the portable case.
"...With their immersive sound quality, customizable fit, seamless connectivity, and intelligent features like active noise cancellation and..." Read more
"...Suitably impressive for a driver so small that it makes me wonder what's done to achieve it. Magic gnomes, possibly...." Read more
"...The replacement cushions, though labeled large, are much smaller than the large cushions that came with the ear buds...." Read more
"...Immerse yourself in crystal-clear sound, enjoy the customizable fit, and embrace the seamless connectivity that these earbuds offer...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the performance of the headphones. Some mention that they work well, are impressed with their performance, and deliver excellence in every aspect. However, others say that they don't really work well in noise canceling mode, and are practically unusable. They also mention that the transparency mode makes them poorly suited for this application.
"...Pro are also sweat and water-resistant, making them ideal for workouts and outdoor activities...." Read more
"...This opens up a huge amount of usage options - such as walking around the office with zero fear of missing cues from colleagues, or, in my current..." Read more
"...Find My doesn't work at all in my experience, my Macs show up fine but no matter what I do I can't get the pods to show up there...." Read more
"...It's not necessary with these; they have good response through the range, and have a similar roll-off up top to the Maxes and my Sony MDR-V6 wired..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the battery life of the headphones. Some mention that it has an impressive battery life, lasting for several hours on a single charge. However, others say that the battery is on the short side and will run out if you are on a longer flight or drive.
"...Battery life is impressive, offering up to 4.5 hours of listening time on a single charge with active noise cancellation enabled, and up to 5 hours..." Read more
"...Just observational:Battery seems to be pretty good, but I’ve let the case sit for a couple days off the charger - 2 to 3 days max and found..." Read more
"...-No battery status while connected to Android phone-Unexplained case ringing can be annoying-Find My doesn't seem to work with these..." Read more
"...So that's pretty much it. Battery life is improved and I can confirm that Apple's sandbagging when they say "six hours of listening" as it's closer..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the connectivity of the headphones. Some mention that they seamlessly integrate with Apple devices, delivering a user-friendly experience. They say that they automatically connect to their iPhone and MacBook as soon as they take them out of the case. However, some customers say that the AirPod Pro does not consistently connect.
"...A couple of minor notes: The AirPods will not always connect, but switching Bluetooth on and off in Settings will fix the issue immediately...." Read more
"...With their immersive sound quality, customizable fit, seamless connectivity, and intelligent features like active noise cancellation and..." Read more
"...but it's a shame that they experience persistent and frequent connectivity issues that make them practically unusable, as reported elsewhere...." Read more
"...They know what the goal is and will consistently pair with the intended target device. They really can just Do What I Mean...." Read more
Reviews with images
![Unparalleled utility and versatility with a shockingly natural soundstage. Amazing for iPhone users](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/transparent-pixel._V192234675_.gif)
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Top reviews from the United States
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The standout feature of the AirPods Pro is their immersive sound quality. The active noise cancellation technology effectively blocks out external noise, allowing me to fully immerse myself in my favorite music, podcasts, or audiobooks. The soundstage is rich and well-balanced, delivering crisp highs, deep lows, and detailed mid-range tones. The Adaptive EQ automatically adjusts the sound to the shape of my ears, ensuring a personalized and immersive listening experience.
Comfort is paramount, and the AirPods Pro excel in this aspect. The earbuds feature a customizable fit with three sizes of soft silicone ear tips, allowing me to find the perfect fit for my ears. The ergonomic design ensures a secure and comfortable fit, even during extended listening sessions. Additionally, the vent system equalizes pressure, minimizing discomfort and providing a pleasant wearing experience.
The AirPods Pro seamlessly integrate with Apple devices, offering a hassle-free and intuitive experience. The earbuds connect instantly to my iPhone, iPad, and Mac as soon as I open the charging case. Switching between devices is effortless, thanks to Apple's H1 chip, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted listening experience. Siri voice control is just a "Hey Siri" away, allowing me to make hands-free calls, adjust volume, or ask for directions with ease.
The transparency mode is another standout feature of the AirPods Pro. With a simple press, I can switch to transparency mode, which uses the built-in microphones to let in outside sound, making it easy to have conversations or be aware of my surroundings without removing the earbuds. This feature adds versatility to my listening experience, making them suitable for various situations.
Battery life is impressive, offering up to 4.5 hours of listening time on a single charge with active noise cancellation enabled, and up to 5 hours with it turned off. The compact charging case provides multiple charges, extending the total listening time. With the fast charging feature, a quick 5-minute charge provides around 1 hour of listening time, ensuring I never miss out on my favorite audio content.
The AirPods Pro are also sweat and water-resistant, making them ideal for workouts and outdoor activities. The durable construction ensures they can withstand the rigors of an active lifestyle without compromising on performance.
In conclusion, the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) wireless earbuds deliver an unparalleled listening experience. With their immersive sound quality, customizable fit, seamless connectivity, and intelligent features like active noise cancellation and transparency mode, these earbuds set the standard for wireless audio. Whether I'm enjoying music, taking calls, or immersing myself in podcasts, the AirPods Pro consistently deliver exceptional performance. If you're in search of wireless earbuds that combine convenience, comfort, and high-fidelity sound, the AirPods Pro are a worthwhile investment.
Not these. I'm using them right now as I write this review on my pc desktop. Outside of really dedicated audiophile listening, or applications that demand extreme attention to detail such as audio engineering or sound production for high profile projects, they're too versatile *not* to use for the vast majority of daily scenarios, with very decent sound quality to boot.
To start, I don't have to reach for my phone to operate them (remember, this is the first wireless set I've logged more than a few hours on). The closest I had before was volume and playback controls integrated into the wire at the joint on wired sets. Very serviceable, but also finicky in certain situations. If you were, say, leaning over or had your body twisted a certain way, reaching for the controls would pose various difficulties. Worse if you had happened to tuck the wire into your jacket. Having a bunch of different gesture and pinch commands at the stem by your earlobe has been a joy to operate.
The automation is also nice. You can set it so that if one or both buds are taken out of your ears, it automatically pauses content. It auto resumes when the bud(s) go back in. You can long pinch to swap between Transparency Mode and ANC (active noise cancelling), because they correctly predicted that just ANC-off (thereby functioning like $15 earbuds with no tech built into how they handle an external sound environment) is useless.
The ANC is astonishing, but Transparency mode even more so. It's scarily good now that I’ve spent a good week using these at work. I'm in a position (mechanical engineer working in industrial power delivery) where it's safety critical that I can hear my surroundings, and at the same time I'm sometimes exposed to loud machinery for short (less than a couple minutes), medium (5-15 minutes), and extended (hour+) durations. For environments involving loud machines, ANC performs extremely well, cancelling out the vast majority of noise so that it's well within safe levels for my ears, while still letting me hold conversations with shocking ease. I've had colleagues remark at my ability to converse fluidly, without asking them to repeat themselves in deafening environments, whereas they have trouble hearing me shouting into their ears (while they're taking a moment to lift off their earmuffs). I let one of our machine operators demo these and he immediately bought his own pair. That's how good they are. How he'll get around the prying eyes of his supervisor (since we're still in medieval times where seeing earbuds in ears can be misconstrued as a productivity issue) remains to be seen.
Outside of that admittedly niche environment, Transparency Mode has been amazing for regular office use. I literally can’t tell (for non-obvious content like podcasts and talking head YouTube videos) if they’re in. I kept anxiously double checking the other morning that James Hoffman wasn’t actually lecturing our entire office about coffee flavor notes out of the phone speakers. I leave these in throughout the day and, frankly, forget that they're in. The environmental reproduction is unparalleled.
So that’s the big thing about the raw sound quality that the marketing hasn't quite articulated: the soundstage is extremely natural. It’s like open backed headphones, but better (literally like not wearing anything), and they’re shockingly good at integrating media content with your surroundings to the point that unless you’re listening to something that would make it obvious (like loud or highlight/bass heavy music), it’s legitimately hard to tell if the sound is coming out the buds plugged straight inside your ears.
So wearable audio gear comes in 3 broad categories: neutral/open, noise isolating, and noise canceling - the latter being a relatively very recent addition to the list. The 2nd category, noise isolating, relies on mechanical design to prevent external sound from entering the stage. It’s good if you’re, say, an audio engineer and really need to nitpick and correct intricate details, but isn't the best for normal listening. The classic design puzzle here is that the better the mechanical isolation, the more obvious or cumbersome (read: uncomfortable) it is to use the wearable. I usually personally favor the 1st category because those headsets tend to be lighter and easier to wear for longer periods and the natural soundstage just sounds better to me in the vast majority of scenarios.
It's the 1st and 3rd categories that are more interesting - higher end models occupying the 1st category tend to be "open backed" headphones, typically these big cans you wear on your head that are surprisingly lightweight and have a gentle, natural soundstage. They don't have software processing, so any sound produced is natural and unpolluted from the headset. But besides being bulky and wired, they're also infamous for leaking out sound to your external environment, so they're best for personal use cases and aren't appropriate for public or office use.
