The AirPods Pro charging case now has a speaker and lanyard holes (lanyard not included). (Rick Broida/Yahoo)
Let me save you some time: The 2nd-generation Apple AirPods Pro are a little bit better than the first-generation AirPods Pro. Thanks for reading, see ya.
Hang on, my boss says I have to say more things. OK: AirPods Pro are Apple's noise-canceling wireless earbuds and a high-ranking member of our best wireless earbuds list. The second-generation version, released in 2022 (and updated in 2023 with USB-C charging to match the iPhone 15), builds on that with a few incremental improvements — nothing you can't live without, but all very nice to have.
The big game-changer, however, arrived here in late 2024: Thanks to new software updates, AirPods Pro (2nd gen) now double as hearing aids. FDA-authorized hearing aids. They also offer hearing protection and even a hearing test.
All that makes a solid argument for 1st-gen AirPods Pro owners to upgrade, and it certainly makes the case for choosing these over other earbuds. Here's my AirPods Pro 2 review, with updates related to the amazing new hearing features.
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The one and only. Already notable for their great sound quality and noise canceling, Apple's renowned buds are even better now, endowed as they are with FDA-authorized hearing-aid capabilities.
Before we dive in, a quick note about AirPods Pro 2 pricing: Apple lists them at $249, but for some time they've been routinely discounted at stores like Amazon, Best Buy and Target. At this writing, for example, you can order them from Amazon for $199, which has been the "sale" price for the bulk of 2024 (and a good chunk of 2023). During the holiday season and events like Prime Day, the price tag often drops below $190 or even $170. Bottom line: Do not pay list.
It's hard to tell the 2nd-gen AirPods Pro apart from their predecessors. Save for a tiny new sensor on top, they're nearly identical. As before — to paraphrase Henry Ford — you can have them in any color you want, as long as it's white.
Fit is super-important for any earbuds, so Apple expanded the three silicone ear-tip options to include a fourth, extra-small, size. I've always found the pre-installed medium tips to be the right fit for me, but my wife is happier with the next size down. The key is to make sure you get a really good seal when you wiggle the earbuds into your ears; be prepared to experiment with the different tip sizes to find that optimal placement. Thankfully, a newly added "ear-tip test" will help you do exactly that.
The charging case is the same size as before, but now has a small speaker embedded in the bottom. That's so you can hear beeps when activating the Find My feature on your iPhone, which is helpful if the case goes missing. You can charge it via a USB-C cable (the Lightning version has been discontinued), a MagSafe or Qi charging pad, or (and this is new) an Apple Watch charger. Apple promises up to six hours of listening time on a charge, an hour longer than 1st-gen AirPods Pro, and up to 30 hours total via the case (a six-hour improvement).
The earbuds themselves have the same single-control button embedded along each stem, but now it's touch-sensitive — you can swipe up or down to raise or lower volume. That's a welcome addition, though it's a little awkward: You can't help but graze your ear at the same time, especially when you swipe up. It feels like part of your ear is in the way.
The major news here is Apple's "next-level" active noise canceling (ANC), which is not only "smarter," thanks to a new H2 chip, but also "up to two times more powerful." Promises like these are challenging to bear out; I consider the 1st-gen AirPods Pro virtually unrivaled when it comes to ANC, so it's hard to say the new ones are twice as good.
Similarly, it's tough to test the upgraded Adaptive Transparency mode, which allows you to hear external sounds (an important safety feature for outdoor activities like jogging) but aims to minimize the intensity of things like sirens and machinery. This might prove valuable for someone who lives in a bustling big city, but here in the suburbs, it's not much of a value-add. For what it's worth, I tried playing a loud siren sound on YouTube and noticed no meaningful reduction. Your mileage may vary.
I do like the upgraded in-ear detection, which solves a problem with the original AirPods Pro: If you stuck them in your pocket, they'd probably think they were in your ears and resume playback. Here, a new sensor actually detects skin (!), so false readings are much less likely.
In a word: superb. I've tested a lot of wireless earbuds, and the new AirPods Pro are not only among the most comfortable for long-term wear, but also some of the best-sounding. I'm no fidelity snob; I tend to be pretty satisfied even when listening to budget earbuds like the Baseus Bowie MA10. But with the AirPods Pro, music sounds rich, detailed and perfectly balanced. Chalk it up to Apple's Adaptive EQ or any number of other factors; my jaded ears are impressed.
