AirPods Pro Offer 'Close to Seamless' Audio Experience Thanks to Improved Bluetooth Latency

[konqerror]

It's still significantly worse than aptX LL... Don't know what the big deal is.

The latency has to be ~20ms or better to be able to compose with them. Heres hoping for the day but I dont believe bluetooth is able to achieve that. He should know better.

The measurement methodology used here cannot be compared to other codec's theoretical numbers or be used as representative for pure audio applications.

If you read the article, he recorded the sound of an Apple Pencil tapping on the screen and the audio output from the headphones on the same mic, then measured the time between the sounds. Therefore, these numbers include the touchscreen and OS processing latency. This limitation is specifically called out in his article.

These numbers are only valid in a relative sense and do not represent, for example, absolute audio playback latency.

He should have conducted the same experiment on a pair of wired headphones as well to remove the processing they do on the built-in speakers, and characterize the USB transport latency.

 

[ipponrg]

I still need to know if the Airpods Pro have a low enough latency that I can use them while playing guitar through my Mac or iPad. Latency there would be really weird if there was an audible delay between when I pluck the strings and when the sound comes out.

144ms will be noticeable by most musicians. I've found that I can notice the delay down to about 30 ms. 144ms is tolerable though for just casual playing.

 

[konqerror]

144ms will be noticeable by most musicians. I've found that I can notice the delay down to about 30 ms. 144ms is tolerable though for just casual playing.

It's not 144 ms. 144 ms is playing on the screen with an Apple Pencil latency. At minimum, the Macrumors article needs to subtract the latency of the device speaker test from all the values.

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

The oblong case, the overly top heavy design, along with the rubber tips and shorter stalks all = no Bueno

There will be future designs and I'll happily wait patiently. ☺

Oh... I didn’t have an original pair to compare to & was unaware that Apple (partially) addressed the main complaint of the awkward looking long stalks.
To my eyes- they looked identical to the old ones, once in-ear.
I honestly wouldn’t hold my breath that they’ll reverse the miniaturization... but for the sake of your preferences, I hope they at least come out w/ some retro cheaper version or something in the future that has appeal to you!

 

[MauiPa]

It's still significantly worse than aptX LL... Don't know what the big deal is.

144ms vs. 178ms vs. 274ms makes zero difference for music or videos on iOS (since I'm sure they are delaying video to compensate like they do with AirPlay) and it is still pretty poor for gaming.

Not according to professionals when measure them on actual phones. LOL. maybe th standard is great, but it is not implemented well. https://www.soundguys.com/android-bluetooth-latency-22732/

Summary: Samsung and Pixel phones, well over 200ms.

 

[tridley68]

Why no test Apple between Sony wf1000xm3 and why no EQ for the air pods pro for better bass.

 

[locovaca]

WH-CH700N?
That is a mid to lower tier headphone.
What about the higher end ones?

Probably because the underlying codec is AAC which is going to be generally consistent between wide ranges of headsets. There are only so many implementations of it that are shared by multiple headphone chipsets.

 

[mannyvel]

AptXLL is apparently vaporware on mobile. Why not compare airpod pro latency to unicorn farts instead?

 

[incoherent_1]

AirPods are the best value device that Apple sells. Competitive price for superior technology.

 

[kanki1985]

Going from 270ms to 144ms is like going from hot garbage to just garbage. 30ms is about where the delay becomes unnoticeable for a/v sync purposes.

30ms? In the chart above, the device speaker is around 60 ms and thats hardwired. Are there bluetooth speakers with 30 ms latency at all?

 

[Baymowe335]

Now if they’d quit breaking them with their firmware updates....

They didn’t break anything.

 

[44267547]

AirPods are the best value device that Apple sells. Competitive price for superior technology.

In terms of pricing and features with the customization, the AirPod Pros actually really aren’t that expensive if you compare some of the competition. I think Apple prices these strategically for everything they offer.

 

[stockseer]

Very pleased with AP Pro (aside battery life without recharging on a transcon flight; few noticed but the algorithm apparently reduces noise cancelling but not audio stream; so it is possible to continue watching a movie as battery is conserved. .. As to lag issues; yes much better. NOW if they could only fix the video lag (audio sync) issue with Apple TV 4k devices; I'd be thrilled. I even went to HDMI 2.1 cables; and with or without the use of '4k pass-thru' there is an issue whether 1080 p on AT&T TV streaming; OR using Apple TV+ and setting back to 4k HDR or SDR. I assume they're working on this; and/or will have a new Apple TV 6th Generation with HDMI 2.1 to go well with TV's that have eARC and of course HDMI 2.1, which I'd expect on more sets at CES next month.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Going from 270ms to 144ms is like going from hot garbage to just garbage. 30ms is about where the delay becomes unnoticeable for a/v sync purposes.