The 3rd category, ANC, uses realtime processing to negate leakage getting *into* your wearable audio gear by canceling any external sounds before you can hear them - basically the "software version" of the hardware-based 2nd category. The challenge here has classically been execution - working with sound involves a lot of advanced mathematics. Remember sine, cosine, and wave characteristics including frequency and amplitude? And how everyone hated them? Well, I've worked with them (still do sometimes), and I can confirm they're the worst. Fourier transforms, ugh, kill me now. ANC is based on these really complicated mathematics, and you have to combine the math - hopefully with very high precision and with no errors - with good software logic, and ON TOP of that you need good hardware like a fast processing chip and responsive speaker design to achieve results with as little time lag as possible. There's a lot that has to come together, and historically the execution/implementation side has been lacking, resulting in random and omnipresent inconsistencies like weird lowkey "hissy" noises you'll catch here and there. At worst, at least for self-described armchair audiophiles such as myself, there's the real concern that poor execution damages the raw sound quality of what you're listening to. ANC has been known to interfere not just the external environment (which is its intended use), but also with the desired audio produced by the wearable (which is really bad), undercutting bass frequencies in headsets that are already poorly optimized for low frequencies in the first place, or negating and partially muting the sparkle of higher registers.
The Airpod Pro 2s are the 1st and 3rd categories simultaneously and insanely good at both. Like, unprecedentedly good at both. And this starts with their frankly astonishing implementation of practically flawless ANC. This has allowed them to get around the design challenge of the first category (the aforementioned leakage issue) by leveraging their superior ANC *in reverse* to also be the 1st category: the Airpod Pro 2s are extremely good at reproducing your sound environment in a way that feels indistinguishable from not wearing them. This opens up a huge amount of usage options - such as walking around the office with zero fear of missing cues from colleagues, or, in my current scenario, using these to play music while writing this review so that I don't bother my sleeping cats with loud music, while still being assured I can hear them if they need to get my attention for anything. On top of that, I don't have to swap away from this window and ruin my rhythm if I need to change tracks or adjust volume.
Another thing - iPhone users have the option to modify Transparency mode to enhance vocals, or boost certain frequency ranges, making them function as very good entry-level hearing aids. This can be done by heading into your iPhone Settings, selecting Accessibility, selecting Airpods, heading into Audio Accessibility Settings, and tapping into Headphone Accomodations. From there you can literally upload an audiogram and from there select "tune audio for audiogram" and voila - Transparency mode is now tuned for your specific hearing shape. Besides that, a good amount of basic control (not having to upload anything and just tweaking menu knobs) is available, from focusing on enhancing vocals and specifying how softly or strongly softer sounds are enhanced. It's very likely I'll be purchasing these for my parents in the near future.
On top of that, as a default feature, they actively monitor your environment for harshly loud sounds and protect you against them in realtime. Drop a pot? Well, sucks for the pot, but it won't be as harsh on your ears. You're walking along and a dog comes barking at you over the fence out of nowhere? Well, you may or may not get jump scared practically out of your socks, but at least the sudden barking will be at the level of, you know, a reasonable conversation.
One nitpick - the stock silicone tips are prone to fall out if you're on the move. They're fine for normal walking and definitely sitting, but I definitely wouldn't trust these to stay in while riding a bike or taking a jog. There are 3rd party options that help with this (I'm currently using a silicone/memory foam tips that already feel much more secure), but be aware I don't really use these outside daily office use and walking between the different production cells at our manufacturing facility.
Quite frankly, these things have been a joy to use for hours every day. I only wish I'd gotten them sooner. Besides being extremely versatile and natural sounding earbuds with cutting edge realtime processing, it's amazing to me that we have commercial access to essentially non-surgical ear enhancements. You know what that sounds like. The future. And you can shove it straight in your ears today.
![Customer image](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/transparent-pixel._V192234675_.gif)
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2023
Not these. I'm using them right now as I write this review on my pc desktop. Outside of really dedicated audiophile listening, or applications that demand extreme attention to detail such as audio engineering or sound production for high profile projects, they're too versatile *not* to use for the vast majority of daily scenarios, with very decent sound quality to boot.
To start, I don't have to reach for my phone to operate them (remember, this is the first wireless set I've logged more than a few hours on). The closest I had before was volume and playback controls integrated into the wire at the joint on wired sets. Very serviceable, but also finicky in certain situations. If you were, say, leaning over or had your body twisted a certain way, reaching for the controls would pose various difficulties. Worse if you had happened to tuck the wire into your jacket. Having a bunch of different gesture and pinch commands at the stem by your earlobe has been a joy to operate.
