Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) Wireless Earbuds with MagSafe Charging Case. Active Noise Cancelling, Personalized Spatial Audio, Customizable Fit, Bluetooth Headphones for iPhone

Let me start off by saying, i loved my airpods pro gen 1’s. Like immensely. I would’ve taken the airpods pro 1 over the airpods maxes, airpods 3’s, bit fit pros, xm4’s, anything. Everything that i loved about the original airpods pro is capitalized upon with the 2’s and improved greatly. Now that’s not to say that that’s a bad thing for the original airpods, as i only realized most of the grievances i had with them after i got and used the pro 2’s. Starting with the sound quality, it’s an obvious improvement. Like…. By a lot. I’m noticing a lot of bass and lows in songs that i was not able to notice with the original airpods, along with the tones sounding more…. Separated? I’m no audiophile so i’m not sure if that’s the correct term, but the best way to describe it is that you can hear and pick out all the individual instruments and tones much easier than on the original airpods pro. Again, the sound quality was never really a problem for me on the 1’s, but it’s lovely that they would include that as an upgrade. I’ll shift gears for a sec and talk about the case now. The lanyard loop? For me personally, it’s arbitrary. My front left pocket is almost always reserved for my airpods, and when they’re not in my pockets, they’re in my backpack or in my room. That being said, however, the addition of the u1 chip to the case was an absolutely fantastic idea. I can’t say how many times i would have my airpods in, throw the case down somewhere in my house or in my room, and then spend an hour looking for the case when i was done listening to whatever. The u1 chip functions exactly like an airtag, implementing a chime to get you to the general location of the pods, and then precision finding to track down exactly where in the couch cushions you lost the case. The last thing about the case, and this was probably just a defect with my model, is that with the 1’s there was a massive issue with the right bud not contacting with the pad inside the case and either not charging or not being recognized as being in the case… That’s gone now. Everything works as a charm as you would expect. Going back to the pods now. First up, to just get it out of the way, haptic touch for sound control? Big yes. I know for a lot of people that not having direct sound control on the airpods was a gripe, but that’s no longer an issue as you can just swipe up or down to adjust the volume to move in intervals, equivalent to tapping the volume button on your phone. Will definitely be using that a lot when i am on the move and don’t feel like getting my phone out of my pocket or awkwardly trying to press the volume button on my phone through my pant leg. And, finally, perhaps the most important new piece of hardware for the 2’s, the h2 chip. Again, i never had an issue with anc or transparency on my airpod pro 1’s. With anc on, listening to music with the 1’s would be a completely immersive experience and i would not be able to hear anything from the outside world. That’s even better with the 2’s. Just like the 1’s, static sound waves (like humming, vibrating, etc.) is completely gone and unable to hear. Other than that, voices and general noises passing through anc with the 2’s is…. Amazing. In a cafeteria or busy area, if i just have anc on with no music playing, i am able to recognize that people are talking, but it’s more like whispering than actually talking. With anc and music playing? No chance. All i hear is the music. And then you switch to transparency and you’re like “uh… What just happened?”. It’s this big rush of realization that there was so much more going around you than you thought there was and makes you realize how good the anc actually is. Speaking of transparency, i have no issues with it. It continues to be the best transparency mode on the market for any wearable earbuds, and completely emulates the feeling of not having anything in your ears. I have not gotten to try out or test the adaptive transparency as advertised as a selling point of the 2’s, but if i do i will edit this post with my feelings about it. Overall, just like the original airpods to the airpods pro 1’s, i do believe the 2’s are worth the upgrade from the 1’s. The sound quality, h2 chip, u1 chip, case features… They all just work so seamlessly and i could not have asked for anything more from apple. (well, besides usb-c but you know.)

So i recently went on a little shopping spree and purchased the new iphone 14 pro max and apple watch ultra. I’ve been eye balling the airpods for some time however i have a couple decent earbuds already so i never bought them. But after this little spree of mine i figured, why not? Plus i also got one of those 3-in-1 chargers too so, yeah.

My main buds were the sony wf1000mx3 and beats fit pro. The sonys (for music) were perfect. They provided excellent sound and with their xtra bass feature, always made those deep notes hit hard. The beats fit pros were very good all around. I had some connectivity issues and mic issues with the sony mx3’s but the beats were pretty much spot on. Also, they worked better on calls as the sonys had some issues every now and then. So i thought i was covered in the earbuds dept so why should i get another pair? Tbh, i kinda bought into the hype. I saw the keynote and they were touting these as a huge improvement over the previous gen. Seeing as how they would integrate perfectly with my current setup, i figured why not.

Sound quality on these was way above what i had originally thought. I thought they would be ok with the mids/highs and maybe come in a little weak on the bass notes like the beats fit pro did. This was not the case. While the thumping bass notes of these fail to compare to the sonymx3’s, they did provide a really nice, rich sound that actually surprised me. I tried out the personalized spatial sound feature and i think they’re working as expected. The sound comes in almost as if a bunch of speakers were aimed directly at my head. Sound is very good and the anc is superb on these. The adaptive anc is really where this shines through. Every external sound is capped so it’s never too loud but yet still allows you to hear everything going on around you

battery life is good as well. You get about 6 hours per charge on the earbuds and around 30 hours total with the charging case. I’ve only had these for a week or so but i haven’t run into any issues with the power/battery as of yet. Plus the charging case is so small compared to some other brand earbuds.

So far, i’m really liking them. They seem to be a great replacement for my previous two earbuds so that’s a bonus. Haven’t really found any issues with these yet so here;s hoping they last awhile and i don;t lose these like everyone else seems to do.

If you’ve worn the first generation airpods pro you can expect similar audio quality if not slightly better. Where these really shine is the fit. Usually, the medium ear tips are a perfect fit for me and these are no exception. But in case there are various ear fit issues, they come with more tip sizes than before so you have a better chance at dialing in a good fit. These stay in with no issues where the airpod pro 1s did not. The added volume adjustment is nice. Easy to adjust the levels without having to mess with the phone. We put them through the test. On phone calls, they are very clear and good audio and voice quality to the caller is clear and very good. Only bose qc 1 and 2nd gen are slightly cleaner audio but they also cost quite a bit more.
Yes, recommended.

Update:
still very happy. They stay in my ears. The tips don’t look any different than the pros 1 but they fit way better and don’t budge. Sound is a little muddy in the mids but not enough to be a problem. Turn up the volume a little and they seem to clear a bit. Compared to the bose qc 1, lows are really clean and clear and highs are good but not quite as clean as the bose. The added volume control on both sides is a great feature. The hold to change to ambient audio is not only as good as the previous pro but you can talk to someone with super clarity. Big improvement! Apple has truly done their homework with the 2nd gen. Liking them better and better. Great phone audio listening and the person on the other end says audio is clean and clear. Any complaints are non important nit picks if that. Lots of good improvements, added features and versatility are their strong point. Fit will be subjective to the wearer. If your fit is as good as mine, and you didn’t get the fit with the first gen, these will be a huge improvement. If fit is an issue, i think the bose qc 1 or 2 may be a good solution but for a lot of money. If you take ear bud listening seriously, it will be worth it but don’t write off the earbuds pro ii, they really are that good.

The big question, are these worth the upgrade? I’ve tested for hours and hours…

Upgrade from airpods pro 1st gen
yes, if you want a substantial improvement in audio quality and drastic improvement in noise cancellation. (fitment, audio quality, and noise cancellation further improved with some foam tips i got from foam masters. Tested other brands of tips, foam masters was the best across the board. Also eliminated the thud noise from each pace when running because the airpods bounce slightly with the stock silicone tips).
No, if you simply don’t need the latest and greatest. The 1st and 2nd gen airpods pros are identical in dimensions, but they now have a xs sized ear tip.

Upgrade from airpods 1, 2, or 3
i’ve tested the sound quality and this one blows them all out of the water in all audio quality, especially bass response. The active noise cancellation works terrifically. One note though, your ears may not be used to the in-ear tips. I almost returned my pros because of this. Memory foam tips helped solve this problem.

Upgrade from airpods max
the max’s audio drivers are much larger and delivers unmatched sound quality.

