AirPods Pro 2 review

Whereas Apple’s second-generation AirPods Professional won’t look that completely different at a look, there’s a swathe of recent tech each within the buds and within the case that really elevate the AirPods Professional expertise, even for these rocking the first-gen buds.

With headline options together with improved audio efficiency, 2x higher lively noise cancellation, the introduction of adaptive transparency mode and new personalised spatial audio, the AirPods Professional 2 might be the proper high-end true wi-fi earbuds for Apple customers.

Design & Construct

• Close to-identical design
• Snug to put on over lengthy intervals
• New carry case options

Regardless of whispers that the brand new AirPods Professional would possibly characteristic an all-new design sans stem, that’s not the case right here. As an alternative, the AirPods Professional look nearly equivalent to the earlier iteration, sporting the identical compact design and swappable ear ideas that present a lot better passive sound isolation than the usual AirPods.  

In actual fact, ear ideas are one space the place there may be an alteration, with Apple now together with new additional small ear ideas within the field for these with smaller ear canals. It’s not one thing I can touch upon as I take advantage of medium/giant ideas, however it’ll little doubt be an enormous deal for those who felt the OG AirPods Professional have been a bit of uncomfortable.

The one different notable change in design is the addition of an additional black cut-out part on every bud. Whereas it would look insignificant, it truly homes an acoustic vent that not solely seems to be to enhance the audio efficiency (extra on that later) but in addition makes your voice sound extra pure when sporting the buds.

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It negates that plugged-ear feeling frequent amongst in-ear buds, particularly obvious when speaking, and mixed with the unbelievable transparency mode, it’s simple to maintain the AirPods in whereas comfortably chatting with folks close by.

In actual fact, consolation is a theme with the AirPods Professional design, with a compact, light-weight 5.3g type issue that doesn’t really feel large or cumbersome within the ear or trigger irritation over longer intervals of use. They don’t have any downside staying in place regardless of the dearth of any type of wing fashion half, even when exercising, and the IPX4 water resistance means they will survive a little bit of sweat or mild rain too however rivals are sometimes greater rated.

The accompanying cost case measures in at a near-identical 61 x 45 x 22mm, although there are a number of modifications on supply. The obvious is the inclusion of a lanyard loop on the fitting aspect, permitting you to connect the case to a lanyard round your neck. It does look like a barely odd addition, particularly given it messes with the in any other case clear, Apple-esque aesthetic, however it’ll be a helpful addition for some.

There’s additionally a brand new speaker grille situated to the fitting of the Lightning port on the underside of the case that introduces helpful new performance, however I’ll cowl that in a bit.

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Although the AirPods Professional aren’t upgradable, Apple has made efforts to recycle the tech housed inside. It now provides an AirPods Professional recycling program, and it’ll even ship a recycling bag to your property if mandatory. It could sound small, however with non-upgradable components, the AirPods would often be destined for landfill as soon as the built-in lithium-ion batteries quit the ghost.

It’s higher for the planet, and one thing we’d like to see from different TWS producers.

Sensible Options

• Intuitive swipe-based quantity controls
• Slick software program and {hardware} expertise for Apple customers
• Charging case boasts Discover My tech

Apple’s management over {hardware} and software program has at all times offered a frictionless AirPods expertise with linked iPhones, iPads and different Apple tech, and that have continues with the AirPods Professional 2.

Count on all of the good options AirPods are recognized for, from a one-tap pairing course of to computerized pause/play whenever you take away and re-insert the buds and the power to summon Siri simply by uttering the phrase ‘Hey Siri’. The buds also can mechanically change supply relying on the machine you’re utilizing, splendid in case you’re listening to music on a Mac and need to take a cellphone name out of your iPhone.

Basically, in case you’re an iPhone person, you gained’t discover a slicker wi-fi earbud expertise from every other producer, although the expertise is extra generic if you wish to use them with an Android, lacking out on computerized pairing, machine switching, hands-free digital assistant and extra. In that state of affairs, chances are you’ll be higher suited to the likes of the Google Pixel Buds Professional with Android-specific options.  

New options of the buds embody personalised spatial audio assist, which is ready up utilizing an iPhone and its Face ID scanner to generate a map of your ears. That is then used to raised replicate spatial audio in your ears for a extra lifelike audio expertise – in concept, anyway.

In my expertise, there was no notable distinction to Apple’s already glorious spatial audio assist with head-tracking enabled, although your expertise might fare in a different way. It’s additionally accessible on the first-gen AirPods Professional and different fashions of AirPods, so it’s not an unique characteristic to the top-end buds both – fairly a pleasant addition with the arrival of iOS 16.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

What is going to probably be extra helpful to the vast majority of AirPods Professional customers is the power to manage quantity through the buds, due to new contact controls on the stems of the buds. Although they don’t look any completely different – and have the identical ‘squeeze’ tech as earlier than – now you can run your finger up and down the stem to regulate audio on the fly.