Note the device speaker itself is 70ms. So AirPods Pro effectively went from 200ms to 75ms. Whether that is sufficient for a given user or a particular use case will vary.

It would have been nice if wired headphones were included as a baseline. Not sure of the test methodology in any case.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Why no test Apple between Sony wf1000xm3 and why no EQ for the air pods pro for better bass.

Great question.

The chosen “competitors“ in this evaluation are awfully curious choices.

 

[WilliamG]

It's still significantly worse than aptX LL... Don't know what the big deal is.

144ms vs. 178ms vs. 274ms makes zero difference for music or videos on iOS (since I'm sure they are delaying video to compensate like they do with AirPlay) and it is still pretty poor for gaming.

This. You can use any of these earphones for videos etc and it makes zero difference because a/v sync is perfect for this already. For gaming all of these earphones are just awful. AWFUL. With a aptX LL adapter for my Nintendo Switch the AirPods Pro are still unusable in this environment.

144ms is still absolutely awful.

 

[vinegarshots]

The latency is low enough that I can actually use them for video editing on my Mac...

 

[turbineseaplane]

The latency is low enough that I can actually use them for video editing on my Mac...

So ironic that you are posting this.

Marco Arment just tweeted about this exact thing today and how the latency does not allow him to really use them for audio editing.

 

[ersan191]

Not according to professionals when measure them on actual phones. LOL. maybe th standard is great, but it is not implemented well. https://www.soundguys.com/android-bluetooth-latency-22732/

Summary: Samsung and Pixel phones, well over 200ms.

aptX LL is not implemented on any phones or tablets... It requires a separate dongle currently.

 

[vinegarshots]

So ironic that you are posting this.

Marco Arment just tweeted about this exact thing today and how the latency does not allow him to really use them for audio editing.

Point of my previous post being that with 1st gen AirPods, the latency was so bad that you couldn't edit video with them at all. The latency with the Pros is low enough that it's just barely noticeable (which is still not perfect) but tolerable in a pinch.

 

[tkukoc]

They didn’t break anything.

ah yes they did, several people on this forum and hundreds on reddit are having major issues since updating. I myself had a nasty clicking noise in the left AirPod that didnt go away with using noise cancellation or transparency modes. Both I’ve confirmed on 3 different sets of AirPods. Sometimes it is the left. Sometimes its the right.. but it is very much there and can be reproduced. Went to the Apple Store and even did it on 2 pairs there just to prove to those working there that this issue is very much widespread. Unfortnately Apple isn’t doing anything about it. So.. I dumped the AirPod Pro line and went back to AirPods 2, no issues at all.. the issue is firmware and the pro model.

 

[B4U]

Probably because the underlying codec is AAC which is going to be generally consistent between wide ranges of headsets. There are only so many implementations of it that are shared by multiple headphone chipsets.

But the price point is vastly different.

 

[locovaca]

But the price point is vastly different.

The pricing differences are made up in other things like the drivers, physical features, etc. The testing element is the Bluetooth connection itself, not the audio quality. I am just spit balling here but Sony is most likely using the same Bluetooth controller across their line of headphones at a variety of price points. It would be silly not to.

 

[Baymowe335]

ah yes they did, several people on this forum and hundreds on reddit are having major issues since updating. I myself had a nasty clicking noise in the left AirPod that didnt go away with using noise cancellation or transparency modes. Both I’ve confirmed on 3 different sets of AirPods. Sometimes it is the left. Sometimes its the right.. but it is very much there and can be reproduced. Went to the Apple Store and even did it on 2 pairs there just to prove to those working there that this issue is very much widespread. Unfortnately Apple isn’t doing anything about it. So.. I dumped the AirPod Pro line and went back to AirPods 2, no issues at all.. the issue is firmware and the pro model.

So take them to Apple. I have tons of anecdotal data too that they aren’t broken.

If a software fix “broke” a product like AirPods, there would be an update immediately.

 

[confessJason]

Let’s remember that Consumer Reports ranked Samsung galaxy buds as being better AND cheaper. Those make the best gift this holiday. I got them for my nieces. I know they will enjoy the superior quality over AirPods “Pro.”