Audio testing
showed a very balanced sound profile with very nice bass response and clarity. Less muddiness when listening to music compared to the 1st gen. It’s incredible how apple was able to deliver this type of sound out of such a small device. I’ve tested earbuds like the samsung galaxy buds pro 1 and 2 and beats fit pro, these ones are much smaller and fit in your ear much quicker.

Noise cancellation
is so much better than before, almost 2x the difference in noise suppression across all frequencies. I’ve tested in multiple scenarios of controlled high traffic environments. They’re on the level of the airpods max, if not better!

Transparency mode
transparency mode on the airpods pro 2 are by far the best by far compared to all other major brands i’ve tested. Everything sounds realistic and you’re able to hear things clearly with distance, perspective, and spatial awareness. The other brands i’ve tested perform slightly worse in all 3 categories. (beats fit pro, samsung galaxy buds pro 1 & 2, and sony).

Here’s how memory foam tips enhanced my experience:
i was so close to returning my airpods pro for the 3rd time before finding a solution. Guys, try true memory foam ear tips for any fitment issues (bonus: slightly improved sound quality and noise cancellation). These may not be for everyone, but boy did these foam tips make me love my airpods pro so much more. In my first ownership of the airpods pro 1st gen, i suffered from ear fatigue/pain and fitment issues. I purchased the top 3 brands and tested them for months. Ultimately settled with foam masters for their unbeatable and comfortable fitment in my ears and unparalleled support in warranty and fitment guarantee. Huge plus is when i run, i get less bouncing noise that i’d get from the apple silicone tips. I highly recommend exploring this territory if you’re all about upgrades and seeking to bring out the most in your electronics and equipment.

These are perfect in every way possible. The sound, noise canceling, quality, battery life, everything. I originally had the airpods pro (1st gen) and the sony wf 1000 xm4. I liked everything about the sonys but i needed up using the airpods pro more even though the noise canceling, sound, and battery life was better on the sonys… Except for the comfort. The new airpods pro 2 though are everything i liked about the sonys but now way more practical, so much more comfortable. In the review, i’ll mention the sony wf 1000 xm4, as those were the best of the best, cost me $280

my thoughts on the apple airpods pro 2

impressions-
excellent quality. Same build as the first gen pros. The case has a speaker now and a place to attach a lanyard. Same unboxing as other airpods. Comes with usb c to lightning cable and 3 eartips- xs, s, l. No xl, the m is on the buds by default. The case feels nice really solid, lid is rock solid and doesn’t wobble. (one of my issues with my sonys was that the case didn’t feel worth the high price it was)

noise canceling
great, like true noise canceling. Not noise reduction, like you can’t hear anything. Kind of magical. Seriously be careful with how powerful it can be, i’ll be running with these in transparency. Neck and neck with my old sonys. Those were amazing to begin with, but with foam tips. I’d be interested to see if the noise canceling is better with foam tips on the airpods pro 2. Is it 2x better than the gen 1 pros? I don’t think it’s that much better but it’s for sure noticeably stronger. The fit of the buds is great, while still being comfortable.

Transparency mode
sounds like real life. Since they are so light, it adds to the experience. Have yet to test the adaptivity of it, but sounds great to me.

Microphone
slightly better than gen 1 pros. Sounds like an airpods mic. (not a bad thing) clear and blocks out background noise, good for at home or work.

Sound
these sound fantastic. More clear at lower volumes now. Bass is also improved. The surround sound feature is cool, but i like how stereo sounds because not all special audio songs are mastered perfectly.

Battery life
have yet to run the battery to zero. They are rated for 30 hours in the case and 6 hour earbud battery life. 6 hours is more than enough for almost all people. It’s nice that i can charge it with my apple watch charger now. Magsafe and qi also works. And of course so does lightning.

All and all, these are the best of the best. I have used the best of the best, but these i will use more than my old sonys and gen 1 pros because of how perfect they are. Apple hit every box this time around, and i was really impressed. Easy reccomendation for anyone, especially those already in the apple eco system.

