In terms of design, the AirPods Pro looks practically identical to the original AirPods. There’s a slight difference when the front portion is examined closely; the AirPods Pro has a wider design to accommodate the soft silicone tips for the purpose of fit, comfort and noise cancellation efficiency. Speaking of tips, the AirPods Pro ear tips come in three different sizes.
Table of Contents
- Apple AirPods Pro: Noise Cancellation Technology
- What’s Inside The Apple AirPods Pro?
- Apple AirPods Pro Silicone Tips
- AirPods Pro Durability
- Apple AirPods Sound Quality
- Apple AirPods Pro Battery Life
- Apple AirPods Size
- How do the Apple AirPods Pro Fit?
- Apple AirPods Pro Transparency Mode
- AirPods Pro Connectivity
- Apple AirPods Pro Verdict
Apple AirPods Pro: Noise Cancellation Technology
One of the main features of the Airpods Pro is its two microphones combined with advanced software that gives the listeners a uniquely customized and superior noise canceling experience.
There’s also a built-in Transparency mode that users can toggle to explore different listening options. Users can listen to music with Active Noise Cancellation turned on while still hearing the ambient environment surrounding them.
Technically, the AirPods Pro are the first in-ear earbuds of Apple Inc. to feature Active Noise Cancellation technology. However, Apple has already used noise cancellation technology on the on-ear Beats headphones. ANC and Apple’s advanced software controls the product by leveraging two microphones and providing algorithms that allow sound to adapt to each listener’s ear.
The first microphone allows the AirPods Pro to counter external sounds with anti-noise tech that cancels the noises before reaching the ear. Meanwhile, the second microphone fine tunes any remaining noise and fine tunes the noise cancellation. The noise cancellation tech of the AirPods Pro can continuously adapt to any sound signal 200 times per second.
What’s Inside The Apple AirPods Pro?
The Apple AirPods Pro is powered with a new vent system that is specifically designed to equalize pressure to minimize the discomfort that’s commonly experienced with most in-ear designs. Apple AirPods Pro is also designed to have a better fit to give users a more comfortable listening experience.
Just like the AirPods 2, the Apple AirPods Pro are powered by Apple’s proprietary H1 chip that powers real time active noise cancellation, the handsfree “Hey, Siri” support and Adaptive EQ feature. With the “Hey, Siri” feature, you can adjust volume range levels, skip tracks and enjoy many more hands free options with the Airpods Pr.
As mentioned earlier, the AirPods Pro uses an H1 chip, a 10-core tech that’s also present in the second generation of AirPods and Beats Solo Pro. According to Apple, the chip has a System in Package design that is meticulously arranged to give listeners a superior experience in terms of fit, stability and comfort.
Apple AirPods Pro Silicone Tips
The silicone tips of the AirPods Pro are a tad larger than the prior version, hence, it is understandable that it also has a wider charging case. The case of the AirPods Pro has a longer, horizontal dimension but don’t worry, it is still pocketable and easy to carry around.
The silicone tips of the Apple AirPods are available in three sizes – small, medium and large- to ensure that users get a comfortable fit in the ears. Each tip clicks right into place making them easy to swap or replace. Each tip is tapered to conform to the inner ear’s shape and to help in keeping the AirPods Pro securely in place. The earbuds are specifically designed to conform to the unique contours of the ears, offering not only comfort but a better and tighter seal, which is highly critical for effective noise cancellation.
AirPods Pro Durability
The AirPods Pro has an IPX4 rating and is water resistant, which means that it can withstand splashes of water regardless of the direction that it’s coming from. This means that the AirPods Pro should be tough enough to withstand light rain and sweat. However, don’t go submerging them in water because it will not survive.
Apple AirPods Sound Quality
The Apple AirPods Pro has an Adaptive EQ feature that is mainly responsible for the superior sound quality. The Adaptive EW feature tunes the mid and low frequencies of the music to match the shape of a user’s ear for a truly rich and immersive listening experience like no other.
The AirPods Pro also boasts of an improved bass performance compared to its predecessors. Basically, the AirPods Pro is known to have a better overall sound quality than the original AirPods. The underlying reason why these buds have more bass than the original version is because of its noise isolating design and driver that are specifically tuned for that purpose.
