A simple product that worked well and with a very high degree of satisfaction on the part of those who bought them over the years. However, Apple has improved it by adding many small changes and drastically improving noise cancellation. It doesn’t seem very easy to do better, even if the life cycle of this type of product could make us reflect in front of a significant expense.
It’s been three years since the launch of the first AirPods Pro, Apple’s noise-canceling in-ear headphones, and it’s time for a second generation. It’s perfect timing, also because after about three years of intense use, even a quality headset, like the ones that Apple sells, begins to show the first signs of old age. For Apple, it was not easy to improve the AirPods Pro, the level of satisfaction from users who have used them in recent years was very high: excellent noise reduction, audio quality suitable for a headset, perfect ergonomics, and above all, flawless integration with the operating system. Yet they have succeeded: the “new” AirPods Pro is not a simple upgrade but a clear leap forward that involves all aspects of the headset. A bond was necessary also because, in these three years, at least one hundred models of noise-canceling earphones of different brands have come out. Some recent models, see the new LG FreeTones, have amazed us with many fundamental aspects of the choice, such as a superfine audio quality.
If we had sent Cupertino a personal wish list for the new AirPods Pro, it would have come back with all the items checked, except for those that say “Type C” and “removable battery.” Audio quality? Improved. Noise cancellation? Improved. Ergonomics? Improved. Autonomy? Improved. Physical volume adjustment? Here I’m. System to track the earphones if they get lost? Here I’m. Waterproof case, useful if they stay in the jeans and end up in the washing machine. Here I’m. There is everything.
The dish is very rich, and we also add lucky since the AirPods Pro costs 299 euros. With this amount, you can buy at least two pairs of excellent headphones if you give up what is the convenience of buying AirPods for those who already have other Apple products or the sharing of devices via the cloud and much other hardware and software integrations that only an ecosystem can guarantee.
Ergonomics, when a small sensor makes the difference
The first difference is noticed when wearing them: Apple has changed the sensor that detects the insertion of the headset inside the ear, and the new one is much more precise and accurate. We are faced with the same “skin-detect sensor” already used for AirPods 3. The advantage is that this sensor is not deceived if the headset is placed on a table or a notebook.
Ergonomics is always subjective, and we found it very good and never annoying, not even in the long run. The AirPods, like Samsung’s Buds Live and a few other true wireless headphones, are very crushed on the ear, which means that you can rest your head on the pillow on the plane without feeling annoying pressure in the internal area.
Apple has added, on the ergonomics side, the fourth size of silicone support, XS, intended for those with very small ears and who, with the previous version, could not find the correct insulation. The XS size can also be useful for those who experience discomfort with in-ear headphones but do not want the classic AirPods, with the knowledge that the contribution of noise cancellation could be light without a perfect fit.
Within the new section of iOS 16 dedicated to AirPods, it is possible to manage the accessory software functions, such as verifying that the right size of rubber pad has been chosen and, novelty, the creation of a personalized listening profile based on the shape ear.
We have already seen this feature used by other manufacturers in the past, even on expensive headphone amplifiers: the theoretical and practical bases are all there because when a person listens to music at a concert, what he hears is not the real “sound.” it comes out of the speakers, but it is “its” sound, and the customization comes precisely from the shape and size of the ear cups.
When using in-ear headphones, however, the auricle is not used. The audio is fed directly into the ear canal from the transducer. Using the 3D camera of FaceID, which is, in fact, a Lidar, Apple scans the shape of the face and the two ears and processes a three-dimensional acoustic profile that is applied in real-time to the track being played, a sort of equalization on multiple dimensions.
Change something? Does it drastically change the yield? Surely not. With certain songs, especially those that have a great spatiality, the sound front is slightly broadened. Above all, there is greater control of what is the “live” sensation offered by the spatial audio with tracking of the movement of the head. To appreciate the contribution of the correction, however, you need a fine ear, a quiet place, and a well-coded track.
A long-awaited function has been added to the earphones, the volume control with a tactile surface: just touch the outer surface of the rod with your thumb to increase and decrease the volume in a very controlled way. Touching the wand, you hear a “click” that seems to come from the stick itself at each increase. This is nothing new, Huawei introduced it on the first FreeBuds Pro, but Apple has added its touch of perfectionism with sound feedback so accurate and well-constructed that it almost feels tactile.
The case becomes unmissable and is waterproof.
The case second-generation AirPods Pro brings with it several new features. The shape is the same, and the battery inside, too. Small tricks were on the wishlist of the users of the previous model. There is a hook for a lanyard, which is not supplied: many people, put it inside a silicone case that can be purchased online for a few euros. Now it can be attached to a carabiner or a wrist strap.
