Welcome to our comprehensive review round-up of Apple’s latest innovation, the AirPods Pro 2nd generation with USB-C! Designed for sound geeks, tech-savvy aficionados, and ardent Apple enthusiasts, this is a game-changer in the world of wireless audio technology. These earbuds promise a captivating audio experience that aligns with Apple’s stellar reputation for producing industry-topping products.
Here’s a quick recap of what’s new:
- Improved dust resistance (IP54 rating)
- USB-C replaces Lightning for charging port on the case
- Lossless audio when paired with the yet-to-be-released Apple Vision Pro
Besides the details mentioned above, everything remains the same as the AirPods Pro 2nd generation released in September 2022. We elaborate more on the above differences in our news post.
Reviews
Looking at Brad Bennett’s review for fellow Canadian site MobileSyrup, he focused more on the software as opposed to the change to USB-C:
Apple’s AirPods Pro can now detect when you’re in a conversation, lower the volume, and temporarily shift out active noise-cancelling (ANC). It’s smarter than I expected, extending the magic of the AirPods Pro substantially, and that’s not even the most impressive update.
The Verge’s review from Chris Welch talks in depth about the adaptive audio feature that released along with iOS 17:
Adaptive Audio is meant to be a set-it-and-forget-it mode that blends active noise cancellation and transparency, canceling loud distractions where needed while also helping you stay present in your environment. In my experience so far, this feature rarely cancels my surroundings to the same degree as the full noise cancellation mode (I wouldn’t use it on a plane), but it reduces outside sound enough to not take away from my music — even at lower volumes. To my ears so far, it’s basically an even smarter version of the adaptive transparency that Apple debuted with last year’s AirPods Pro.
Over at Pocket-lint, Britta O’Boyle questions whether you really need to upgrade to the USB-C version of the AirPods Pro:
When it comes to audio performance and battery performance, the AirPods Pro 2nd Generation (USB-C) are on par with their 2022 predecessor so there’s no real reason to upgrade at this stage – particularly with a lot of the new features coming through to them via a firmware update too.
Finally, Brian Heater’s review at TechCrunch talks about the potential of lossless audio and what could be when the Vision Pro is released:
In addition to its appearance in the AirPods Pro, the chip can also be found in the Vision Pro — an aspect about the headset the company hasn’t revealed until now. What that means in practical terms is that the headset is effectively built for Apple’s headphones. How’s that for ecosystem play? When the two are paired, you’ll get 20-bit, 48kHz lossless audio at ultra-low latency. Given how spatial audio on headphones give the listener a sense of location, it’s easy to see how the two will ultimately pair nicely together. Of course, that specific experience is something we’ll have to save for another day, closer to the Vision Pro launch, I suppose.
Videos
I’d like to leave you with a couple unboxing/review videos of the new AirPods Pro 2nd generation from Matthew Moniz and Brian Tong:
