AirPods Pro 2 are a remarkable device. They offer all-new features and a lower price than the original 2019 AirPods Pro 2. The new H2 chip powers the AirPods Pro 2, delivering a far better sonic performance, excellent noise cancellation, and longer battery life. Although they aren’t going to be ideal for Android users and they cost quite a bit, they were a tremendous upgrade from Apple.
Pros
- Great noise cancelation
- Superior sound quality and spatial audio quality
- Battery life is longer
Cons
- High prices
- There are no other colors
Jump:
- A two-minute review
- Prices
- Design / Features
- Sound quality
- Battery Life
- Do I need to buy?
AIRPODSPRO 2: TWO-MINUTE REVIEW
The first question you’ll have is: What’s the difference between the AirPods Pro 2 and the original AirPods Pro? Apple’s first AirPods Pro was a great move forward. The sound quality and overall performance were excellent when using multiple Apple devices.
What could be improved?
The design isn’t changed much from the original iteration, but the new case includes a speaker and a lanyard attachment for easy access to your earbuds.
We also enjoyed a few new features in the mix: Volume control from the stems was a welcome feature, even if it is a bit fiddly to use. The microphones have been improved to allow for greater voice clarity.
Although the Personalized Spatial Audio capability makes them feel like your earbuds is a nice feature, we don’t think it does much.
The audio quality has been greatly improved by the H2 chip. This makes them a contender for the best wireless earbuds.
The soundscape is large and expansive. The AirPods Pro 2 can pull out various instruments very well. We found ourselves reaching for the AirPods Pro 2 to get lost in the sonic world. The vocal tones were clear and the bass was not overpowering.
The AirPods Pro 2 has an improved noise cancelling capability that gives you the feeling of audio envelopment. It’s like the world disappears when you turn it on – one of the best wireless earbuds we have ever tried.
Although the battery life has been extended it is still not as long as some of its competitors. You can turn on all noise-canceling, Spatial Audio, and head tracking to get about 4-5 hours of battery life. The case is now capable of charging in many new ways.
These buds are expensive and can be a significant investment. However, if you’re a part of the Apple ecosystem, they are great, immersive, and beautiful to listen to.
PRO 2 PRICE
AirPods Pro remain the same price as original AirPods Pro.
The new AirPods Pro will cost you $249 / PS249 / AU$399. AirPods Pro2 preorders open now, ahead of their September 23 release
The official price is the same as the old model except that it costs more in the UK. The older model is discounted at Apple retailers, so even though both versions are still available, the cost of the newer version is higher.
Apple is making an aggressive move in the current market. Nearly all of the new flagship earbuds have raised their prices, so keeping the official price unchanged is not the best thing. These earbuds are expensive, but there are many other major players coming in at a higher price.
Score: 3.5/5
PRO 2 DESIGN AND FEATURES
The design is nearly identical to the previous models
The case is the same shape but has a few additional accessories
Volume control is a welcome thing, but it should not be erratic.
For voice quality, there are good onboard microphones
You won’t find AirPods with a new design if you are looking for them. AirPods Pro have the exact same design as previous versions, but with a shorter stem and a wider, more square case to store them in.
You’ll notice the AirPods Pro 2 have an extra black section. This is an audio vent that is designed to increase the sound quality from the tiny buds.
The only design change to the buds is in the box. Apple has included extra tiny tips for people with smaller ears. Our Senior Audio Writer Becky Scarrott can attest. This is a welcome change that Apple should be commended for (especially since the AirPods’ RRP will remain the same as those from 2019).
The stems of the AirPods Pro 2 may look identical, but they contain a new feature: volume control. This feature has been a long-awaited since the original AirPods were launched many years ago.
You simply need to move the stem slowly up and down while waiting for the click to confirm the change. Once you feel the rhythm, you will be able to alter the volume and strokes easily.
It’s difficult to find the perfect spot every time. While the feature is useful and something we use often, it is not well-implemented enough to be flawless.
Only one other design change is made to the charging case. It not only lasts longer but also has a longer battery life.
It’s a pleasant surprise to find the lanyard clip that allows one to carry the AirPods case around their neck. However, the speaker is more useful.
This speaker allows the AirPods Pro’s ‘Find My” features to be activated. You can use your phone’s button to trigger the AirPods Pro’s sound from the case. This upgrade is useful as the old method of making the buds play an ear-splitting sound didn’t work.
AirPods Pro 2 also include the U1 chip, which has been added to iPhones recently. This means that you can see the direction of the headphones on your iPhone too – useful if sound isn’t playing.
