The fact that they could build all this capable into such a small package in incredible enough. But then I get to this feature: What the hell!? The wonders of the modern age will never cease to...
The fact that they could build all this capable into such a small package in incredible enough. But then I get to this feature:
The Ear Tip Fit Test helps ensure users get the best audio experience from AirPods Pro by testing the quality of the seal and identifying the best ear tip size for them. After placing AirPods Pro in each ear, advanced algorithms work together with the microphones in each AirPod to measure the sound level in the ear and compare it to what is coming from the speaker driver. In just seconds, the algorithm detects whether the ear tip is the right size and has a good fit, or should be adjusted to create a better seal.
What the hell!? The wonders of the modern age will never cease to amaze me.
I love my 1st gen AirPods. After a decade of only using the iPhone-included Apple earbuds or cheap third-party replacements, the price tag was a hard pill to swallow. But in my mind it was worth...
I love my 1st gen AirPods. After a decade of only using the iPhone-included Apple earbuds or cheap third-party replacements, the price tag was a hard pill to swallow. But in my mind it was worth it just to not have to deal with spaghetti-tangled and flaky, shorting-out cords. I can't tell you the number of times a pair of wired earbuds have been ripped from my ears after I snagged them on something walking around the house. Like a hapless klutz in an infomercial, I somehow always managed to find a way to get tangled up in the thing, or rip my phone violently out of my pocket, or some other frequent annoyance.
It's so nice for that entire category of mishap to just be completely removed from my life. I also appreciate the protective charging case, and the extremely fast time-to-listen. The battery life, though not as good as it once was, is still plenty for my needs. On the rare occasion I do drain the batteries, I can alternate charging one at a time so it doesn't disrupt my listening... and they charge fast. It feels silly to say, but AirPods really are one of Apple's best products. I do wish they were more environmentally friendly, but I have a feeling if you added up all the crappy headphones I've had to toss out over the years, they're significantly more damaging. Even then, headphones are small enough products that we should really be looking in more impactful places to change our environmental impact, first.
Anyway, AirPods won me over, and this model is very interesting. Some of the improvements are most welcome, like the better fit, waterproofing, and wireless charging case (the latter isn't new to this model but mine doesn't have it). I'm not convinced the active noise cancelation fits my use case. I want to hear what's going on around me while I listen. I wonder if there's a way to turn that off, or use the onboard mics to include ambient noise in the output mix. And $250? Affording the first gen was a stretch, but I really don't know if I can justify THIS much.
Also: According to the press release the plural is "AirPods Pro"? Doesn't that break with Apple conventions?
John Gruber has been using “iPhones 6” etc for a while, which I doubt he’d do if there were a style guide to the contrary. How else would they pluralize them here, though? AirPod Pros? That would...
John Gruber has been using “iPhones 6” etc for a while, which I doubt he’d do if there were a style guide to the contrary.
How else would they pluralize them here, though? AirPod Pros? That would be terrible for the brand identity; you’d have both “AirPods” (classic) and “AirPod” as promoted brand words, but then the whole product family would still be referred to as “AirPods”. Plus you’d have to deal with people actually using the word “pros” out loud.
For those wondering, Gruber remarked on his naming schema here:
For those wondering, Gruber remarked on his naming schema here:
The last four years, I’ve coyly titled my iPhone reviews “The iPhones 6”, “The iPhones 6S”, “The iPhones 7”, and “The iPhones 8”. That’s not how most people would pluralize these iPhone pairs (but some would — there’s some legitimate precedent with pluralizations like “mothers-in-law” and “attorneys general” where the adjective comes after the noun).
I'm fairly sure I've only heard Apple officially refer to their products in the singular, as a proper noun (not preceded by an article). So they might say... Sharing files with another iPhone is...
I'm fairly sure I've only heard Apple officially refer to their products in the singular, as a proper noun (not preceded by an article). So they might say...
Sharing files with another iPhone is easy...
All your favorite movies are available on Apple TV...
If you have more than one MacBook Pro...
...instead of phrasing the same things like this...
Sharing files between iPhones is easy...
All your favorite movies are available on Apple TVs (or "the Apple TV")...
If you have multiple MacBooks Pro (or "MacBook Pros")...
I think they were forced into an awkward spot this time because AirPods is already plural. I don't believe I've seen this happen with Apple before now.
As someone who despises ANC—there's nothing quite as suffocating as being in a busy urban environment with zero contextual awareness of your surroundings—I don't see much point in upgrading right...
As someone who despises ANC—there's nothing quite as suffocating as being in a busy urban environment with zero contextual awareness of your surroundings—I don't see much point in upgrading right now from my regular set of 1st-generation AirPods, despite the increasingly mediocre battery life I'm receiving (yay, non-replaceable, non-serviceble batteries).
The waterproofing is a nice touch, which will eventually make these the set of earphones I upgrade to when my AirPods become useless.
Not quite sure what to make of some things Apple have mentioned in the product notes, they make it sound as if regular double tapping of the AirPods to advance tracks is no longer a thing, replaced by this "force sensor" instead, which ergonomically seems like a slower action than just quickly tapping anywhere on the AirPod.
