AirPods

I’ve gotten used to wireless earphones that cost around $10 to $25, and I’m kind of thinking whether I should buy the AirPods Pro 2 for $160–$200 or just get the latest AirPods Pro 3 instead. Is there a big difference in sound quality and features?

Amazon has a Prime Day sale of $168.99 for the Apple AirPods Pro 2 but am undecided on whether that's worth biting the bullet.

I currently own the regular Airpods 2nd Gen, which I'm not crazy about due to the lack of noise cancellation. But I do also own a pair of JLab earbuds which were very cheap and I like better than my Airpods as it filters out noise a little better due to its silicone tips, but they are already not holding charge well enough even though I only owned it for 8 months, which is annoying. So maybe I need to get something better.

So what are your thoughts? Should I go for that $168.99 deal on Amazon for the Apple AirPods Pro 2? I do have to join prime for $15 to get that deal, but it still beats paying $190 for the non-prime price.

TLDR in the form of an Apple Intelligence Summary at the end

So I’ve had the AirPods Pro Second Generation since launch and wanted to share my thoughts about them after over 2 years of daily use. I upgraded from the 1st Generation AirPods Pro, which I also had since they launched, and liked them a lot. And before that, I had the original AirPods, which I also loved. So I think it’s safe to say I’m well-credentialed in my knowledge of AirPods and their use in everyday life. I’m going to break down this review into sections: Design, Sound Quality, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency mode, battery life, experience using iOS 18 and the new features it brings to AirPods, noticeable upgrades from my first-gen AirPods Pro, whether it’s worth upgrading to from a previous pair of AirPods, whether you should choose AirPods Pro or the new AirPods 4 with ANC, and Final Thoughts. Feel free to not read all of it or skip around. I’m mainly writing this because it’s interesting to me, and hopefully, some of you in this sub will find it interesting as well.

1. Design

I really like the design of the AirPods Pro. I find the silicone tips to be quite comfortable, and the standard medium-sized tips have always worked best for my ears. The buds are quite durable, and they have a few knicks and scratches from when I’ve dropped the buds, but they still work perfectly fine. I’ve had to replace the tips a couple of times as they slowly wear and yellow, but that’s not a huge deal since you can get 2 pairs for $8. The case is well designed as well for the most part. I like the speaker on the bottom, that has helped me find them on countless occasions when they slip in between my couch cushions. The case still scratches incredibly easily, which is a bummer but not a huge deal as it’s just cosmetic. I had a case on the AirPods case for most of the time since launch to prevent scratches but removed it recently. I had super glued the top of the case on since it kept falling off, and in order to get it off, I had to pry it off with a knife, which left a lot of scratches and residue. Fortunately, I was able to get rid of most of the residue, but the case doesn’t look good. I have come to believe that AirPods cases are largely a mistake. They just make them more bulky and don’t do that much to protect them. The case does scratch pretty easily considering it’s glossy white, but it’s really just something you have to accept. One annoying design feature is that when you drop the case, the AirPods often go flying out of the case upon impact. This is exactly the opposite of what you’d want to happen if you drop the case. It would be nice if they fixed it in the next version, perhaps by increasing the strength of the magnets. Also, the charging pins in the case are quite sensitive to dust or debris. On multiple occasions, one of the AirPods won’t charge and will be low on battery when I want to use them. It’s not a deal breaker as it’s usually not an issue, but I have to check to make sure they’re charging when I put them in the case, which is not terrible, but it’s less convenient than just putting them in the case when you’re done using them and knowing they’ll be charged when you use them next. So overall, the design is great, and I’m super satisfied with them. A few downsides in terms of cosmetic durability, but otherwise great.

2. Sound Quality and Sound Features

Now, I’m not an audiophile whatsoever, but I will say I appreciate high-quality audio, and I’m not disappointed with the AirPods Pro 2. Music sounds clear, there’s a decent amount of bass, mids, and highs are also clear. Obviously, a pair of over-ear headphones like AirPods Max will have better sound quality and bass due to having much larger drivers, but for the size of the earbud, they’re super impressive. I don’t have much more to say about the audio quality. It’s more than adequate for me, and that’s what matters. Microphone quality is also pretty good. The noise isolation feature is super impressive in loud environments. I FaceTimed a friend from an MLB game, and she said my voice sounded a bit muffled, but she didn’t hear any of the background noise even though it was super loud. Obviously, the mics aren’t anything you’d want to use for professional recordings or in any place where clarity is super important, but for most phone calls and meetings, the microphones on the AirPods are adequate. So the sound and mic quality are great, and for the overwhelming majority of people, it will be more than adequate.

