The new AirPods Pro are definitely awesome and they do live up to the hype.
But after using the AirPods Pro for a few days now and after getting to know them…
there are some critiques and differences that I want to point out specially when you’re
going from the AirPods 2 to the AirPods Pro.
But regardless, the AirPods Pro definitely have raised the bar when it comes to Premium
Active Noise canceling truly wireless earbuds.
Now I know that in the past I’ve said that I think paying over $200 on any pair of truly
wireless earbuds is a lot… and thats still the case with the AirPods Pro cause the $160
AirPods 2 are still perfectly fine and they’re not going anywhere.
But if you do decide to pick up the AirPods Pro, you’re not going to regret it.
So if you want to pick the AirPods Pro up they’ll be linked down below.
Now the first thing I want to talk about is the AirPods Pro’s carrying case.
Obviously its very similar to the original AirPods’s case but it is slightly longer
and slightly thicker.
Now when compared to the competition, the AirPods Pro still have a very small carrying
case making it very convenient to take on the go with you…
But when compared to the original AirPods, I do notice the AirPods Pro’s case a little
more when I have it in my pocket.
At the end of the day this is a minor nit pick, but I thought it was still worth mentioning.
But one of the biggest and most important differences between the original AirPods and
AirPods Pro is that the AirPods Pro are now in ear ear buds.
Personally, im not the biggest fan of in ear ear buds cause they get itchy to me after
awhile.
I’ve always really like the original AirPods cause to me they are most comfortable earbuds
out there.
But the AirPods Pro are fairly comfortable as well.
They don’t go all that deep into your ear canal and you forget you have them on after
awhile.
You also get 2 extra sets of ear tips so that you can customize your fit and over all the
AirPods Pro do a very good job of staying in your ears.
But at the end of the day, I still find the original AirPods to be more comfortable than
the AirPods Pro.
Now when it comes to tech specs, obviously the AirPods Pro have everything the AirPods
2 have.
They have the same H1 Chip, they have always listening Siri, they both have a lightning
port, they have wireless charging and they also have an advertised battery life of 24
hours.
But what I find very interesting here is that the AirPods Pro have very different batteries
than what’s found on the AirPods 2.
The AirPods Pro carrying case has a dual cell 1.98 Watt hour battery where as the AirPods
2’s case has a single cell 1.52 Watt Hour battery.
But also, the AirPods Pro themselves each have a .16 watt hour button cell battery which
is very different and larger than the cylindrical 93 milil watt hour batteries found in the
stems of the original AirPods.
Now the reason that I find this very interesting is cause I wonder if the AirPods Pro will
be able to stand up to battery degradation better than both the original AirPods and
AirPods 2.
Now with my original AirPods which I got when they first released in January of 2017 were
able to last me a year and a half before I started to notice sever battery degradation.
Now battery degradation happens to all electronics so basically if you get AirPods today you’re
going to have to replace them in 2 years if you don’t lose them.
So I wonder if the AirPods Pro will have a longer life span than the base AirPods thanks
to their larger button cell and dual cell batteries.
Obviously only time will tell… but if they do than the AirPods Pro would be the better
long term investment here compared to the AirPods 2.
But something that I have noticed is that the AirPods Pro take a little longer to fully
charge up than the AirPods 2.
But now lets talk about the Active Noise Cancellation and transparency modes on the AirPods Pro
which are the key new features here.
Now the active Noise cancelation on the AirPods Pro actually works very well.
They block out a significant amount of noise for ear buds and they do so without changing
how your music sounds which is always a good thing.
Also, the microphones on these earbuds don’t pick up any wind noise when walking outside
even when its super windy which is also a very good thing.
But personally I can’t help but notice that the ANC on these earbuds does have some cabin
pressure in certain situations.
Now the ANC on the AirPods Pro automatically adjusts its self depending on your surroundings.
If you’re in a quiet environment where the ANC on these earbuds don’t have to work
that hard you’ll barley notice any cabin pressure.
But if you’re in a louder environment then the ANC on these earbuds will start working
a lot harder.
And its when the ANC on these earbuds is working hard is when I start to notice a constant
pressure in the middle of my skull almost pushing against the back of my eyes.
You don’t feel it when you’re playing music… but you do feel it if you’re not
playing music, or if you’re listening to a podcast.
Now im fully aware that some people might not feel any cabin pressure, but personally
I only like to use the ANC on these earbuds when I have to.
But transparency mode is a feature that I use almost all the time on the AirPods Pro.
I like being able to listen to a podcast and still be aware of my surroundings when im
out running errands.
And for the most part, the transparency mode on these earbuds is very good as well.
Theres no hissing in the background like on some other earbuds and headphones which is
crucial if you plan on watching lots of videos with these earbuds… and just like with their
Active Noise cancelation, transparency mode picks up zero wind noise when used out doors
which is great.
But personally, I do wish we were able to specify how much ambient noise these earbuds
pump in and also… the ambient mode on these earbuds can sound a little artificial some
times.
But I think transparency mode can be improved through a software update.
But over all, its very good.
But the last major upgrade on the AirPods Pro over the AirPods 2 is their sound, AirPods
Pro sound way better than AirPods.
Specifically, the mids on the AirPods Pro are way more pronounced and the bass on these
earbuds is way more tamed.
Leading to a much more pleasant and detailed listening experience.
I’ve always felt that AirPods had a lot of bass to them to hide the fact that they
had very weak mids and highs.
Now the AirPods Pro still have a good amount of bass to them… but these are more mids
focused.
But something that I just really don’t like on the AirPods Pro are the new buttons found
on the stems of these earbuds.
Now obviously a lot of thought went into these new controls.
They’re very easy to find and when you press on them, even though they don’t actually
click, you do hear a clicking sound on which ever ear bud you're using.
You can single click to play or pause, double click to skip a track, triple click to go
back a track and you can press and hold to switch between Active Noise cancelation and
transparency mode.
But grabbing a stem just doesn’t feel as fast or as natural as just tapping on the
original AirPods.
Personally I think having physical controls on the AirPods Pro feels like a bit of a down
grade from the Original AirPods.
Especially since with the AirPods Pro you still don’t have full media control on like
on the Powerbeats pro where you can control your music playback and also adjust your volume
which I think is a big deal.
But finally here’s the microphone test.
And just as you’d expect the AirPods Pro have a really good microphone for phone calls.
Now this may seem simple to you, but a lot of third party truly wireless earbuds and
headphones still struggle when it comes to their microphones for phone calls.
But over all, even though I don’t find the AirPods Pro to be as comfortable as the original
AirPods and their larger carrying case is a little more noticeable in the pocket than
the original AirPods carrying case…
The AirPods Pro have really raised the bar when it comes to premium active noise canceling
truly wireless earbuds.
They’re super convenient to take on the go with you, they have a customizable fit,
and the active noise cancelation on these earbuds works pretty well.
Personally I only use ANC on these earbuds when I have to, but for me what’s really
important here is these earbud’s transparency mode.