The improved sound quality and silicone inserts are big wins in my book, but I just bought my AirPods earlier this year. Maybe I'll feel it's time to upgrade around the time these Pros get...
The improved sound quality and silicone inserts are big wins in my book, but I just bought my AirPods earlier this year. Maybe I'll feel it's time to upgrade around the time these Pros get refreshed.
The battery issue gets brought up a lot. I'm curious if there is a practical way to design these to allow replaceable batteries without making them bulkier. I would feel more comfortable if Apple could show us some process by which they can recycle the raw materials in used AirPods, like they are able to with old phones and laptops. I guess ultimately the waste generated by a pair of AirPods that last two years is low even compared to a plastic bottle of soda.
If you're throwing out the batteries then you're already committing 98% of the AirPods' mass to the landfill. (And the most environmentally toxic part at that). The remainder of the AirPods is a...
I'm curious if there is a practical way to design these to allow replaceable batteries without making them bulkier
If you're throwing out the batteries then you're already committing 98% of the AirPods' mass to the landfill. (And the most environmentally toxic part at that). The remainder of the AirPods is a tiny circuit and an amount of plastic so small as to be negligible. Like, a fraction of a carton of milk's worth. A replaceable battery doesn't really change the environmental profile of the product at all. If that's our concern, I think the ship sailed the minute we decided we needed a battery powered earphone.
As long as chemical batteries have limited usable life-spans, anything battery operated is going to be an environmental disaster.
The battery mass of the earphones is a fraction of that of a smartphone, and practically nonexistent compared to a laptop or tablet. AirPods seem like a silly place to draw the line when it comes...
The battery mass of the earphones is a fraction of that of a smartphone, and practically nonexistent compared to a laptop or tablet. AirPods seem like a silly place to draw the line when it comes to e-waste.
I think that has more to do with their price. If we only factor in the waste produced over the lifetime of the product, I can't imagine it's worse than most cheap earbuds that usually wear out in...
I think that has more to do with their price. If we only factor in the waste produced over the lifetime of the product, I can't imagine it's worse than most cheap earbuds that usually wear out in a few months or a year anyways. A good pair of wired IEMs in the same price range as AirPods will probably last longer and produce less waste per unit of utility, but most people aren't buying those.
Think about every cheap pair of earbuds you've come across in your life. They probably contain the same amount of raw materials (or more, because of the cable), despite often only seeing a few uses before being discarded.
Most of the time I'm using ANC I'm on a plane/train. There's not much awareness required to just stay seated. I can understand not wanting to be deafened while crossing streets, though.
there's nothing quite as suffocating as being in a busy urban environment with zero contextual awareness of your surroundings
Most of the time I'm using ANC I'm on a plane/train. There's not much awareness required to just stay seated. I can understand not wanting to be deafened while crossing streets, though.
Even on a plane/train it still gives me almost an aural claustrophobia—you have the flight attendants providing you coffee & food, and they almost sneak up from behind you when you've got ANC...
Even on a plane/train it still gives me almost an aural claustrophobia—you have the flight attendants providing you coffee & food, and they almost sneak up from behind you when you've got ANC headphones in. Same for when I'm traveling by train: our train network still uses ticket clippers instead of a digital tag on/tag off system, so you end up being surprised by these people when they arrive.
Odd. My experience of ANC headphones is limited to the Sony WH1000s and I found them to be great, much preferable to the passive noise cancellation in in-ear buds. They mostly tend to block...
Odd. My experience of ANC headphones is limited to the Sony WH1000s and I found them to be great, much preferable to the passive noise cancellation in in-ear buds. They mostly tend to block recurrent ambient noise so things like people talking to you or horns blaring still come through. In fact, when I was on a flight recently I was a little put off by the fact that since the headphones filtered out the ambient plane noise, I was suddenly able to make out the conversations happening around me way more clearly.
To that, add the fact that I can turn the volume waaaaay down and still hear (thereby preserving my hearing) and it seems like an absolute win.
The fact that they could build all this capable into such a small package in incredible enough. But then I get to this feature:
What the hell!? The wonders of the modern age will never cease to amaze me.
Some additional links:
I love my 1st gen AirPods. After a decade of only using the iPhone-included Apple earbuds or cheap third-party replacements, the price tag was a hard pill to swallow. But in my mind it was worth it just to not have to deal with spaghetti-tangled and flaky, shorting-out cords. I can't tell you the number of times a pair of wired earbuds have been ripped from my ears after I snagged them on something walking around the house. Like a hapless klutz in an infomercial, I somehow always managed to find a way to get tangled up in the thing, or rip my phone violently out of my pocket, or some other frequent annoyance.
It's so nice for that entire category of mishap to just be completely removed from my life. I also appreciate the protective charging case, and the extremely fast time-to-listen. The battery life, though not as good as it once was, is still plenty for my needs. On the rare occasion I do drain the batteries, I can alternate charging one at a time so it doesn't disrupt my listening... and they charge fast. It feels silly to say, but AirPods really are one of Apple's best products. I do wish they were more environmentally friendly, but I have a feeling if you added up all the crappy headphones I've had to toss out over the years, they're significantly more damaging. Even then, headphones are small enough products that we should really be looking in more impactful places to change our environmental impact, first.