It could sound like a easy concept, however it was at all times the one factor I’d have to make use of an iPhone or Apple Watch to manage, and the power to try this at a second’s discover when watching a very quiet scene of a film or when strolling into a store is massively appreciated. It may be a bit fiddly to make use of at first, however it’s one thing you get used to after a number of days.

Most significantly, the decision and microphone high quality of the AirPods Professional remains to be unbeatable.

It sports activities the identical beamforming microphone tech as its predecessor, and which means your voice is picked up surprisingly nicely in most environments, each indoor and out of doors. Of all of the earbuds I take a look at – and imagine me, there are tons in all sizes and shapes – I at all times get complimented on how clear the decision sounds at any time when I take advantage of the AirPods Professional 2.

In fact, it’s not at all times exceptionally clear – the hiss of a close-by bus driving previous can drown me out – however these moments are few and much between in comparison with the frustratingly frequent ‘are you able to hear me?’ moments when utilizing different true wi-fi earbuds.

Equally as thrilling, the accompanying cost case boasts a swathe of recent options. Essentially the most helpful will little doubt be the introduction of a speaker on the underside of the case, which will be activated through the Discover My app in case you lose the case and buds. Beforehand, solely the buds would chime, making it unattainable to find in the event that they have been of their case.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

The speaker can be used to point what’s taking place, with charming new chimes for pairing, low battery and charging. The low battery chime is a very helpful addition, serving to you keep away from these annoying situations the place your case and buds are fully lifeless forward of an extended journey.

There’s additionally Apple’s U1 tech onboard, permitting for a similar precision discovering tech on current iPhones as AirTags, making it simpler than ever to seek out your misplaced AirPods Professional.

Sound High quality

• Notably improved audio efficiency
• Deep bass, clear highs
• Apple Spatial Audio remains to be the most effective implementation

The AirPods Professional characteristic a swathe of recent tech together with a low-distortion driver and a customized amp to ship a a lot clearer, extra highly effective audio expertise than the unique AirPods Professional.

I used the unique AirPods Professional for nearly three years, so I used to be conscious of simply how my favorite songs sound, and let me inform you, the distinction is immediately noticeable. The bass is way more highly effective, particularly at decrease volumes the place the unique buds would are likely to go a bit of flat, and there’s notably crisper high-frequency efficiency too.

Every thing simply sounds extra rounded and far clearer than earlier than, making for a superb music-listening expertise that’s suited to the whole lot from acoustic tracks like Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s Over the Rainbow to bass-slapping tunes like Pendulum’s Tarantula.

The improved audio efficiency additionally interprets to a extra immersive spatial audio expertise. Whereas it really works greatest with Dolby Atmos content material accessible from Apple Music, the buds also can upscale stereo playback to widen the soundscape for one thing extra akin to listening to music in a studio.

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It lets you choose up on minor particulars you would possibly’ve missed in your favorite tracks, whereas extra carefully representing the supposed sound expertise.

Spatial audio isn’t distinctive to Apple’s earbuds, however it does stand out as one of many higher implementations of the tech, particularly when paired with head monitoring that shifts the route of the audio as you progress your head for a extra conventional speaker expertise.

The top-tracked spatial audio isn’t only for listening to music both.

In actual fact, with assist for Dolby Atmos and spatial audio on current fashions of Apple TV, it’s excellent for late-night film watching. The multi-channel audio from motion pictures is rendered completely inside the buds, and when paired with head monitoring, it actually feels such as you’re watching a film with a full 5.1 encompass sound system, with audio route altering as you look across the room.

It’s essentially the most pure movie-watching expertise I’ve had utilizing in-ear buds and has turn out to be commonplace when watching any content material on Apple TV late at evening.

The one disappointment is that the AirPods Professional 2 don’t supply assist for any type of lossless audio playback like premium alternate options together with the NuraTrue Professional that may stream near-CD high quality 16-bit/44.1kHz audio with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1-equipped Android smartphones.

It’ll little doubt miff the audiophiles amongst us, and it’s a little bit of a missed alternative given the intensive lossless audio library on Apple Music, however the improved audio efficiency means most gained’t discover (or care) on a day-to-day foundation.

ANC & Transparency Mode

• 2x enhance to ANC efficiency
• Tailor-made to tune out voices, automobiles, trains and planes
• Trade-leading transparency mode

Energetic Noise Cancellation (ANC) is the standout characteristic of the AirPods Professional 2, with important enhancements through Apple’s new H2 chipset and the optimisation of ANC mic placement on the buds themselves. Apple claims as much as 2x enchancment in noise cancellation, and whereas that’s arduous to quantify, they’re actually among the many greatest I’ve skilled in true wi-fi type.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

Positive, you don’t get the gradient ANC controls like with Sony’s WF-1000XM4, however that’s of little concern as soon as the mode is activated. The moment quietening of even loud environments just like the 80db+ Victoria line on the London Underground is genuinely spectacular, permitting me to take heed to music at snug volumes fairly than maxing it out to drown out the monotonous shrieks of the tube.