The automation is also nice. You can set it so that if one or both buds are taken out of your ears, it automatically pauses content. It auto resumes when the bud(s) go back in. You can long pinch to swap between Transparency Mode and ANC (active noise cancelling), because they correctly predicted that just ANC-off (thereby functioning like $15 earbuds with no tech built into how they handle an external sound environment) is useless.
The ANC is astonishing, but Transparency mode even more so. It's scarily good now that I’ve spent a good week using these at work. I'm in a position (mechanical engineer working in industrial power delivery) where it's safety critical that I can hear my surroundings, and at the same time I'm sometimes exposed to loud machinery for short (less than a couple minutes), medium (5-15 minutes), and extended (hour+) durations. For environments involving loud machines, ANC performs extremely well, cancelling out the vast majority of noise so that it's well within safe levels for my ears, while still letting me hold conversations with shocking ease. I've had colleagues remark at my ability to converse fluidly, without asking them to repeat themselves in deafening environments, whereas they have trouble hearing me shouting into their ears (while they're taking a moment to lift off their earmuffs). I let one of our machine operators demo these and he immediately bought his own pair. That's how good they are. How he'll get around the prying eyes of his supervisor (since we're still in medieval times where seeing earbuds in ears can be misconstrued as a productivity issue) remains to be seen.
Outside of that admittedly niche environment, Transparency Mode has been amazing for regular office use. I literally can’t tell (for non-obvious content like podcasts and talking head YouTube videos) if they’re in. I kept anxiously double checking the other morning that James Hoffman wasn’t actually lecturing our entire office about coffee flavor notes out of the phone speakers. I leave these in throughout the day and, frankly, forget that they're in. The environmental reproduction is unparalleled.
So that’s the big thing about the raw sound quality that the marketing hasn't quite articulated: the soundstage is extremely natural. It’s like open backed headphones, but better (literally like not wearing anything), and they’re shockingly good at integrating media content with your surroundings to the point that unless you’re listening to something that would make it obvious (like loud or highlight/bass heavy music), it’s legitimately hard to tell if the sound is coming out the buds plugged straight inside your ears.
So wearable audio gear comes in 3 broad categories: neutral/open, noise isolating, and noise canceling - the latter being a relatively very recent addition to the list. The 2nd category, noise isolating, relies on mechanical design to prevent external sound from entering the stage. It’s good if you’re, say, an audio engineer and really need to nitpick and correct intricate details, but isn't the best for normal listening. The classic design puzzle here is that the better the mechanical isolation, the more obvious or cumbersome (read: uncomfortable) it is to use the wearable. I usually personally favor the 1st category because those headsets tend to be lighter and easier to wear for longer periods and the natural soundstage just sounds better to me in the vast majority of scenarios.
It's the 1st and 3rd categories that are more interesting - higher end models occupying the 1st category tend to be "open backed" headphones, typically these big cans you wear on your head that are surprisingly lightweight and have a gentle, natural soundstage. They don't have software processing, so any sound produced is natural and unpolluted from the headset. But besides being bulky and wired, they're also infamous for leaking out sound to your external environment, so they're best for personal use cases and aren't appropriate for public or office use.
The 3rd category, ANC, uses realtime processing to negate leakage getting *into* your wearable audio gear by canceling any external sounds before you can hear them - basically the "software version" of the hardware-based 2nd category. The challenge here has classically been execution - working with sound involves a lot of advanced mathematics. Remember sine, cosine, and wave characteristics including frequency and amplitude? And how everyone hated them? Well, I've worked with them (still do sometimes), and I can confirm they're the worst. Fourier transforms, ugh, kill me now. ANC is based on these really complicated mathematics, and you have to combine the math - hopefully with very high precision and with no errors - with good software logic, and ON TOP of that you need good hardware like a fast processing chip and responsive speaker design to achieve results with as little time lag as possible. There's a lot that has to come together, and historically the execution/implementation side has been lacking, resulting in random and omnipresent inconsistencies like weird lowkey "hissy" noises you'll catch here and there. At worst, at least for self-described armchair audiophiles such as myself, there's the real concern that poor execution damages the raw sound quality of what you're listening to. ANC has been known to interfere not just the external environment (which is its intended use), but also with the desired audio produced by the wearable (which is really bad), undercutting bass frequencies in headsets that are already poorly optimized for low frequencies in the first place, or negating and partially muting the sparkle of higher registers.
