Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation

After watching many reviews and waiting for sales, I finally decided it was time to buy some AirPods Pro (2nd generation) for myself. I am not disappointed, the pairing experience was seamless out of the box with my iPhone, and the sound quality is excellent. Noise cancellation is very good, perfectly eliminating any engine noise or humming, and heavily muffling voices. It clearly does a better job at eliminating the low end, as most leaking noise is more higher-pitched. With music at any volume, this does not matter, as all sound is drowned out. Transparency mode is impressive, very natural feeling. I always have it on when I’m not using noise cancelling-even with one bud in-it feels more natural, my ears feel less plugged and I keep the outside world tuned in. Battery life is also exceptional, the buds have yet to fully die, they charge fast in the case, and both have significant battery life.
I do recommend spending the extra 40 dollars on Apple Care +, whether or not I’ll use it, for devices so small and fragile I’ve already learned this is more than a good idea.
Finally, some nitpicks, not enough to deduct stars, but enough to note:
1. The case lid can slightly shift side to side with little force, although the hinge and assembly are very high quality and have no signs of wear or weak points, this is notable.
2. The firmware/AirPods settings interface is pretty buggy at times, the case chimes toggle is sometimes inaccessible, and the whole submenu of iOS Settings dedicated to AirPods management is a bit jankier and less smooth than the rest of the experience. In addition to this, the Batteries widget also is slightly jankier than expected, only showing full stats when both buds are in.
3. This is surely the least important, but occasionally there’ll be a noticeable (5 second +) delay between inserting the buds, and the in-ear sound playing, or audio going from mono to stereo.

In conclusion, they’re well worth it, I purchased them on sale at 299.99, and buying Apple Care + basically brought it back to MSRP.

A while back I was looking for a set of noise cancelling headphones because I was going to take an international flight. I bought a couple pairs, including the 1st generation Airpods Pro. The second generation came out at almost the same time so I returned the 1st gen and spent the extra money to get these.

And wow, what a difference. They fit great, these are the only earbuds that ever have fit me (including the 1st generation airpods pro). They come with multiple ear tips too, and I’ve been able to find a combination that suits me.

The gimmicky features aren’t that interesting to me, like the spatial audio and taking a scan of your ear or whatever. These are also supposed to auto switch between devices, that’s never worked right (but really I prefer to switch manually anyway). I don’t have a device with a u1 “find stuff” chip, so I haven’t tried that. Fortunately I haven’t needed to either.

What I like is the sound quality, which is very good, it has a rich range of highs and even somehow manages to get some pretty good bass in the lows. I also like the portability, and (compared to the first gen) I love the silly lanyard hole so I can put a strap on the case so I don’t drop it.

But what really shines is the noise canceling. I find better than all of the over the ear ANC headphones I’ve tried, including some of the very expensive Bose and Sony headphones. And even in the case where it might not be quite as good, the fact that they are tiny and portable makes the utility so much higher. I’ve used these when using power tools, on airplanes, on trains, the freeway, or sometimes when my kids are talking (kidding (sort of)). The noise canceling is actually good enough that if someone is standing right in front of you and talking at a normal level, you almost can’t hear them at all. And in extremely loud environments like airplanes, these cut the noise down better than some of the noise-cancelling headsets made for pilots and crew that I’ve used.

The transparency mode is also extremely good, way better than the first gen. And, it’s a great deal more comfortable wearing these with transparency mode on (it makes my ears feel less “plugged”).

Making calls is good too. Other people say that they didn’t know that I was on headphones.

These also don’t get “warm” in my ears either, something that I’ve noticed with other earbuds and over-the-ear cans.

The battery life is also fine. The specs say 4-5 hours or something, but that’s plenty. Even on a long flight I usually won’t be wearing them the for more than a couple hours at a time.

Tip: If you have an Apple Watch, you can charge the Airpods’ case using the Apple Watch charger. I recently discovered this by accident.

If I had a complaint, it’s that sometimes I’d prefer that they had a physical connection to a wire that was around my neck, so I could take them out for a sec without worrying about dropping them. That and they are quite expensive if all you want to do is listen to music. But if you don’t mind the price tag and want an extremely nice set of earbuds, these are it.

Do you have an iPhone? Do you listen to music? This is all you need.

Upgrading from a pair of first gen AirPods, the AirPods Pro are a massive upgrade if you listen to music a lot on the go.

First to mention of course is their seamless integration into the Apple ecosystem, as soon as you open the box you’re ready to listen. The different modes – noise cancellation and transparency mode, can be controlled from a dedicated option in your settings or from the action center. These modes can also be controlled through the stem, which I find become quite intuitive and easy to use.

The features continue as you get access to a spatial audio setup which scans your ears to create a personal profile. Personally I don’t use this as I find it compromises the sound, but it feels quite immersive.

Noise cancelling works great, it’s perfect for transit or working out. Transparency mode is also very useful if you still want to be able to hear your surroundings or other people, but I think its level of volume might take getting used to.

Sound quality is very good, the little bit of extra bass makes the AirPods so much fun to use, and instrument separation is much improved. Treble and highs have good clarity, but could use a bit more.

TLDR: Great noise cancellation, comfortable, easy to use and a ton of fun. I have these in my ears literally all day.

This is my first experience with Airpods. Noise cancellation works well, but should would be improved in next version. The sound is pretty good, comfortable. The most important report: airpods are safe in the ear, they don’t fall out.