There are some other sound features that are nice to have. Personalized Spatial Audio is a nice feature that not only enables Spatial Audio when watching content, but also requires you to scan your ears with your iPhone for the best listening experience. Conversation awareness is an interesting feature but one that I actually turned off. Basically, it lowers the volume of your audio if it thinks someone is talking to you or if you start talking, and while in theory, this seems great, it rarely works well in practice. When I had it enabled, it often would bring down the volume of my audio when I was merely in public with other people talking near me, or if I was singing along to a song or even coughing. So I ended up turning that feature off. There’s also features like personalized volume that apparently uses machine learning to adjust the sound based on your environment. Once again, cool in theory, but I’d rather just adjust the volume myself. Lots of cool features for adjusting sound, except for built-in EQ controls. Apple allows you to change the EQ of music in the settings for Apple Music, but that obviously only applies to music in Apple Music. It would be nice if you could change the EQ system-wide, but customization has never been Apple’s top priority. We’re just now gaining the ability to put apps “wherever” we want on the Home Screen. Perhaps I’m asking for too much.

3. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency Mode

When the first-gen AirPods Pro were announced with Active Noise Cancellation, I immediately bought them. I loved the original AirPods, but since they were just an earbud with no seal, it meant that any background noise was easily heard even when music was playing. I absolutely love ANC and transparency mode. In my experience, the ANC is good at blocking out most consistent noises at lower frequencies. The low hum of my AC unit or fan is almost completely canceled out by the ANC, and even some more unpredictable noises that are at lower volumes are canceled out. There’s a dog across the street from my house who sometimes sits outside and barks constantly for hours. I am able to faintly hear the barking in my bedroom, but when I put in the AirPods Pro and turn on ANC, the barking completely vanishes. I’ve also had pretty good success using the AirPods Pro with ANC on airplanes. I used to fly with my Bose QC35s because they were overear headphones that did a better job canceling the noise of the engine, and they still do a better job than the AirPods Pro, but once again, the AirPods hold their own. The ANC is impressive at blocking out the noise. Ever since getting the Apple Vision Pro, I’ve used the AirPods Pro exclusively when flying since over-ear headphones don’t really work with the Vision Pro. They do a great job, and especially because of how portable they are compared to my Bose headphones, even before I got the Vision Pro, I often just brought and used the AirPods Pro when I flew because they were so much more compact and convenient. So if you’re in the market for ANC headphones and think you have to go the over-ear route for great ANC, think again. While of course, you’ll get slightly better ANC with overear headphones, the AirPods Pro, combined with their portability that can fit right in your pocket, make them a great choice that you might want to consider over some more expensive overear headphones.

Now, transparency mode is pretty good, but I often find myself removing the AirPods when I want to talk to someone or hear something in my surroundings. This is mostly because I want someone to know they have my full attention when they’re speaking to me, and so they don’t have to wonder whether I’m listening to them or something in my earbuds. But also, the transparency mode, while good, isn’t quite as clear as just taking them out. It definitely does an impressive job piping in outside noise and voices that make it easy to hear others and your surroundings, but I find I never forget I’m wearing them and consistently have this urge to take them out so that I can hear better. So it’s a helpful feature for when you need to be aware of your surroundings, but it’s always noticeable when I’m wearing them. This is unlike the original AirPods that came out, which I often forgot I was wearing. This makes sense, however, considering the original AirPods are not in-ear buds with a silicone tip seal, unlike the Pros. There’s also this adaptive audio mode, which, to my understanding (I very well may be wrong about this; I also don’t fully understand it), is kind of a blend of ANC and transparency mode. It cancels out loud noises while also allowing you to hear voices and your surroundings that aren’t super loud clearer. I’ve tried this feature and never seemed to like it that much. It often made voices too quiet and didn’t really bring down the noise level of loud sounds that much. So for me, it just felt like a worse version of transparency mode. So because of that, I only toggle between ANC and transparency mode. But both of those modes work pretty well and are a game changer in terms of being able to just cut out your environment at the coffee shop or public place and just concentrate on what you need to. Highly recommend trying out ANC and transparency mode on these earbuds if you have a chance.

