AirPods Pro currently sells at around $230. At $50 more than the regular AirPods with their wireless charging case, the Pro version sounds like a great deal. However, looking at the bigger picture, at that price point, Apple's new truly wireless earphones should not disappoint. There are third-party brands like Sony, Beats, and Huawei that offer alternatives at a competitive price.
They're not built totally for audiophile-grade music listening and for hardcore gaming. However, it's in their portability and active noise cancellation that the AirPods Pro really shine.
AirPods Pro Specs
Before we delve into how the AirPods Pro perform in actual use, let's check first the specs of Apple's latest truly wireless earphones.
- Both earpieces weigh 0.38 ounce (10.8 grams), while the wireless charging case weighs 1.61 ounces 945.6 grams).
- Each AirPod piece has dimensions of 0.94 by 0.86 by 1.22 inches (16.5 by 18.0 by 40.5 mm)
- The wireless charging case has dimensions of 1.78 by 0.85 by 2.39 inches (45.2 by 21.7 by 60.6 mm)
AirPods sensors on each earpiece include dual microphones, motion-detecting, and speech-detecting accelerometers, and dual optical sensors. They're rated to have (with the wireless charging case) more than 24 hours of listening time. For talk time, they're guaranteed to last at least 11 hours.
It's the first in the Airpods lineup to have active noise cancellation. It too has an H1 chip and has Hey Siri set to on always. This time around, it's customizable. It comes with three ear tip sizes that you can choose from to find that perfect fit.
How is the usage experience?
Like most Apple products, once they're connected, they "just work".
Transparency mode is one feature the AirPods Pro has that's really helpful. Once you start using it outside, long-pressing the pressure-sensitive stem activates transparency mode. It allows outside noise to be heard. This is handy for those who don't want to miss a conversation while playing their favorite tunes.
AirPod Pros are also sweat- and water-resistant. Thus, if you're a gym rat or have an active lifestyle, these wireless earphones are a good choice. However, if we're moving a lot, won't they fall off? Users complained about the previous AirPods. The earphones weren't able to properly seal users' ear canals. Of course, this "loose" fit led to lost Airpod pieces. With the Pro version, the design of the ear tips fixed both problems. We have to admit, they're still not the most beautiful-looking out there. But hey, if it fixes the issues, we won't really mind (that much at least) how they look like.
How does sealing your ear canal help in the long run? Well for one, you won't need additional hardware to achieve good noise cancellation. Imagine a very secure earplug. It's a basic tool yet it does the job excellently. It's the same concept here. Also, since your ear canal doesn't receive too much ambient sounds, you no longer need to increase the volume of your phone. You save your ears and your phone's battery life.
