On Monday, October 28, Apple quietly announced their new AirPods Pro. The new ear buds are their latest attempt to “Pro” everything in their entire hardware line up. Recently we have seen new MacBook Pros, an all new Mac Pro, iPad Pros and the all-new iPhone 11 Pro. Completing 2019, Apple makes the third version of their wireless headphones, the AirPods Pro. Featuring active noise cancellation and several other new features, the AirPods Pro are impressing the tech community. We take a look at several AirPods Pro reviews.
AirPods Pro Reviews
Apple’s AirPods Pro are now available for order to the public and cost $249, via Apple. However, some retailers have already started discounting the units for holiday shoppers.
At next to 10M subscribers, MKBHD is one of the leading YouTube influencers in the tech industry. Covering the tech community from Tesla to Google Pixel to Apple, he always makes incredibly detailed videos for the common tech consumer.
Brownlee notes the brand new design, including the shorter stem. The squeeze to activate Active Noise Cancellation mode was strange to get used to at first. AirPods Pro uses a squeeze interaction instead of the AirPods previous generation. Given the short stem length, getting the squeeze gesture accurate takes some time to get used to. Even with the new interaction type, there is still no way to adjust the volume without talking to Siri or adjusting on iPhone / Apple Watch.
The newly designed case still easily fits in a pocket and is just slightly broader than the original AirPods case.
New silicon tips help the AirPods Pro fit better in Brownlee’s ears, as the previous generations did not fit as well for him. Noting, the AirPods Pro have a vent to let air into the ear canal, which prevents any form of pressure.
An Apple influencer out of LA, iJustine frequently gets invited to Apple media events. In this video she recaps her experience with AirPods Pro for her first week.
She initially notes that she was able to find the perfect fit, when adjusting through the three different sized silicon tips. But, the other sizes were falling out of her ears. She also noted the original AirPods did not fit for her, making a good case for the adjustable tips of AirPods Pro.
Sound quality for her “sounds good,” and bests competitors that she has been able to try. Other competitors in the space include Amazon and Microsoft, but Apple is still providing the biggest bang in the smallest sized package.
As the only long haired reviewer, she interestingly pointed out, the outside ANC microphone regularly picked up her hair brushing by the buds on transparency mode. Transparency mode is designed to let outside noise pass through the ear bud, primary for safety reasons on the road or for conversation. Unfortunately, she found her hair brushed against it and it amplified the sound for her.
Rene Ritchie, always long-winded and a lover of all things Apple, is not surprisingly extremely positive about the AirPods Pro. In the video above he speaks with fellow iMore editor, Lory Gil, in an almost vlog style video.
Gil notes they are more comfortable to her than Power Beats Pro ear buds, but cautions the cost prevents her from making a really strong recommendation. If you have AirPods, “it is an expensive upgrade, just to add noise cancelling.” She also mentions that if you have another pair of headphones with active noise cancellation, you may need to test the comparable audio quality before assuming the AirPods Pro are better.
She does make a strong close, stating she would be happy to trash all of her existing headphones in favor of the AirPods Pro, given the comfortability and easy to use. Ritchie follows, stating they aren’t the absolute best sounding headphones he has used, but the “silicon and the sensors” make the package worthwhile. The total functionality of them being mini in ear computers vs just sound quality, the holistic look puts them ahead.