It isn’t perfect. We sometimes couldn’t connect when we knew the case was somewhere in the house. But on other occasions, we were able to follow the signal around our house with an increasing vibration as we closed in.
Another neat feature of the new charging case is that it allows you to charge your AirPods Pro with an Apple Watch charger. It’s so easy to use that it’s difficult to believe why it hasn’t been done before. However, it’s a great feature nonetheless.
You can also access the AirPods app in iOS 16 to modify the settings.
The key feature is the ability for you to set up Personalized Spatial Audio. This involves scanning your face and ears to calibrate the AirPods Pro’s sound performance.
Although it’s difficult to imagine how holding your phone arm’s distance from your head will allow you to see into your ear, Apple insists that it does make a difference.
It is simple enough to set up, and the personalized system is far more interesting and expansive. Different instruments are easier to choose from.
The AirPods Pro 2 also has a strong voice pickup, which is a useful feature. The Pro 2 can be paired with any Bluetooth device (such as a tablet, phone or laptop) that requires a headset. This allows you to have decent video calls and phone conversations without worrying about the headphones not picking it up.
Although it may seem like a minor thing, many people need to be able use the AirPods Pro 2 as headsets. Be aware that connecting them to a Windows-based PC can cause your iPhone’s auto-connect feature to be disabled.
Design score: 4.5/5
Features: 4.5/5
AIRPODS PRO 2 SOUND QUALITY NOISE CANCELLATION
Amazing sound quality
It is amazing to reduce noise
Spatial Audio works well
Natural conversations can be made through transparency
Let’s move on to the good stuff. How the AirPods Pro 2 actually sounds. Short answer: phenomenal.
Longer answer: Although Apple did not make the AirPods Pro 2 Lossless audio capable (despite Apple Music supporting it heavily), the sound quality is so great that we found ourselves wanting them on to let us drift off to a wonderful sonic world.
It is difficult to describe how headphones can bring joy. It’s all about the way they allow you to connect with music in a way that’s not possible before.
AirPods Pro 2 does this by combining a number of factors. They have a clear ability and ability to distinguish different elements in music, strong ability to reproduce bass and a crisp voice, all of which are combined with exceptional Spatial Audio playback, mind-blowing noise cancelling, and excellent Spatial Audio playback.
This makes it more frustrating that Lossless audio isn’t supported here. You feel there could be more from them but it’s still the cost of keeping 2019’s price stable.
We’ll take a moment to talk about the noise cancelling capabilities of these headphones. It’s amazing for a pair and is comparable to anything else we have ever seen. It doesn’t have a gradient of cancelling (some earbuds let you adjust the level of noise cancellation depending on your situation), but it will be difficult to care for when you turn it on.
Since the introduction of headphones with an extra microphone block, noise-canceling products have been around for almost 20 years. To activate noise cancellation, slip on the AirPods Pro 2 and hold the stem.
The world is quieted and you are instantly transported to a comfortable, peaceful studio with just you and your music. The headphones are well worth the price.
AirPods Pro 2 can cancel out wind, trains sounds, and even eliminate the sound of fan or air conditioner noises. The Pro 2’s H2 chip, which has been revealed with the Pro 2, makes this possible. It’s a great upgrade.
Combine this with Dolby Atmos-enabled sound from Apple Music and Tidal and you’ll be able to use the AirPods Pro 2 for more than just a soundtrack on your commute. Apple has brought this closer to you.
To test the various modes and capabilities of AirPods Pro 2, we tried many songs. The main thing that struck was the vastness of the sound compared to the AirPods Pro 3 years ago.
They won’t be able to compete with dedicated over-ear headphones but they make up for it with the convenience and lightness that wireless earbuds provide. The AirPods Pro 2 are safe. It isn’t a ‘pull up your pants and spank’ sounding earbud, but it provides a very enjoyable audio experience.
Listening to the Coheed and Cambria’s Embers of Fire, the first thing you hear is the crackling of fire moving up behind your ears, leading to a crescendo of drums, which are handled with real stability.
Moving on to Violence Broken By No Mono, the emotive vocals really break through the music. That same stability means that every drum beat is rich and the singing is clear and emotive.
June was a fun way to see how the Spatial Audio performed. The stereo sounds popped back and forth with a similar crispness and the repeated “Yeah!” sound effects. Prince in When Doves Call slithered around our heads as the song began. The Spatial Audio kicked in again.
The sound quality is good, even when you don’t use Apple Music or Dolby atmos. Comparing the sound to The Ting Tings Fine or Dandy, you can see that the sound is absorbing quickly by background synth and guitar. Where the original AirPods Pro was a little too loud, the new Pro has a clear evolution into expansive sounds.