4. Battery Life

Battery life on these AirPods Pro has been satisfactory. Apple rates the buds when they’re brand new at 6 hours of listening time and 4.5 hours of talk time. However, like all batteries, these ones degrade over time, and after over 2 years of daily use, I definitely notice them dying quicker. I usually get around 4-4.5 hours of listening time and 2.5-3 hours of talk time. This is usually more than enough for me, considering I rarely, if ever, have my AirPods in for more than a few hours at a time. And even so, a quick 5-minute charge in the case is rated to get you an additional hour of listening time. In my experience, they charge even quicker. On the rare occasion that I run them fully dead, a quick 10 or so-minute charge almost charges them entirely to full. The case battery has probably degraded a bit, but I haven’t noticed. I put them on my wireless charger every night, and the case battery is never an issue. The AirPods Pro I primarily use are the ones with Lightning, but it’s not a big deal since I exclusively charge them wirelessly (I say “primarily use” because I also have a newer version with USB-C, but I almost never use them; it’s a long story; perhaps I’ll explain it later in this post; we’ll see how I’m feeling). It’s also nice that they can charge with MagSafe and even with an Apple Watch charging puck. So battery life is pretty good. Of course, better battery life is always appreciated, but what we have now is satisfactory.

5. iOS 18 and the new features coming to AirPods and AirPods Pro

Some new features are coming to AirPods Pro 2 with the release of iOS 18 and subsequent updates. The biggest of those features is the hearing health features. When you update to iOS 18.1 (and update your AirPods, which really just means you plug them in to charge and hope they update), it’s annoying that you can’t force an update. You’ll be prompted in settings to take a hearing test. This consists of playing various tones and various volumes in each ear, and you tap the screen when you hear a tone. It then gives you a score of how much hearing loss you have, and if you have mild to moderate to severe hearing loss, the AirPods can act as a clinical-grade hearing aid. It then adapts all your music and content to reflect your hearing needs, and you can, of course, use the AirPods as hearing aids. This is genuinely a super great feature and I’m sure it will be revolutionary for so many people, especially considering how expensive medical hearing aids can be. Now, as a young, healthy 21-year-old with superb hearing, I have not been able to test this out, but from what I’ve heard and read online, it works pretty well. Curious how the battery life is and how much power using them as hearing aids takes. Do they die after 6 or so hours and need to be recharged? Or do they last longer? Interesting questions, feel free to let me know in the comments if you know the answer.

Another hearing feature is hearing protection, where it lowers the volume of loud sounds to safer levels while maintaining clarity and fullness. I’ve used this on numerous occasions, particularly at sporting events and concerts, to bring the noise level down to a level that is much safer and more comfortable. For example, it was able to bring down noise at a baseball game from 100 db down to 65 db. It’s a great feature that I’ll continue to use in place of earplugs.

Now, those are all features that are coming exclusively to AirPods Pro 2. But there’s also a handful of features that are coming to all newer AirPods, such as Siri Interactions, which allows you to nod and shake your head to respond to Siri if your hands are full or you don’t want to speak out loud. I haven’t had much success with this and haven’t found it to be useful, but perhaps I’m doing something wrong. You also get more granular control over the adaptive audio mode and can choose to allow more or less sound in. Still not going to use it, but more customizability is always appreciated. Also, Spatial Audio while gaming is available for supported games with lower latency. Voice isolation was also brought to the microphones, which, as I mentioned, is a pretty substantial update. But that’s about it in terms of new features brought to the AirPods line. Some great features there that I’m already loving and some others that I don’t really use. But it’s a welcome update regardless.