Anyway, AirPods won me over, and this model is very interesting. Some of the improvements are most welcome, like the better fit, waterproofing, and wireless charging case (the latter isn't new to this model but mine doesn't have it). I'm not convinced the active noise cancelation fits my use case. I want to hear what's going on around me while I listen. I wonder if there's a way to turn that off, or use the onboard mics to include ambient noise in the output mix. And $250? Affording the first gen was a stretch, but I really don't know if I can justify THIS much.
Also: According to the press release the plural is "AirPods Pro"? Doesn't that break with Apple conventions?
John Gruber has been using “iPhones 6” etc for a while, which I doubt he’d do if there were a style guide to the contrary.
How else would they pluralize them here, though? AirPod Pros? That would be terrible for the brand identity; you’d have both “AirPods” (classic) and “AirPod” as promoted brand words, but then the whole product family would still be referred to as “AirPods”. Plus you’d have to deal with people actually using the word “pros” out loud.
For those wondering, Gruber remarked on his naming schema here:
I thought that was just another Midwest thing like where we pluralize or add possessives to places. (Meijer's, Walmart's, AMC's)
I'm fairly sure I've only heard Apple officially refer to their products in the singular, as a proper noun (not preceded by an article). So they might say...
...instead of phrasing the same things like this...
I think they were forced into an awkward spot this time because AirPods is already plural. I don't believe I've seen this happen with Apple before now.
As someone who despises ANC—there's nothing quite as suffocating as being in a busy urban environment with zero contextual awareness of your surroundings—I don't see much point in upgrading right now from my regular set of 1st-generation AirPods, despite the increasingly mediocre battery life I'm receiving (yay, non-replaceable, non-serviceble batteries).
The waterproofing is a nice touch, which will eventually make these the set of earphones I upgrade to when my AirPods become useless.
Not quite sure what to make of some things Apple have mentioned in the product notes, they make it sound as if regular double tapping of the AirPods to advance tracks is no longer a thing, replaced by this "force sensor" instead, which ergonomically seems like a slower action than just quickly tapping anywhere on the AirPod.
The improved sound quality and silicone inserts are big wins in my book, but I just bought my AirPods earlier this year. Maybe I'll feel it's time to upgrade around the time these Pros get refreshed.
The battery issue gets brought up a lot. I'm curious if there is a practical way to design these to allow replaceable batteries without making them bulkier. I would feel more comfortable if Apple could show us some process by which they can recycle the raw materials in used AirPods, like they are able to with old phones and laptops. I guess ultimately the waste generated by a pair of AirPods that last two years is low even compared to a plastic bottle of soda.
If you're throwing out the batteries then you're already committing 98% of the AirPods' mass to the landfill. (And the most environmentally toxic part at that). The remainder of the AirPods is a tiny circuit and an amount of plastic so small as to be negligible. Like, a fraction of a carton of milk's worth. A replaceable battery doesn't really change the environmental profile of the product at all. If that's our concern, I think the ship sailed the minute we decided we needed a battery powered earphone.
As long as chemical batteries have limited usable life-spans, anything battery operated is going to be an environmental disaster.
The battery mass of the earphones is a fraction of that of a smartphone, and practically nonexistent compared to a laptop or tablet. AirPods seem like a silly place to draw the line when it comes to e-waste.
I think people's concern is rooted in the wastefulness/utility ratio. Airpods are still viewed as kind of an extravagance.
I think that has more to do with their price. If we only factor in the waste produced over the lifetime of the product, I can't imagine it's worse than most cheap earbuds that usually wear out in a few months or a year anyways. A good pair of wired IEMs in the same price range as AirPods will probably last longer and produce less waste per unit of utility, but most people aren't buying those.
Think about every cheap pair of earbuds you've come across in your life. They probably contain the same amount of raw materials (or more, because of the cable), despite often only seeing a few uses before being discarded.
Most of the time I'm using ANC I'm on a plane/train. There's not much awareness required to just stay seated. I can understand not wanting to be deafened while crossing streets, though.
Even on a plane/train it still gives me almost an aural claustrophobia—you have the flight attendants providing you coffee & food, and they almost sneak up from behind you when you've got ANC headphones in. Same for when I'm traveling by train: our train network still uses ticket clippers instead of a digital tag on/tag off system, so you end up being surprised by these people when they arrive.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Odd. My experience of ANC headphones is limited to the Sony WH1000s and I found them to be great, much preferable to the passive noise cancellation in in-ear buds. They mostly tend to block recurrent ambient noise so things like people talking to you or horns blaring still come through. In fact, when I was on a flight recently I was a little put off by the fact that since the headphones filtered out the ambient plane noise, I was suddenly able to make out the conversations happening around me way more clearly.
To that, add the fact that I can turn the volume waaaaay down and still hear (thereby preserving my hearing) and it seems like an absolute win.