Officially called AirPods Pro (2nd Generation), everything you loved about the flagship noise-canceling earbuds from the first generation has been taken to the next level: instead of 4.5 hours of battery life, Apple AirPods Pro 2 offer 6 hours on a single charge. Not only are the earbuds IPX4 certified, but now so is the case itself. The case can be charged wirelessly via the Apple Watch and has a built-in microphone to help you find the earbuds if you lose them.
There are quite a few simple design changes like this that add up. On the audio side, Apple has added a new amplifier and driver that delivers better low and high frequencies, and you can use the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera to create personalized spatial sound and hear the best Dolby Atmos sound in any pair of earbuds. Still, these earphones are not quite perfect, and Apple still has room for improvement.
As great as the custom amplifier and drivers are, there’s still room for more detail in the low frequencies, while the high frequencies can be fatiguing at first. The first thing you should know is pretty obvious: wireless and true wireless headphones are actually different. The main difference is that “true wireless” headphones have no wires or plugs between the ear cups. “Wireless” headphones are still worn over the head or around the neck, but no longer require access to a phone jack.
Design
Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro have an almost identical design to their predecessor, with a few small changes here and there, especially in terms of the air vents and microphone placement. From a distance, however, it’s hard to tell the difference between the first-gen AirPods Pro and the second-gen model – and that’s no bad thing.
Despite rumors that said the AirPods Pro 2 could have a similar design to the Samsung Galaxy Buds by omitting the stem, that hasn’t proven to be the case. Apple has kept the signature design, with the short stem of the AirPods Pro returning and the silicone earbuds positioned at the end of the white head, distinguishing the Pro model from the 3rd generation AirPods. The AirPods Pro 2 are small and petite, as they have always been. They measure just 30.9 x 21.8 x 24 mm and weigh only 5.3 g.
However, there is now a new size for the silicone earbuds, XS, in addition to the already available options of S, M and L. We use small earbuds that fit well in our ears and are comfortable to wear, but it is always good to have options as everyone is different. It’s also worth trying out the different sizes before deciding on the best fit for your ears, as we initially thought the medium size fit well but the small was much better.
Comfort
That’s one of the main reasons why you should upgrade to the AirPods Pro 2 if you’re still using a pair of standard first- or second-generation AirPods, because they’re very comfortable in comparison. They are more comfortable because the AirPods Pro 2 continue to use the soft silicone tips of their predecessor, rather than the plastic shell design of the original AirPods.
The difference is that the silicone attachments gently conform to the ear canal, rather than forcing it to open wider for hard plastic shell. In practice, this means that you can wear the earbuds for much longer without having to take them out, allowing for all-day wear without any issues. As mentioned earlier, be sure to check that the earbuds fit properly, so take your time with the included earbuds to make sure they seal perfectly.
They may not feel quite as secure in the ear during more intense exercise. We wouldn’t wear them while exercising, for example, but they can be taken to the gym without hesitation and are some of the best headphones for runners and workouts. Overall, these are still in-ear headphones that will feel uncomfortable after a few hours of use. The ears just aren’t made for being blocked by anything for hours a day. However, among in-ear headphones, these are more comfortable than others.
Connectivity
The Apple AirPods 2nd Gen have decent Bluetooth connectivity. They don’t offer simultaneous pairing of multiple devices or NFC pairing, but Apple’s H1 chip makes it very easy to pair them with products in the Apple ecosystem. Latency with iOS devices is low, so you shouldn’t notice any lag between audio and video when using them for gaming or video on your iPhone. Unfortunately, they have high latency with Android devices and PCs, though some devices and apps seem to compensate for the latency, meaning you may have a different experience.
The Apple AirPods 2nd Gen are fully compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs. However, they can’t connect to computers in any other way, and their somewhat high latency means you may notice audio delays when using them to play games or watch movies on a computer. The 2nd Gen are wireless-only headphones and can’t be used wired, but they do come with a USB-A-to-Lightning cable for charging the case.
Noise Cancellation
If the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 had not been launched right before the AirPods Pro 2, the latter would have easily claimed the title of the best ANC earphones of 2022 unfortunately, it is now pretty close between the two. With active music playback at medium volume, the noise cancellation can overcome a perceived 95% of household and office noise. You can’t hear the person next to you even when you look at them, and the dull hum in the office fades into nothingness.
If you just have the earbuds on without music playing, some noise still gets through, and you can even hear the soft hiss that the earbuds use to try to block out small amounts of ambient noise. As for improvements, Apple claims that the AirPods Pro 2 suppress twice as much noise as their predecessors. Still, we think that the noise cancellation is at least as good as other market-leading earbuds like the Sony WF-1000XM4 and that they are among the top three of all time in terms of noise cancellation.
Sound Quality
If the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 had not been launched right before the AirPods Pro 2, the latter would have easily claimed the title of the best ANC earphones of 2022 – unfortunately, it is now pretty close between the two. With active music playback at medium volume, the noise cancellation can overcome a perceived 95% of household and office noise. You can no longer hear the person next to you even when you look at them, and the dull hum in the office fades to nothing.
If you just put the earbuds on without music playing, some noise still gets through, and you can even hear the soft hiss that the earbuds use to try to suppress small amounts of ambient noise. As for improvements, Apple claims that the AirPods Pro 2 suppress twice as much noise as their predecessors. Still, we think the noise cancellation is at least as good as other market-leading earphones like the Sony WF-1000XM4, and they’re in the top three of all time in terms of noise cancellation.
Call Quality
Call quality is an area where we had hoped for improvement, but we did not find much: Calls made with the AirPods Pro 2 always sounded a bit muffled compared to a call made on the speakerphone. Unfortunately, that meant people still preferred us to use the phone’s built-in speaker instead of the AirPods, and after listening to a voicemail recorded with the AirPods, we can’t blame them.
Battery Life
Apple has increased battery life of the Apple AirPods Pro 2 to 6 hours on a single charge when noise cancellation is enabled, and that was also the case in our test. However, we mainly used the AirPods in noise cancellation mode with Head Tracking and Spatial Audio enabled to get the full experience. Apple assumes that the battery life should be more like five hours. That seems a bit generous to us, since a single hour of listening reduces battery life by about 25%.
In our opinion, though, it’s more about the case’s ability to charge the headphones, since no one is going to listen for four hours straight on a regular basis. The AirPods Pro 2 can now charge for 30 hours – the equivalent of five charges of the AirPods, but even that we thought was a bit generous.
Don’t get us wrong, we rarely had the problem of both the AirPods and the case running out of juice, but we suspect you’ll need to charge them easily once a week, and there are plenty of true wireless earbuds that last longer. You can put the AirPods Pro 2 in the case when they’re completely empty, and five minutes later they’ll be ready to go again for about an hour – that’s very convenient. If you need to charge the AirPods, the charging methods above are good.
Final Words
We hope you like this article on Apple AirPods Pro 2 review. The AirPods Pro can’t quite match the best-in-class true-wireless noise-canceling earbuds in terms of sound quality, but the user experience and unparalleled comfort still make them a very strong option in this category.
By combining excellent noise cancellation with a transparent mode that feels almost as natural as wearing non-isolating earbuds, Apple has created a pair of earbuds that are just as suitable for a long-haul flight as they are for a run around the block. For many people, the Pro model might be the only pair of headphones they ever need.