It’s a take a look at I carry out with most ANC-enabled buds I evaluate, and the AirPods Professional 2 are up there with the most effective. It’s a critically spectacular characteristic that makes mild work of each low- and high-pitched environmental sounds, particularly tailor-made to cancel out the drone of followers, trains and flights in addition to folks speaking close by.   

Utilizing the sound stage app on Apple Watch, I noticed a median of 30db noise discount when utilizing the buds in loud environments, which not solely helps quieten the surroundings however protects your listening to too.

Apple’s transparency mode tech has at all times been a private favorite of mine. It primarily blends your music with sound from the surroundings round you, offering higher situational consciousness when strolling the streets or working in a busy workplace.

It picks up even small sounds and replicates this completely in stereo for a true-to-life expertise. In actual fact, I’ve forgotten I’ve been sporting the buds on a number of events with transparency mode lively and no music taking part in – and that’s saying one thing.

Transparency mode is good for fast conversations, be it with a shopkeeper as you seize some snacks or that one annoying colleague at work that may’t take the trace that you just don’t need to be disturbed when listening to music. You’ll probably must pause the music so you may higher course of what’s happening (some rivals just like the XM4 do that mechanically), however I by no means felt to take away the buds from my ears to talk to these round me.

That has been additional enhanced with the brand new AirPods Professional 2’s new adaptive transparency tech that processes incoming sound 48,000 occasions per second to anticipate and scale back loud, harsh seems like sirens or development noises in real-time. It’s a welcome addition that works impressively nicely on the loud streets of London, making for fewer wince-inducing moments as screaming police sirens go by than the OG AirPods Professional.

Battery Life & Charging

• Slight bump to earbud battery life
• Charging case battery capability is equivalent
• Can cost AirPods Professional case with Apple Watch charger

With regards to battery life, anticipate a slight bump in comparison with the unique AirPods Professional that retains Apple’s newest buds in keeping with the competitors.

That features a six-hour battery life from the buds with ANC lively, up by 1.5hrs in comparison with their predecessors, with 24 extra hours of cost offered by the case. That brings complete battery life to round 30 hours, although playtime will be prolonged to 7 hours of listening with 28 additional hours within the case just by disabling ANC. That’s in keeping with the likes of the Sony WF-1000MX4.  

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There’s additionally quick charging tech that’ll present three hours of cost from simply quarter-hour within the case, although that’s pretty commonplace amongst high-end true wi-fi buds.

What isn’t commonplace is how one can cost the AirPods Professional; whereas it missed out on the improve to USB-C, sporting the identical Lightning port on the underside for charging, the case can now be wirelessly charged through the Apple Watch charger along with Qi and MagSafe, making it simpler than ever to prime up the buds in case you’ve already bought Apple charging tech close by. 

Pricing & Availability

The brand new 2022 AirPods Professional price $249/£249, which is similar worth within the US and £10 greater than the earlier technology within the UK.

However whereas the unique AirPods Professional have been among the many costliest earbuds round at launch, the high-end earbud market has matured enormously and, in comparison with the likes of the $329/£299 NuraTrue Professional, the AirPods Professional are comparatively good worth for cash.

If you happen to’re , you should purchase the AirPods Professional immediately from Apple alongside retailers like Greatest Purchase within the US and Amazon within the UK. We cowl the place to purchase the AirPods Professional in additional element individually if you wish to discover out extra.

To see how the AirPods Professional stack up towards the competitors, check out our choice of the most effective true wi-fi earbuds. 

Verdict

The AirPods Professional 2 characterize the top of true wi-fi earbud efficiency for iPhone customers, with not solely spectacular audio efficiency with improved ANC and transparency mode capabilities, however a swathe of good options that push the AirPods Professional above different third-party choices.

It’s not so clear-cut in case you’re an Android person, dropping out on lots of the smarts that make the AirPods Professional what they’re, however in case you’ve bought an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac, the AirPods Professional are the perfect high-end performers.

Specs

• 60.6 x 45.2 x 21.7mm, 50.8g (case)
• 21.8mm x 30.9mm, 5.3g (earbuds)
• Customized Apple driver and amplifier
• Energetic Noise Cancellation
• Adaptive Transparency mode
• Vent system for strain equalisation
• Spatial audio assist with dynamic head monitoring
• Adaptive EQ
• Pores and skin-detecting sensor
• Twin beamforming microphones
• Contact management
• ‘Hey Siri’ assist
• IPX4 water resistance
• 6hrs of battery in buds, extra 24 in case (with ANC on)
• Works with Lightning, MagSafe, Qi and Apple Watch chargers
• Bluetooth 5.3
• 4 units of ear ideas