The Airpod Pro 2s are the 1st and 3rd categories simultaneously and insanely good at both. Like, unprecedentedly good at both. And this starts with their frankly astonishing implementation of practically flawless ANC. This has allowed them to get around the design challenge of the first category (the aforementioned leakage issue) by leveraging their superior ANC *in reverse* to also be the 1st category: the Airpod Pro 2s are extremely good at reproducing your sound environment in a way that feels indistinguishable from not wearing them. This opens up a huge amount of usage options - such as walking around the office with zero fear of missing cues from colleagues, or, in my current scenario, using these to play music while writing this review so that I don't bother my sleeping cats with loud music, while still being assured I can hear them if they need to get my attention for anything. On top of that, I don't have to swap away from this window and ruin my rhythm if I need to change tracks or adjust volume.
Another thing - iPhone users have the option to modify Transparency mode to enhance vocals, or boost certain frequency ranges, making them function as very good entry-level hearing aids. This can be done by heading into your iPhone Settings, selecting Accessibility, selecting Airpods, heading into Audio Accessibility Settings, and tapping into Headphone Accomodations. From there you can literally upload an audiogram and from there select "tune audio for audiogram" and voila - Transparency mode is now tuned for your specific hearing shape. Besides that, a good amount of basic control (not having to upload anything and just tweaking menu knobs) is available, from focusing on enhancing vocals and specifying how softly or strongly softer sounds are enhanced. It's very likely I'll be purchasing these for my parents in the near future.
On top of that, as a default feature, they actively monitor your environment for harshly loud sounds and protect you against them in realtime. Drop a pot? Well, sucks for the pot, but it won't be as harsh on your ears. You're walking along and a dog comes barking at you over the fence out of nowhere? Well, you may or may not get jump scared practically out of your socks, but at least the sudden barking will be at the level of, you know, a reasonable conversation.
One nitpick - the stock silicone tips are prone to fall out if you're on the move. They're fine for normal walking and definitely sitting, but I definitely wouldn't trust these to stay in while riding a bike or taking a jog. There are 3rd party options that help with this (I'm currently using a silicone/memory foam tips that already feel much more secure), but be aware I don't really use these outside daily office use and walking between the different production cells at our manufacturing facility.
Quite frankly, these things have been a joy to use for hours every day. I only wish I'd gotten them sooner. Besides being extremely versatile and natural sounding earbuds with cutting edge realtime processing, it's amazing to me that we have commercial access to essentially non-surgical ear enhancements. You know what that sounds like. The future. And you can shove it straight in your ears today.
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Reviewed in Mexico on April 1, 2024
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The sound quality is exceptional, with clear vocals, rich bass, and well-balanced highs and mids. The active noise cancellation feature is a game-changer, immersing me in my favorite music and blocking out unwanted background noise. The transparency mode is equally impressive, allowing me to stay aware of my surroundings when needed.
The fit is comfortable and secure, thanks to the customizable ear tips that come in different sizes. I can wear them for hours without any discomfort, making them perfect for long listening sessions or workouts.
Battery life is excellent, providing hours of playback on a single charge. The included wireless charging case is a great bonus, keeping my AirPods Pro protected and always ready to go.
In conclusion, the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) are worth every penny. Their exceptional audio quality, noise cancellation, comfort, and seamless integration make them the ultimate wireless earbuds. If you're looking for top-notch performance and an unparalleled audio experience, these AirPods Pro are the way to go
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They stay in place (I’m a commuter cyclist) with no issues and have never fallen out at the gym either. I will say the volume control on mine is quite finicky but I don’t know if that’s an isolated issue with mine. I love how loud these get as well as the ability to bring the charging case to ‘top up’ the AirPod Pros on the go. If using with an iPhone, you can wander a fair distance away before any connection issues happen. Which is great. Cleaning them is a breeze too. By far my favourite feature is the noise cancelling option. Pretty much worth the price of admission by its self.
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Great features - “isolation mode” has great noise cancellation, especially for constant background noise like on an airplane, or a room fan, etc. I use these on my cycle trainer, and they cut out about 80-90% of the tire and drivetrain noise so you can listen to music without having to crank up the volume.
They still let you hear voices in both isolation and transparency modes.
Pairs easily with apple devices, easy to find if you drop one, or if they’re in the case.
Great battery life - pretty much as advertised. ~5hrs for the earbuds, multiple recharges in the case to give ~30hrs, they recharge quickly wirelessly or using a standard lightning cable.
Fit is pretty good. They occasionally fall out when eating - I think the jaw motion loosens them a bit. When cycling, I need to push them in every few mins to make sure they don’t get too loose and fall out.
Overall, they’re fantastic.
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