The case is now watertight, like the earphones: in recent years, there are thousands of earphones left with the case in their pants and finished in the washing machine, centrifuged. The risk of drowned AirPods is reduced, even if it’s not an IP68 certification. In the lower part, we still find the lightning connection: it would have been a very smart move, in our opinion, to consider a USB Type C connection to allow you to recharge the AirPods directly from the iPhone, with the USB-C – Lightning cable that everyone carries in the backpack.
Improves wireless charging: in addition to the classic Qi standard charger, the case can also be recharged from the Apple Watch charger. Last but not least, inside the case, we find the Find My system: the AirPods could be located in the Find Me network using Bluetooth and proximity, like all other Apple products. However, thanks to the U1 processor in the case, the latter can be located with an accuracy of a few centimeters using the UltraWide Bandwidth, just like an airbag. You need a compatible iPhone. The case also features a small speaker that emits an intermittent squeaky sound that can help find it, and the charging light flashes in the dark.
Noise reduction is effective (and you can even know how much)
Wearing the AirPods and the Apple Watch, thanks to the complication of noise, it is possible to have an accurate reading of how effective the noise reduction of the new earphones is. The Watch measures external noise, aided by the microphone of the AirPods, while the AirPods provide a measurement of the noise perceived within the sealed ear canal thanks to a second microphone. During the trips by train, plane, and subway, we found ourselves in front of a truly surprising result, with an average external noise of 79/80 dB reduced to 52/53 dB.
A measure says it, but the ear also says it: the noise cancellation of the new model is incredibly effective. The first AirPods Pro also struck us at the time, but they were among the first models of truly wireless earphones, and I didn’t have many competitors on the market. In recent years, excellent noise-canceling headphones have come out, including the Pixel Buds Pro, the Huawei, some OPPO Enco models, and the Samsung Galaxy Buds. It is difficult to say that the AirPods Pro remains the best noise-canceling headphones on the market: they are not anymore, they feel the time, other more recent models have surpassed them.
The new AirPods Pro put things back in place:Â we only perceived a similar level of isolation with some over-ear headphones, and after wearing them, all the noise carpet, in all conditions, is lowered by at least 25 dB. The voices remain clear, even slightly muffled, and the musical rendering remains unchanged. Still, everything that led us to increase the volume to hear the dialogue of the film better, or the interlocutor on the other side of the phone, suddenly disappears. It is deleted.
The suspicion, however well founded, is that the credit is to the H2 processor that goes to weigh the advantage of Apple over other competitors in the creation of custom hardware for its devices. To have excellent noise cancellation, you don’t need miracles. Still, you need a very fast processor capable of sampling the data from the microphones quickly and efficiently without introducing latency. Many true wireless earphones could achieve the same performance, but to do so, they would have to give up good latency, which is essential if you are watching a movie, and an acceptable autonomy: most of the models on the market are in fact, based on a Qualcomm processor with some year of life behind.
With active noise cancellation, we got 5 hours and 43 minutes of uninterrupted listening, with a difference of 13 minutes between earphones, but if you also use spatial audio, custom curve with earcup scan, and head tracking, autonomy drops to just under 5 hours. There is a clear improvement in consumption management compared to the previous model. This is partly due to the processor, and the very effective noise cancellation leads us to keep a listening volume. Lower than usual. One notch-less, maybe two.
The “transparency” mode is also interesting: we consider it an emergency function. Apple has introduced a system that allows us to reduce the annoyance caused by a loud sound when we use this particular mode.
The real news is that they always feel good. Spatial audio is a must for movies; call quality is ok.
They are still earphones, and obviously, it is impossible to expect “hi-fi” quality. The solutions would be there, but codecs like LDAC impact autonomy that is too important to be considered in such small systems. Apple on the AirPods Pro is surprising because it has made the “less Apple” choice possible: in addition to embracing its AAC codec, it has also included the new scalable LC3 codec, Low Complexity Communication Codec, a scalable codec that can guarantee the best quality audio possible in all conditions with practically zero latency. LC3 is a standard. We said “less Apple” because to achieve this, Samsung has made its codec, Huawei its own, and they only work between headphones and devices of the same company. They are proprietary.
The AirPods Pro communicates in AAC with all devices on the market. Still, in the case of iPhones updated to iOS 16 with Bluetooth 5.2 (or higher), it also takes advantage of this possibility. Bluetooth 5.3 allows you to use the headphones away from the phone even in environments with a very high concentration of devices, and the music quality is still optimal, even at about 30 meters. Same thing for phone calls: excellent connection by leaving the phone at the desk and also changing the office plan, without the usual micro interruptions that we have always suffered with other headphones.
The audio quality, considering the compressed source and the fact that they are always 16-bit and 48 kHz, is still excellent: well-present and balanced bass, perfect control of female voices, and impeccable scene reconstruction and listening that never tires. However, where these earphones can make the difference compared to other excellent stereo earphones is the reproduction of Atmos content.
The microphone is good enough, and we play a small clip we recorded from a noisy environment, such as a moving train. The condition is difficult.