Most noticeable upgrades:
-anc mic moved to top of bud
-now 4 different tips, (now including extra small tip)
-charging case now has a speaker, u1 chip, place to attach lanyard (lanyard not included), and can charge with watch charger
-swipe volume controls on side of airpods
-h2 chip in results in much better anc and adaptive transparency mode
-longer battery life, (up to 6 hours instead of 4.5)
-new amplifier and driver produce better sound, more bass, good performance at high volume

negatives:
-still no lossless playback support
-only ipx4 splash resistance
-could use better eq settings, more customization

overall thoughts:

these are definitely a significant upgrade from the previous airpods pro, and for apple users these are the clear choice over other options. The seamless integration and ease of use in the apple ecosystem makes it so nothing else can really compete if you use mainly apple products. If you’re not using an iphone, there are a few other earbuds that might outperform these in some categories, (like better water resistance, better sound or more eq customization), but these are at least competitive with most of the higher end brands.

Is it worth the upgrade from the previous gen airpods pro though? In my opinion, probably yes. The sound improvement is not huge, but it is noticeable to me, especially on songs with more bass. The anc is also a noticeable improvement, really blocking outside sounds in the noisiest environments. The transparency mode is better, the battery life is longer, and the ability to charge from even an apple watch charger is useful. Also being able to find the case if you misplace it, because of the built-in speaker, is a big deal. To me these are already enough reason to upgrade. Some people also may be big fans of the swipe to control volume feature on the stem. I feel like in this space, this is really just about the biggest upgrade you are going to get at once to a model of earbuds.

So overall, i’d give these a 4.5 / 5. In a year full of not-very-big-upgrades to the latest models of products (phones, watches, etc), this one actually stands out as a big improvement, and one of the few products i think is worth upgrading to this year.

Currently the gen 1 pros can be had for $169 and they were near perfect. Having coming from sony and bose, i bought the gen 1 a few years ago during a sale for $159 and it blew the sony and bose away. It was the only earbud that i can use in my bed with my head on the side. The transparency a clearly better than my sony and bose. The noise cancelling was good on all earbuds but i still preferred the apple airpod pros. Ever since then, i had been using the pros gen1 religiously everyday. By now the bose and sony are lost somewhere in my home and will probably show up one day when i move out of the house. If apple had raised the price of the pros to $250 and i had lost mine, i would pay $250, they are that good. I mean, i paid that much for the bose.

Now with the gen 2, i figured if it had a 5% improvement, i would be happy and keep it. Then i can dedicate my gen 1 to my bed use at night. So, the verdict? It is better, at least by 5% or more. The transparency seems to be almost natural as if i was not even wearing anything in my ears. Kind of unbelievable to me.

Apple took the airpods pro and made them slightly better at everything with some major improvements. The second generation has a useful case, better battery life, much better sound quality, noticeably improved noise cancellation, and an absurdly improved transparency mode.

Unlike the other features which were all slightly improved, transparency mode feels like an entirely new feature. Here’s what i noticed:
– outside noises are significantly more audible; i find it hard to tell a difference between them in or out.
– reduces loud noises down to a comfortable level.
– no soft static which i heard in my previous airpods pro.
– lastly, my favorite; directional hearing.

The first airpods pro transparency mode sounded as if audio were coming out of your left or right ear, while the second generation, honestly, doesn’t sound that different than if you weren’t to have them in at all. I am able to hear where sound is coming from much easier than the previous generation.

If you have a pair of airpods or airpods pro, selling them and buying the second-gen airpods won’t be a decision you regret.

For those few wondering, they work perfectly fine with android devices. Yes, including volume control!

When apple released the second-gen of their air pods pro, i was skeptical, what else could apple do do improve the noise cancelling and more importantly, the audio quality of the air pods pro.

With these, apple has finally done the ‘pro’ moniker right, these are stupendous for audio quality, spacial audio , noise cancelation and transparency mode, have all seen noticeable improvements, and if you were unsatisfied with the air pods pro for any reason including fit, or finding them, major concerns have been solved or alleviated. This makes choosing the air pods pro 2, a no brainer for birthday gifts, christmas gifts or more! I own beats studio buds, but these are truly in a class of their own!

Amazon gave me a new, sealed product, it arrived in 2 days (bless prime shipping, bless bezos) and it connected seamlessly to my iphone. I 100% recommend purchasing air pods pro 2 from amazon, and shout out amazon warehouse team for a seamless experience!