6. Noticeable upgrades from the first-gen AirPods Pro

Now there are some noticeable upgrades from my first-gen AirPods Pro that really made it feel worth the upgrade for me. The first upgrade that is a game-changer is volume controls on the stem. I didn’t know how much I used this until I went back to using the first-gen AirPods Pro for a few days before writing this review. I swipe up and down on the stems constantly to adjust the volume, and this is a huge quality-of-life improvement over the first-gen AirPods Pro. The second major change is the improved noise cancellation. It’s noticeably better at cancelling out higher frequencies and overall is a nice improvement. And the last major update is the improved charging case. The speaker on the case makes it easier to find, along with the U1 chip that allows you to use precision finding to locate the case and have it guide you to it using your iPhone or Apple Watch. The new case also has a lanyard loop if you care about that, not something I use but worth noting. And of course, all those features I outlined that come with iOS 18 only come to the 2nd-gen Pros. Also, Apple released the 2nd-gen Pros with an updated USB-C case. I’ll talk about that a bit later, but nothing has officially changed with that version other than that it supports lossless audio when paired with the Vision Pro. There are definitely some noticeable upgrades from the first-gen AirPods Pro that definitely made the upgrade feel worth it for me.

7. Should you upgrade to the AirPods Pro 2?

The question of whether or not you should upgrade is a difficult one for me to answer as I obviously don’t know you or your situation. With that being said, I think there are some general guidelines that can help you make your decision. First off, which AirPods do you have now, if any? If you have the original AirPods or AirPods 2/3 and the battery is significantly degraded and you’re considering buying a new pair, then these are a great choice, provided of course that you are okay with the silicone ear tips (if not, the AirPods 4 might be the better bet, but I’ll discuss that more in the next section). These will be a nice upgrade over your previous AirPods. Now, if you have the first-gen Pros, then it’s a bit less clear whether upgrading is automatically the right choice. I know for me it was, but that’s only because I had my first-gen Pros for 3 years at that point, and the battery was already significantly degraded. And I was also interested in the new swipe gestures, improved noise cancellation, and precision Find My. So if those features sound interesting to you along with all the features I outlined in the above section, including the hearing features, then upgrading makes sense. But if you’re satisfied with what you have now, stick with it. No need to buy new ones if yours are meeting your needs just fine.

The one upgrade I will say is not worth it in almost all circumstances is upgrading to the Pro 2s with USB-C if you already have the Pro 2s with Lightning. The only difference is USB-C, of course, along with slightly lower latency and lossless audio support with the Vision Pro. Unless you have a Vision Pro, the last point is moot (and even if you do have a Vision Pro, unless you have connectivity issues with your Lightning AirPods Pro 2 like I was having, lossless audio and lower latency is really not noticeable). And in terms of USB-C charging, I have a 3-in-1 charging stand on my bedside table that charges my AirPods wirelessly. I can’t even remember the last time I plugged in my AirPods with a Lightning cable. So even if you’re totally switched over to USB-C and ready to leave Lightning behind, I don’t think spending $250 on a new pair just to get USB-C is worth it. Just charge them wirelessly, it’s so much more convenient anyways.

Now I may sound like a bit of a hypocrite considering I said I actually did buy the Pro 2s with USB-C, but I’m a bit of a niche case. So I was on vacation in New Orleans and went to the Apple Store because it seemed like my Lightning AirPods Pro 2 had terrible noise cancellation in the right earbud. In my infinite wisdom, I had missed that the right silicone tip had a tear in it and was leaking sound in. So I inquired about getting new ear tips, but unfortunately, the store was entirely out of medium-sized ear tips; in fact, they were out of all but the XS ear tips, which absolutely do not fit my ears. I was traveling the next day and needed working AirPods for my flight home. So the employee suggested that I could buy a whole new set of AirPods Pro, use them for my flight home, and then return them. This was an expensive solution for the time being, but it seemed like the only way. So I ended up using those on the flight home with my Vision Pro. I had actually been experiencing some connectivity issues with my Lightning AirPods Pro 2 when using the Vision Pro, and I had none of these issues when using the USB-C AirPods Pro with the Vision Pro. So I actually ended up keeping the USB-C AirPods Pro, but I keep them in my Vision Pro case and only use them with my Vision Pro. Day to day, I still use the Lightning AirPods Pro 2 and plan to continue doing so as I don’t have any connectivity issues with the Lightning AirPods Pro 2 with any of my devices other than my Vision Pro, which is strange. So this is a niche case I’m sure, and for most people, I don’t think it’s worth upgrading to the Pro 2s with USB-C from the Pro 2s with Lightning.

