- Apple is releasing the new AirPods Pro 2nd generation.
And this will be the first update to AirPods Pro
since they were first released back in late 2019.
I've been using this pair of AirPods Pro 2
that Apple provided for about two weeks now.
And in this video,
I give you a rundown of what's changed and improved
with the best-selling wireless earbuds in the world.
A lot of these changes are enabled
by Apple's new H2 chip.
Apple Silicon has been making huge gains
in the company's computers and mobile devices,
and the AirPods Pro 2 are no different.
With the H2,
you're getting performance gains pretty much
across the board,
as it doubles The number of transistors, memory,
adds high bandwidth connectivity,
while also being more efficient
when it comes to battery life
when compared to the original model.
The AirPods Pro 2 definitely sound better
when listening to content,
thanks to improved hardware.
But where do we see the results of what the H2 can do?
Well, let's start with improvements
to active noise cancellation.
That H2 unlocked new advanced computational audio algorithms
that simply weren't able to run on a device this size,
including on the previous gen AirPods Pro.
When you combine that with the new low distortion driver
and moving the acoustic vent and mic
to a more optimized area,
the end result is that you get active noise cancellation
that cancels twice the noise as the 1st generation did.
Apple also worked to tune ANC
for more of the common daily scenarios
that people generally find themselves in.
Places like a busy office environment or a coffee shop
where you're looking to focus on something
while having a lot of people around you.
Also, when traveling on a bus, airplane or subway
where your focus is more on reducing the background noise.
Now, I've used the AirPods Pro 2nd generation
on airplanes while grocery shopping,
and while walking around on busy city streets,
and the difference is definitely improved.
What's interesting is I didn't really notice it at first.
It was only when I switched between my 1st gen AirPods Pro
and the 2nd gen models that it became apparent
just how much better they perform
in these types of scenarios.
And this actually brings me directly
into the next feature enabled by the H2 chip
that I wanna talk about,
Adaptive Transparency mode.
Even while we see competing wireless noise canceling earbuds
launching regularly,
and while the 1st gen AirPods Pro are three years old,
I've never found a Transparency mode
on any other headphones to perform as well as the AirPods,
whether that's Pro or Max,
or ones that sound as natural.
But Apple has upped their game in this respect,
and has taken an even bigger lead
with Adaptive Transparency mode.
So when using Transparency mode,
there's basically no difference when talking to someone
as it pertains to sound quality.
To my ears, there is zero distortion.
The person sitting across from you sounds the same
when you have the AirPods Pro in your ears
with Transparency mode enabled,
or if you take the AirPods Pro out of your ears.
It's uncanny, but there really is no difference
in their voice.
With the Adaptive Transparency mode,
the H2 chip is processing the audio around you
48,000 times per second
to dynamically adjust down harsh environmental noise
like a motorcycle loudly driving by,
or a construction noise,
or an ambulance siren.
It's not looking to eliminate those noises entirely
because Transparency mode,
by its nature,
is meant to allow you to hear your environment.
Instead, this just makes sure
that those sounds aren't super loud or painful in your ears.
It will adjust any environmental sounds
that are over 85 decibels downwards,
so they just aren't as jarring.
In fact, if you use an Apple Watch,
you can take a look in real time
to see the level of noise reduction
that's happening on the AirPods Pro,
and it'll even save into the health app on your phone
to show you noise exposure and reduction levels
provided by AirPods Pro over time.
So you can wear these in Transparency mode
in a loud environment
just to turn down that level of ambient noise,
or throw your AirPods Pro in
when you're at a loud concert or event,
and take advantage of Adaptive Transparency mode there
to make the experience more comfortable to listen to.
This is low-key a game changer feature for me.
I love attending live events and shows,
and I often forget to bring my ear plugs
that I literally keep in my car,
but I always have my AirPods Pro in my pockets.
Next, let's talk about a new feature
that I've seen people begging Apple to do
since the original AirPods Pro were announced,
even before they shipped.
It was considered a major miss,
but with the 2nd generation,
we now have touch controls.
The stems on the 2nd generation AirPods Pro
now support swipe gestures
which allow you to adjust the volume on the earbuds.