Music is not the only thing that has a benefit. We had an hour to kill while testing the new Thor Love and Thunder, so we put it on the iPhone 14 Pro Max and activated the AirPods Pro head tracking.
We felt totally absorbed by the richness and clarity of the sound. We were also able to follow our heads perfectly in space, despite being in a noisy place with many people.
Although the AirPods Pro 2’s head tracking is much more subtle than the LG Tone free T90, we still don’t see the point.
There are many fun elements to this song. For example, listen to Weaver of Dreams from Freddie Hubbard. The wailing trumpet and soft drumbeat are easily distinguished. And turning your head to look at’ each instrument instantly gives you the feeling of being in a jazz club with the lights down.
For songs that Dolby Atmos doesn’t support, the sound is just what you hear from in front. Turning your head causes it to move a little.
Personalized Spatial Audio, as we have mentioned, is well worth the effort. It takes only 30 seconds and can be tailored to your hearing. This feature may be appreciated by audiophiles. However, most people will not know if it is truly superior.
(Case in Point – We let another person create a Personalized Spatial Audio Profile, and theirs sounded much better. It had more clarity and richness, which didn’t make much sense).
Another feature that the H2 chip allows is almost flawless Transparency mode. The microphones of the AirPods Pro 2 can be opened by long-pressing the stem while in noise cancelling mode. This will allow you to have a conversation with another person, even while wearing the Pro 2 headphones.
You will have to turn off the music. It’s hard to forget that you are wearing headphones while chatting with someone. We wish the AirPods Pro 2 could have an auto-transparency function that would shut off the music when you start speaking and allow the microphones to be opened up, similar to the Sony WH1000XM5 headphones.
Apple has also included Adaptive Transparency, which allows the headphones to monitor audio conditions at 48,000 a sec to dampen sudden sounds like a siren, drill or siren. However, we didn’t experience any such sound in our testing so we can’t say how it works. We did test it out in a hospital, but it looked strange after a while.
Sound quality: 4.5/5
Noise cancelation score: 5/5
AIRPODSPRO 2 BATTERY LIFE
Apple has improved the battery life of its AirPods Pro 2 by allowing 6 hours of use from a single charge. We also tested this feature.
To get the best experience, we had them set up in noise cancelling mode, with head tracking enabled and Spatial Audio enabled. Apple claims that this should last for about five hours.
This seems a little generous. A single hour of listening will reduce the battery life by 25%. However, it is more about the capacity of the case to charge headphones as no one is going to listen to music for four hours consecutively.
AirPods Pro 2 cases can now hold 30 hours of charge, or five AirPods recharges. However, this is a little too generous. We didn’t have any issues with the AirPods or the case running out of juice. However, it is possible to refill the case once per week. There are many wireless earbuds that can last much longer.
The AirPods Pro 2 can be inserted into the case after it has been completely charged. After that, you will be able to use the device for approximately an hour.
The aforementioned methods for re-juicing are great when you need to charge. The novelty of using an Apple Watch charger to charge the AirPods Pro 2 cases, with the Lightning port at their bottom, is that you can either use the MagSafe charger for the iPhone or simply place the case on a Qi enabled charging pad.
You can buy a few charging pads for your home and office and you will never run out.
Battery life score: 4/5
PRO 2: SHOULD YOU BUY THEM
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
| Value | It’s not expensive, but it hasn’t risen in cost since 2019. | 3.5/5 |
| Design | An easy-to-use, functional shape | 4.5/5 |
| Features | Great upgrades, but volume control needs work | 4.5/5 |
| Sound quality | Amazing sound quality, even if it is a bit safe | 4.5/5 |
| Noise canceling | The world’s best noise cancellation | 5/5 |
| Batteries | It’s long enough to be market leader without it being too long | 4/5 |
Get them if…
Great sound is what you want
The AirPods Pro 2 sound amazing and block out all the noise. If you really want to pamper yourself, you will love them. Although it isn’t as stable and safe as you would like, it’s still a great experience.
Apple products are endless.
These headphones are great for those with an iPad, Apple TV or Apple Watch.
Do not buy them if…
Are you looking to save money?
These earbuds are not necessary, as there are so many affordable and true wireless earbuds. They are a great gift idea.
You don’t need an iPhone
These headphones won’t be as beneficial if you are in the Android world (although it is still not as bad). There are many other Android-friendly models, like the Sony WF1000XM4 earbuds.