Of course, I felt that way about the 1st-gen AirPods Pro; I'm not sure there's an order-of-magnitude improvement here. Similarly, Apple's spatial-audio improvements — which employ the iPhone's camera to scan your ears (!) and adjust the sound accordingly — are a bit lost on me. Make no mistake, spatial audio was already a cool feature: When you're watching, say, a Netflix video on your phone, it keeps the sound "fixed" in front of you, even when you turn your head. It's hardly essential, but definitely neat. Does the new "custom geometry" created by the ear scan make spatial audio noticeably better? Not that I've noticed. I wasn't able to test the feature on a group FaceTime call, which Apple says will sound "like you're in the same room with friends and family." (Wait, are we sure we even want that?)
AirPods are also superb for phone calls, something to consider if you like to walk and talk or you spend a lot of time in Zoom meetings.
Following the arrival of iOS 18.1 and a firmware update, AirPods Pro inherited three new features, all designed to protect or improve your hearing.
First, there's Hearing Protection, which is exactly what it sounds like; the combination of ANC and the noise-isolating silicone seal of the ear tips helps reduce your ears' exposure to loud, potentially damaging sound: lawnmowers, concerts, etc. It's enabled by default when you use any of the AirPods' ANC modes.
Next, there's Hearing Assistance, which starts with the third feature: a hearing test. It takes about five minutes and needs to be conducted in a quiet space. I found it a little weird because when no tones were playing, I could hear myself breathing and wasn't sure if that was interfering with hearing some of the quieter ones.
Thankfully, my test revealed "little to no loss" in either ear, though I still had the option of enabling Media Assist to "improve the clarity of music, video, and phone calls." I did so, but can't say I noticed any immediate difference.
Had there been mild or moderate hearing loss, I could have enabled Hearing Aid, which is also exactly what it sounds like: The AirPods Pro become actual hearing aids. When I toggled on this feature, nothing happened. Turns out it works only in Transparency mode; I'm surprised Apple didn't note this on the Hearing Aid settings page or automatically enable it.
From there I was able to adjust things like amplification and background-noise reduction. I could definitely tell the differences, though, again, I'm (luckily) proceeding from a place where I don't need them. Anecdotally, it seems like most folks who try the AirPods Pro as hearing aids are pleased with them. Just be sure to take note of battery life: six hours (maximum) until the earbuds need to recharge. That's nowhere near enough to get through a full day.
I do have a few nitpicks. First, although the updated charging case has holes for adding a wrist-strap lanyard, Apple doesn't include one. That's pretty annoying, since it would probably cost the company pennies to toss one in the box. As it stands, you can buy a multicolor lanyard 10-pack for around $6.
Second, one mystifying issue remains: The case's front LED lights up orange when connected to power, but then it goes dark after a few seconds. Want to know the charging status without peeking at the battery widget on your Apple device? You have to tap or open the case to make the LED come on again. This wouldn't be a big deal if, say, the LED turned green when charging was complete, but it doesn't. There's literally no indication that it's actively charging or finished charging.
Yes, you can check the charge-status widget on your phone, but that's an added hassle. This makes zero sense to me.
In a word: yes. Although the 2nd-generation AirPods Pro offer only incremental improvements over their predecessor, the bar was already extremely high. And the new hearing features, available only on the 2nd-gen earbuds, are a big deal. (Note that the AirPods 4 released a couple months ago don't currently support those features, despite incorporating ANC.)
Indeed, if you're trying to decide between AirPods Pro and another set of wireless earbuds, I wholeheartedly recommend the former — especially to iPhone owners. (Android users are likely to be disappointed; although AirPods can pair with an Android phone, many of the best features aren't available.)
Much of the AirPods' "secret sauce" lies in integration: Siri for hands-free voice commands, Find My to locate lost 'buds and seamless transitions between iPhone, iPad, MacBook, etc.. Just as the Apple Watch is the best smartwatch for iPhone users, AirPods Pro are undeniably the best earbuds.