8. AirPods Pro 2 vs AirPods 4

With the recent launch of the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, many people were excited to have ANC in an open earbud. I know for many people the AirPods Pro with silicone tips are just uncomfortable, and these new AirPods seemed like potentially a solution for those who want ANC but don’t like the in-ear fit. I actually bought the AirPods 4 because I loved the fit of the original AirPods. The AirPods Pro have always been comfortable for me, but I also never forget I’m wearing them. That was not the case with the original AirPods. They fit so well in my ears that I would genuinely forget I was wearing them. So if I could get high-quality noise cancellation along with a fit that was so comfortable I would forget I was wearing them, I was definitely going to check them out. So I went to the Apple Store to pick them up. I had some grocery shopping to do and planned on using them while I shopped to test how the noise cancellation would do in a public environment. I was massively disappointed. I tried using them for about 5-10 minutes, but there was so much sound leakage due to the open ear design. I went back to the AirPods Pro and was relieved at how much better the ANC was. After shopping, I returned the AirPods 4 to the Apple Store, less than half an hour after I bought them. In my experience, they were inferior to the Pros in every way. One big issue I had with them, even in the 5-10 minutes I used them, was the lack of volume controls on the stems. I tried multiple times to adjust the volume and disappointedly discovered that the stems only have touch controls for pause, play, and skip, but not swipe controls for volume.

Now, this is not to say that the AirPods 4 aren’t for you. If you really hate the fit and feel of the AirPods Pro in-ear design, then perhaps the AirPods 4 are for you. But it’s important to keep in mind that nothing can replace an actual seal. At the end of the day, having an open ear design will allow more sound leakage and poorer ANC than an in-ear design. If you go from the Pros to AirPods 4, you will be underwhelmed by the quality of the ANC. Also, the price differential between AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro is basically negligible, considering that the Pros often go on sale on Amazon for $200 and even less. I remember them going for as low as $168 a few weeks ago, and with Black Friday fast approaching, it is almost certain that there will be great deals on the Pros. So, my advice is if you can tolerate the in-ear fit of the AirPods Pro, I highly recommend buying them over the AirPods 4, as they are superior in virtually every way. But definitely go to an Apple Store and try them out if you can. They’ll usually let you try them out for yourself to see how they fit.

Final Thoughts

If you’re just skipping to this section because your attention span has been destroyed by TikTok, I feel you. Here are my final thoughts and a TLDR. I really like the AirPods Pro 2. I think they’re overall a really good pair of earbuds and have been a great and worthwhile purchase for me. I’m very satisfied with the design and build quality. The battery life holds up very well after 2 years, and they continue to get better with software updates. If you find the AirPods Pro comfortable, I highly recommend them over the AirPods 4 as they’re superior in every way. But regardless, both are great earbuds that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

If you’ve read this far, thank you very much for reading my ramblings! Let me know your thoughts as well! Which AirPods do you have/are you considering getting, and if you have AirPods, what are your thoughts? Can’t wait to hear what you all have to say!

Best,

Mundane

Apple Intelligence Summary

The AirPods Pro 2 have a comfortable design with durable buds and a well-designed case, although the case scratches easily and the charging pins are sensitive to debris. The sound quality is impressive, with clear audio and good microphone quality, although some features like Conversation Awareness are less practical. The Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is effective in blocking out consistent noises and unpredictable noises that are low in volume, making them a great choice for travel and everyday use.

The AirPods Pro offer excellent noise cancellation and transparency modes, though the latter is not as clear as removing the earbuds. Battery life is adequate, with quick charging capabilities providing additional listening time. New features in iOS 18, including hearing health and protection, are particularly noteworthy, especially for those with hearing loss.

Upgrading to AirPods Pro 2 is recommended if you have the original AirPods or AirPods 2/3 with a degraded battery, or if you have the first-gen Pros and are interested in the new features. Upgrading to the Pro 2s with USB-C from the Pro 2s with Lightning is not recommended unless you have connectivity issues with the Lightning version and need the feature for a specific device. The AirPods 4 are not recommended over the Pro 2s due to inferior noise cancellation and lack of volume controls.