Have had the headphones for a couple of days after my beats pros from 2019 died. These headphones are the real deal all right. The noise canceling is effective and i love the fact that i can charge the headphones on my apple watch charger. I have not even taken the charging cable out of the box and i don’t plan to. Integrates seamlessly with the apple ecosystem. The find my feature is excellent too. So happy that they included this because i have a tendency to misplace things.

Only con with them is that the noise canceling is so good that i need to be a little more cognizant if i’m out on walks and i’m crossing the street. But of all cons to have, that’s my only one. Great headphones and highly recommend

Hoping that i received a fluke as these disconnect from my 13 pro on ios 16.0.2 quite often. Returning as it’s rather annoying when they quit working when you’re talking with someone on the phone or if you only walk a few feet away from your phone. I am buying another set in hopes they don’t have the same issue and i will come back with an update.

Update
i received another set to replace the ones i had originally ordered and they work beautifully, so far. Except, for marco polo. I’m unsure if it’s an app issue or an airpods issue, but they will disconnect when you are talking with the app. I’ve read that airpods gen 1 also has this issue. My beats pro do not have this issue.

Overall, when they work as intended, they’re amazing. Given i had to replace my first set and they disconnect from marco polo, i cannot give these a 5-star review.

The reviews made me so excited to order the airpods pro 2, and i was so excited to unbox. Then i was really disappointed because the sound is not that great at all. Just a bit better than the airpods pro 1. I’ve bought so many pairs of earbuds and headphones, and i gave away a lot too, so i can tell which ones are better. At this time, bose qc earbuds 2 are the best.

Update 10/4: i had to take off 1 star from bose qc 2 earbuds (from 5 to 4 stars) to give to airpods pro 2 due to the noise cancelling issue. I’m a light sleeper, and my partner snores loudly, so i need good anc earbuds to help me to sleep. The bose quietcomfort 2 earbuds are smaller than the earlier one, so i can sleep with them. However, they block only 60% of the snore sound while these airpods pro 2 earbuds block 90%, and they’re more comfortable to sleep with.

Sound quality is good, noise cancellation mode is impressive. The most important improvement is the working time which was extended from 2 hours up to 6 hours. The only issue i’m experiencing is sudden losing of the connection which didn’t happen with the previous version of airpods pro. Also i noticed that sound volume control on the headphones is very inconvenient, it’s quite hard to move it up and down. Also it turned out that the returning of the item is quite a pain on amazon which was a real surprise for me. In order to return the item back you need an approval from tech support, also the only delivery option is ups pick up which is not always convenient.

The airpods are amazing! But the upgrade is average. The only reason i got these was bc i lost my original pro’s two weeks ago and then heard these were coming out.

The sound quality doesn’t seem any better, but then again, i’m not an audiophile. The noise canceling and transparency mode were upgraded, but it doesn’t feel like 50% like apple claims.

Other than that, i’m really happy with these but would be just as happy with my original ones.

A really nice pair of earbuds, way better than previous gen but still a long way to go. I’ll keep my review short:

pros :
brilliant noise cancellation
crip highs and mids
volume controls are good

cons:
case cap is loose from the top and is really irritating- very bad quality control by apple
lows lack oomph

if you already have a airpod pro that you purchased within a year , you can wait this one out.

Cheers!

The improvement isn’t much compared to the previous generation, some minor improvements would it be worth to replace these with the previous version ? Depends if you talk on the phone all the time and the noise cancelling is relatively the same even though claims up to 2x i didn’t notice any difference probably a software thing they will fix whatever needs to be fixed with its upcoming few firmware updates

Upgraded from airpods gen 2, and the sound quality/bass is definitely way better. If you plan on getting these, order from amazon it’s a little bit cheaper than apple. Only complaint is, there is some pressure in my ears that is not going away thanks to the noise cancellation feature, but according to google, it should fade within a few days hopefully

Have the gen 1 as well. Audio quality is much improved but the anc claims of 2x better is not proving true. Maybe the pair i have are defective. Anc does not seems as good versus my gen 1 pros in a side by side comparison.

Worth the money! Sounds quality was great. The only problem i had was changing the earbud tips. Had to pull real hard, feeling like it was going to rip.

Thank you…