Hi everyone, it's KJ the MiTechGuy here, back with another highly requested review.
Today, I'm going to be talking about the newly released AirPods Pros.
I've been using them for a little over two weeks now, so in this video, I'll be talking
about how they factor into my day-to-day, and I'll also talk about some cheaper alternatives
that I also really like.
Let's get right into it.
First off, let's talk design.
A lot of people clowned the AirPods Pro design when it first came out because they look like
mini hairdryers and the Pokémon Bellsprout.
And to that I'd say that if you were cool with the original AirPods design, you'll like
these even better.
The part with the new rubber tip that resembles the hairdryer sits inside of your ear, so
it will never be visible while you have them in your ear.
Then the stem itself is significantly shorter than the regular AirPods' stem is.
The fact that the stem doesn’t hang below my earlobe has allowed me to keep them in
a lot more than I would've the regular AirPods.
I can do things like change my shirt and the AirPods Pros will not fall out of my ears.
Functionally, I have gotten really used to the pressure gestures at this point, so it
has gotten very easy for me to play and pause the music with one press or switch between
songs with two or three presses.
It's actually a bit more of a light squeeze than a press, but it works very well, and
there's slight haptic feedback for when you do activate anything.
It is also very easy to toggle between noise cancelling mode and transparent mode, which
is a huge plus for me.
You can either long squeeze the stem, go into the control panel on your iPhone, or you can
ask Siri to turn noise cancelling on or off.
And if you ever take an AirPods Pro out of your ear, the music will automatically pause
too.
Speaking of noise cancelling, the main selling point of these earphones are the fact that
they have Active Noise Cancelling.
This means that it uses its microphones to pick up ambient audio and cancels out any
sounds by playing an opposite amplitude signal back to you.
This actually works surprisingly well and gives you noise cancelling features that you
usually need over-ear headphones for.
In my experience, you can even just but the AirPods Pro in your ears without music playing,
and they will already cancel out a good deal of noise.
I've even used the AirPods Pro to help me fall asleep when people were being noisy outside
my room, and it worked very well.
Whether I'm trying to study or do a problem set, the noise cancelling helps me tune everything
out.
I've even been able to use the AirPods Pros in the gym.
I've never experienced noise cancelling in a gym because I hate sweating on my Bose headphones,
so it was actually really great being able to tune out the ambient noise of the gym as
I did my sets.
With the AirPods Pros, you're getting a device that just works.
It even surprisingly works very well with Android phones, you just can't control the
music from the AirPods Pros.
You can still toggle between noise cancelling and transparent mode though.
If you have an iPhone, you'll always be able to automatically connect by just opening the
case near the phone.
Then the volume toggle will show a little AirPods Pro icon and its here where you can
manually toggle between noise cancelling, transparent mode, and normal mode where neither
is on.
Transparent mode uses those microphones and puts the audio back into your ear, and honestly
it has worked very well in my experience.
It sounds very natural sounding and doesn’t amplify everything too much like some other
earphones I've used.
One of the AirPods Pros selling points is their battery life for how compact both it
and its carrying case are.
In my use, I've gotten around 4 hours of battery life out of them, and the case does add another
twenty hours to that battery.
If you pop them back into the case, you can get another hour of listening in about 5 minutes
of charging, which is convenient.
The case itself charges via lightning cable and can also wirelessly charge, so that's
another plus.
In terms of sound quality, the AirPods Pros are surprisingly very good.
Most people I show them to are initially pretty skeptical, but these earphones actually pump
out solid, balanced audio, and when you add in the noise cancelling, it makes everything
just sound better.
It's not about to compete with the best noise cancelling over-ear headphones by any means,
but I don't think anybody was expecting that to be the case.
Instead, they're just a solid pair of earphones that have given me basically no functional
issues since I've owned them.
The only real negative thing I can say is that I wish there was some sort of volume
control or gesture on the AirPods Pro because I don't like having to ask Siri to change
the volume when my phone isn't on me.
Other than that, I really don't have any gripes with these earphones.
There are earphones out right now like the Sennheiser True Momentum Wireless that sound
better, Sony makes earphones that have better noise cancelling, and Jaybird makes earphones
that have a more secure fit in your ear.
However, the AirPods Pros do a very good job at all of those things.
And even though the AirPods Pros aren't the best in any one category, they are so good
at everything that as a whole package, I don't think there are a pair of wireless earphones
out right now that are overall better than the AirPods Pros.
But at $250, they are a pricey pair of earphones, so I wanted to share two lesser expensive
options that I have used quite a bit as well.
The first option are the Jaybird Vista.
I had already reviewed the Jaybird Run, but the case was just way too big, used it used
USB C, and its buttons were too hard to press.
This time around, Jaybird had fixed all of the gripes I had with the Runs.
Now the case is very compact, it uses USB c, and the buttons are a lot easier to press.
The Jaybird Vista are by far the most secure fitting earphones I've ever tried as well.
If I knew I was going on a bike ride, a run, or working out with a lot of movement, I'm
going to go with the Vista because I'm not worried one bit that they will somehow fall
out of my ears.
The fit is just that secure.
The secure fit also helps with natural noise isolation.
They don't have active noise cancelling, but the seal is so good that it almost feels like
there is noice cancelling going on.
In terms of actual sound quality, the Vistas are good.
They are not bad by any means, have solid base, but don't give as balanced of a sound
as the AirPods Pro give.
They last around 6 hours on a single charge and its case can add an extra 10 hours of
battery life.
As a whole package, the Jaybird Vista are actually another really great option.
And as they retail for $170, they are $80 cheaper than the AirPods Pro are.
Another lesser expensive option that I've used a lot in the past are the Galaxy Buds.
Samsung tries to undercut the competition in terms of price with the Galaxy Buds, and
they actually did a solid job.
At $130, the Galaxy Buds are the most affordable earphones that I'd consider are quality enough
to use on a daily basis as top tier true-wireless earphones.
The Galaxy Buds have 6 hours of battery life, and the case can add another 7 hours.
The case itself can wirelessly charge, and if you have a phone that has reverse wireless
charging, that means you can charge your Galaxy Buds straight from your device.
Also, if you have a Samsung Device, the Galaxy Buds will connect to your phone much like
AirPods will for iPhones, and the whole connection experience is quick and seamless there as
well.
The Galaxy Buds are light, very small and minimal, and have intuitive touch gestures.
However, the sound quality is just not up to par with the other true wireless earphones
out right now.
The sound is very well balanced in the highs and mids, but the Galaxy Buds leave much to
be desired in the bass department.
But at $130, it is hard to complain too much because they are half the price of the AirPods
Pro.
That's all I had to talk about today.
I hope this video helped you out if you were deciding on whether or not you should buy
some AirPods Pros.
They are a really solid pair of earphones and they're personally my favorite.
But at $250, you have to really sit and think about what you want most in a pair of earphones,
and if that is justified in the price.
If you haven't already, make sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter and ask me questions
in the comments of my posts.
In terms of this channel, make sure to subscribe and have the notification bell clicked because
I have a lot of cool videos in the works.
As always, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next video.