The original AirPods sound pretty decent in quiet places but because of its open design, they tend to not function very well when battered with external noise and the bass frequencies all get drowned out. The noise cancellation is effective and helps with minimizing external noise, thanks to the ear tips seal.
Apple AirPods Pro Battery Life
The Apple AirPods Pro has five hours of playback time on a single charge without Active Noise Cancelling. When the ANC feature is turned on, users get to use the AirPods Pro for a shorter time, around four hours or four and a half hours. Additionally, with the ANC turned on, users get at least three and a half hours of talk time for calls.
The AirPods Pro has a wireless charging case that supports Qi-based wireless charging. It can also be charged via Lightning with the use of USB-C to Lightning cable. With the charging case, users can enjoy more than 24 hours of extra listening or playback time and more than 18 hours of extra talk time, perfect for individuals who find themselves always on a call.
Apple AirPods Size
As mentioned earlier, the AirPods Pro are wider than the original version, measuring 21.88 wide and and 30.99 tall. However, it is not as tall as the classic AirPods, so you get a chubbier but shorter version.
Understandably, since the AirPods Pro are wider than the original AirPods, the wireless charging case of the former is also a tad bigger, measuring 60.6mm wide, 21.7mm thick and 45.2mm tall.
How do the Apple AirPods Pro Fit?
One of the critical factors that influence our choice to purchase a pair of headphones is its comfort. The AirPods Pro are marketed to have an innovative vent system that helps in equalizing pressure in the ears to minimize or reduce any discomfort that’s commonly caused by in-ear designs. Basically, Apple was aiming to give AirPods Pro users the experience of feeling like there’s nothing in their ears while listening to music or taking calls. The Apple AirPods Pro also comes with an expanded mesh microphone port designed to improve quality of calls in windy situations. Apple has been marketing the AirPods Pro to have a customizable fit, but realistically speaking, there are other brands and models in the market that provide a better and magical fit.
Apple AirPods Pro Transparency Mode
Apple AirPods has a transparency mode option that allows users to still be able to listen to the environment around them even with ANC. The life of the transparency mode benefits from the vent system of the AirPods Pro to help tone down the ANC and allows users to hear traffic, terminal announcements and more while still listening to their favorite podcast, TV shows, YouTube videos or while making a call.
Another obvious reason why iOS users prefer the AirPods Pro than most headphones or earbuds available in store is because it is compatible with Apple products such as the iPod, iPod Touch,iPhone, iPad and Mac OS computer.
Airpods ANC and Transparency modes can be automatically activated on the AirPods Pro or by pressing the volume slider in the Control Center of the iPad or iPhone so you can be directed to the Control Center settings. The Transparency mode can also be activated by pressing or holding the Force Sensor on the AirPods Pro stem. This tech can effectively switch between the dynamic Transparency mode and ANC technology.
AirPods Pro Connectivity
The AirPods Pro connects automatically to any iPhone or Apple device. The H1 chip also supports the fast switching between any Apple devices thanks to the iCloud. With the iOS 14, the Apple AirPods are flexible enough to switch between Apple Watch, iPhone, Mac, iPad and other Apple devices with no need to access Bluetooth controls.
The AirPods Pro also has Audio Sharing, an iOS 13 feature that allows multiple Beats headphones or AirPods to connect to a single iOS device so more than one listener can enjoy music, play a movie or TV series and more. Do take note that Audio Sharing is only limited to iPhone 8, the iPad Air, 5th generation iPad, 5th generation iPad mini, all iPad Pro models and 7th generation iPod touch.
The Apple AirPods 2 also have dual optical sensors – the inward facing microphone and dual beamforming-, a speech detecting accelerometer and a motion detecting accelerometer which support power features like “Hey, Siri” detection, pausing audio when AirPods Pro are removed, to name a few. AirPods Pro is powered by Bluetooth 5.0 technology.
With iOS 14, the AirPods Pro gives users a sign if the earbuds need to be charged. There’s also a Battery Health feature that helps preserve the battery life of the AirPods Pro.
Apple AirPods Pro Verdict
Is the Apple AirPods Pro worth purchasing? Yes, of course, especially if you are an Apple device user. You can enjoy the seamless pairing and connection and the noise cancellation is superb. The Apple AirPods Pro gets a thumbs up emoji from us and it’s definitely one of the earbuds in the market that’s got a good game.
Looking for a cheaper AirPods alternative? Check out our Eargo Neo earbuds review.