I've personally always been happy
with adjusting the volume using my Apple Watch
or my iPhone, but I get it.
It's way more convenient to just reach up
and change the volume like you can do with the crown
on the AirPods Max.
On the AirPods Pro,
it does work slightly differently.
There's a new capacitive sensing layer
on that little divot on the stem.
You swipe up to turn the volume up,
or down to turn it down.
Each swipe is similar to clicking the volume button
on your iPhone.
So if you press the volume up button twice on your iPhone
to get it where you want it to be,
that would be the equivalent of swiping upwards twice
on the AirPods Pro.
I think it works well.
And I found that I'm always within two or three swipes
of where I wanna be.
I find it to be a relatively small addition
that adds a touch of convenience,
but I know others who will be absolutely thrilled
with this change.
Next, let's talk about the new MagSafe charging case,
as it now has a few tricks up its sleeve on its own.
First, the case now has Apple's U1 chip embedded into it.
Which means it gets full compatibility
with the Find My Network and Precision Finding.
So if you lose your AirPods Pro,
you can now open up the Find My app
to see where they are on a map,
and get guided to their location
once you're with Bluetooth range
using the precision finding feature.
Second, there's now a speaker built-in.
Not only does that speaker aid in finding
your AirPods Pro case by sending out an audio alert,
(phone ringing)
but it also makes little subtle alerts
when your battery's low
or when it starts charging,
(device dings)
or when the pairing process is successful.
On the right-hand side of the case,
you'll find a built-in lanyard loop
that will let you attach the case to your wrist,
a handbag, a backpack, et cetera.
Oddly, Apple doesn't include a lanyard in the box
nor do they sell one separately.
You'll have to pick one up from a third-party,
and I haven't personally tried one yet.
You can charge the case with a lightning cable,
a MagSafe charger, a Qi-certified charger,
or even an Apple Watch charger now.
And lastly, the AirPods Pro MagSafe charging case
is IPX4 sweat and water resistant.
Then, there's battery life.
When the original AirPods Pro launched,
I thought the battery life was great,
but over the years,
we've seen competing products dropped
that just last longer
in both the earbuds and in the charging case capacity.
Apple has addressed both the 2nd generation AirPods Pro
with a nice increase.
AirPods Pro now get six hours of listening time
on a single charge
with active noise cancellation turned on
or four and a half hours of talk time.
That's a 33% increase in battery life.
The charging case now provides 30 hours
of listening time or 24 hours of talk time,
which is six hours more than the previous generation.
If they die, you can put 'em in the case,
and you'll get an hour of listening and talk time
in just five minutes of charging.
I found the charge time to be relatively accurate,
although each time that they died,
one earbud would die before the other,
even when I'm using both at the same time.
Not a huge deal, they are stereo,
so they're doing different things at different times,
but it is just interesting how I will get more life
out of one versus the other.
And it's never the same one either.
It should also be noted that AirPods Pro 2nd generation
fit even more ears,
thanks to a new extra small ear tip included in the box.
When I was talking to iJustine back at the Apple event,
she said she couldn't use AirPods Pro at all
simply because the ear tips are too big for her ears.
They just fall out.
But during our demo,
she used the extra small tips,
and was surprised that they actually fit her ears
and she was able to use them.
My guy, Sam, from "iupdate" seems to have a similar problem
with the AirPods Pro
that will likely be solved by this as well.
So if AirPods Pro would fall out of your ears,
go to an Apple store and try them out
with the smallest tip,
and see if that changes things for you.
This also makes adaptive EQ work better for these users,
as it's based on the fit of the AirPods Pro
and uses the inward facing microphones
to measure what you're hearing,
and adjust frequencies of the songs in real time.
And that's the new 2nd generation AirPods Pro.
After three years,
Apple has made them better in seemingly every way.
Better sound quality,
a better chip
that allows for next level active noise cancellation,
fantastic Adaptive Transparency mode,
a big improvement in battery life,
better comfort and ease of use,
and even changes to the case
that make using and finding your AirPods Pro
simple and easy.
And if you're an Apple user,
I do recommend them.
Thanks for watching as always, guys.
I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards,
and I will catch you in the next video.