So I have been using the 3rd generation AirPods since it was released exactly a year ago, and while I have been living fine without Noise Cancellation and other pro features that has in the AirPods Pro, there were sometimes which I wished that it was just a bit better when it comes to the fitting since it has no silicone ear tips and of course sometimes I just wish that I could just block out all the noise around me when I’m in the gym or even in a cafe as well.

So with that, while I did review the first-generation AirPods Pro but did not end up owning one, I was really looking forward to get my hands on this new, 2nd-generation AirPods Pro and give you my experience, and let you know the key differences between the previous generation and this new 2nd-generation AirPods Pro. With just one look, it seems underwhelming because it looks exactly the same as the first generation AirPods Pro, but let me tell you this – all the best features lie underneath this device.

 

Unboxing

So the unboxing process was a similar experience to the previous generation AirPods Pro, where the box comes in white with the visuals of the AirPods Pro earbuds in the middle of the box.

Then at the bottom side of the box, there is a text that indicates that this is the 2nd generation AirPods Pro.

Then at the back of the box, you will see the visuals of the AirPods Pro once again but this time around with the charging case, and here is where you will need to pull off the two sticker tabs to open the box.

Opening the box, you will find a very extensive setup guide, and some other leaflets as well.

Next, there is the AirPods Charging Case, with the AirPods inside, of course.

Underneath, there is the USB-C to Lightning Cable.

And the extra ear tips, with the new XS size, which has been introduced specifically for this new generation AirPods Pro.

 

Design & Build

So this design is so unmistakable and loved by many across the world. So, Apple thought: “Hey, why should we change it?” 

If you look at this MagSafe Charging Case, it is almost identical but it now has a built-in speaker at the bottom and a lanyard loop on the side.

It is made of the same high-quality glossy white polycarbonate material and measures at 45.2mm x 60.6mm x 21.7mm, which is slightly smaller than the first-gen. 

It is, however, slightly heavier at 50g compared to the original 45.6g.

The earbuds themselves retain the iconic stem design with the exact weight and dimensions of the old. 

A couple of the microphones and sensors have been repositioned, and as you can see here over here, one of the microphone inlets is concave, and the indented grille is also new on the 2022 earbuds.

Now, another thing that is new is the skin detection sensor that was first introduced in the 3rd-generation AirPods replacing the Optical Sensor on the previous generation, which allows for a more accurate auto-pause when removing the earbuds from your ears.

If you loved the original Pros, then you will love these too, as they also fit in the ears in the same way. As seen in the unboxing, there are also the XS-sized silicone ear tips to make it four sets of sizes for a better fit. Now, you might be thinking: “Oh, it’s just an extra ear tip? Big deal!” Well, IT IS a big deal! Because you have no idea how underrated having the right ear tips can be when it comes to getting the best audio experience on any earbuds as well!

Speaking of the ear tips, one thing that I loved about the ear tips for both of these AirPods Pro, whether or not it’s the 1st or the 2nd generation, is the fact that there is a mesh inside of the ear tips as well, so this prevents to have any dirt or dust from going directly into the speaker of the AirPods Pro, and I love how easy it is to take out and put back the ear tips on the earbuds.

Now, both case and earbuds are IPX4 rated, so they’re sweat and water-resistant but please don’t go swimming with them!

 

Hardware & Features

So, as mentioned, much of the good stuff with the AirPods Pro 2 lies underneath the hood. First up is the new H2 chip that powers new capabilities and enhances the old, like the Active Noise Cancellation, which Apple says is twice as good. Then the 2nd-generation AirPods Pro reduces noise by sampling incoming sound 48,000 times per second.

The H2 chip also powers the Transparency Mode, now updated with the Adaptive Transparency feature which is designed to reduce loud environmental noise, including blaring sirens, construction tools, and other annoying consistent sounds.

Then there is also the Adaptive EQ and Personalized Spatial Audio, where the Adaptive EQ helps to improve the sound quality by taking into account the shape of your ears as it uses computational audio and the updated internal mic to optimize the sound for you. 

As for the Personalized Spatial Audio, you can use your iPhone’s camera to take a photo of the shape of your ears to customize the experience and the sensors in your AirPods Pro and the iPhone can track the motion of your head and your device to remap the sound dynamically. So this gives you a more 360-degree immersive audio experience and this can actually make Group FaceTime calls to make it feel like the participants are actually all around you.

The AirPods Pro also supports the latest Bluetooth 5.3 specification for enhanced reliability and energy efficiency.

Each earbud has an 11mm low distortion audio driver and a custom amplifier which gives you a richer, deeper bass and crystal-clear audio at all volume levels.

What’s cool about this new AirPods Pro is the touch sensor on each bud that allows you to adjust the volume by sliding up and down at the force sensor part of the stem, where each swipe gives you a single graduation of the increase of volume, which is similar to how your volume rockers work on your phone. Now, this works very well and it is a feature that I really love on these new earbuds!

The microphone array also sounds pretty good overall under ideal conditions. But sometimes when it comes to a slightly noisier environment like in the office or especially in the street, the buds try to cancel out unpredictable noise and may affect voice quality, but still very much audible.

[Check out my Youtube video for the microphone test based on different scenarios]

In terms of the MagSafe Charging Case, it comes with a U1 chip which allows it to work with the Precision Finding in the Find My app with the iPhone. So in case you misplaced the charging case, no worries because you can fire up the Find My app and locate it. It will play a sound now since there is a built-in speaker right underneath.

Battery wise, the AirPods Pro 2 improved compared to the previous generation because it now offers up to 6 hours of listening time or 5.5 hours with Spatial Audio and also Head Tracking. The battery capacity is 49.7 mAh on each bud, which is 15% more than the previous generation. 

Then the charging case has 523 mAh of battery. With the case, the AirPods Pro 2 can give you up to 30 hours of listening time and 24 hours of talk time before needing to be juiced again, and I got quite close results with volume at maximum when listening to music casually or even more so during my daily workout.

I also love the fact that there are a variety of ways for you to charge the AirPods Pro 2, either through the MagSafe charger, wired charging through the Lightning cable, or any Qi-based wireless charger, or even using the Apple Watch charger!

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And by the way, just 5 minutes of charging in the case can give you about 1 hour of listening or talk time!

 

Software

As you may know, there isn’t an actual main app for the AirPods. Everything is manageable on the AirPods Pro 2 within the iOS Settings app. With iOS 16, the AirPods at least now has its own section within the Settings. Well, they do deserve it, don’t they?

Since all you have to do is to make sure that you have your Bluetooth turned on on your iPhone, then open the charging case lid when it comes to the overall setup, and it immediately pops the card to connect to your phone.

Within the app you can access lots of great things, which also include the important ones, like the Ear Tip Fit Test, and selecting your listening mode, ANC to turn on and off, and Transparency Mode to turn on and off. And also, you can customize the tap-and-hold function for each earbud and you can even dictate whether or not the left or right bud mics are used for phone calls, or you can set it to “Automatically Switch AirPods” as well.

AirPods Pro 2 also supports Audio Sharing from an iPhone, meaning you can use your iPhone to stream audio to two separate Apple headsets with 48-kiloHertz cinema quality as well. You can simply just open the Control Center, tap the media player to enlarge it, then choose to stream to your AirPods and another. 

 

Performance

Now, there is a reason why the AirPods Pro was so highly-acclaimed and popular. They simply sounded good, especially with the impressive active noise cancellation and it will give you a fantastic user experience. If you are an Apple user, there is nothing better than having these kind of features.

But since it already has been three years since the previous generation AirPods Pro, how does this sound and is it better in terms of the sound quality?

Well the short answer is: They sound amazing. It may not be a HUGE leap over the previous AirPods Pro but they are still the best-sounding earbuds to date. Audio is very clean, consistent, crisp and most dynamic across all genres and also audio formats, whether or not you’re listening to music, podcasts, watching movies, or even playing games as well.

Sound stage is wide for the buds, and the dynamic range is also great. Overall clarity is also better, and the separation of frequencies in the low and high end is also balanced out nicely. The mids are super nice and sexy too! But when it comes to the bass though, it is no match to the Sony WF-1000XM4, if you really need those bassier track feels.

Using the regular test tracks on Apple Music, I found that the AirPods Pro 2 enjoyable and consistent throughout. 

> Link to my test tracks – https://music.apple.com/my/playlist/2022-audio-quality-test/pl.u-e98lGp5i2pG1a7

 

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)

When it comes to ANC, I cannot “qualify” Apple’s claims of 2x better than the previous generation, but I can tell you that the noise-cancellation was simply remarkable! 

This was very apparent in environments like construction, commuting or even in a noisy cafe, that I found that consistent noises like hearing the water tap running, air cond sound or even the sounds of vibration with a higher pitch to be almost completely gone!

Transparency works pretty much like before, with very natural and effortless sounding. But the new Adaptive Transparency is incredibly useful though, as the buds would automatically scale down the volume of any harsh noises it detects when it is in Transparency mode.

Recently I went for a jamming session with my old bandmates, and I got to try this Adaptive Transparency mode, and I found that it worked perfectly as opposed to wearing traditional ear plugs, as I could hear every instruments very well, from the drums to the bass, to even my vocals as well, without sounding very loud as it brought down the overall sound levels to below 85dB.

Now, I haven’t been to a rock concert or any outdoor concert to use this, if I really needed to, but I probably have to test it out later on if I get an opportunity to do so.

And also as mentioned earlier, I love the new volume touch controls because now I don’t have to always reach for my iPhone to lower or raise the volume. It’s almost something that I took for granted, which I definitely can really appreciate now.

The new addition of the built-in speaker in the charging case is really great because it is pretty loud too when it rings. Now, another great touch is there is also a little jingle sound that it makes when it starts charging. And there is also the option to engrave your Memoji to the AirPods Pro 2’s charging case as well.

 

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, there is absolutely nothing not to love about this brand-new AirPods Pro 2. I know they don’t look different, but Apple has upgraded and improved things that matter, specifically in the audio department, the noise cancellation and also the transparency mode.

They sound fantastic, they fit well, and of course the software-hardware integration is second to none. I just can’t find any fault in them, especially knowing the fact that Apple has retained the original pricing of RM1,099 for the AirPods Pro 2, which makes it a very compelling buy if you’re an iPhone, iPad, or even a Mac user.