All the New Features the H2 Chip Brings to the AirPods Pro 2

[japanime]

I'll wait on these until they've been out for at least a half-year to see if there are widespread reports of the type of defect that affected the original APPs and led Apple to establish a dedicated service program.

Mine failed so often that I lost count of how many times Apple replaced them for me through that program. It was at least five times, and might have been six or seven. (The most recent replacement pair failed a couple of months ago, but I didn't bother trying to replace them.)

I've got high hopes for these, and my fingers are crossed.

 

[SSDGUY]

I'm still surprised how good the first gen AAP's sound for not being a tight seal design like pro in-ear monitors. Even better bass and overall frequency response will be pretty sweet. I have both, and for less critical listening like podcasts, movies, etc., I much prefer the AAP comfort and convenience. Though I do need the little silicon hook add-ons for any type of activity. The stock set up just falls right out. Big ear holes I guess?

 

[SSDGUY]

The first gen APP sounded phenomenally good. So the second gen will be blowing your socks off.

Yup. I was skeptical, but for a non-seal style earbud, I'm still quite impressed. Nowhere near as good as my pro in-ear monitors, but for day-to-day stuff they're great.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

I find it hilarious that people here think they can hear the difference of lossless with a tiny ear bud.

 

[MrMaxwell]

Will mic quality be improved? The AirPods Pro are great for music, podcasts and NC but are terrible for conducting calls in noisy environments - the mics pick up everything and do nothing to cancel out external noise.

 

[smoking monkey]

Lossless audio no issue for me personally but I can see why that’s disappointing to others. Apart from that it seems like a great upgrade of their claims are true.

 

[M.Rizk]

Will mic quality be improved? The AirPods Pro are great for music, podcasts and NC but are terrible for conducting calls in noisy environments - the mics pick up everything and do nothing to cancel out external noise.

That’s what I am hoping for. LC3 codec which comes with Bluetooth 5.2 should have better quality. Apple also added the codec in beta to AirPods Max in iOS 16 beta even though it is only Bluetooth 5.0.

 

[Kar98]

I wanna use them as hearing protection when at the gun range 🕶🤠

 

[AppleiPhone4lyfe]

Those controls are easily accessible from iPhone or Watch.

No, not easy. By the time I grab my phone I have to go back 10-15 seconds instead of 5 or if my phone is in another room, it’s literally a run so I don’t repeat a minute or more. This happens often, so not accessible at all.

 

[ellsworth]

My old ones are **** (the right one doesn't always charge) and the fit was always terrible and they always fall out.

This does not sound anywhere near worth a $250 upgrade. Not even multiple devices connected, not even better fitness compatibility and water resistance, no better fit.

My problem with airpods both pro and non pro is that they don't fit well in my ears. I doubt the new model with the snazzy fancy H2 fixes that.

You're both in luck. Apple is providing new ear tips so maybe this version will finally work for the both of you.

 

[ellsworth]

The volume control is nice, but please apple add the forward and rewind + HOLD controls so we can better control where we are, such as if missed what a podcast said, rather than switching by sections. Sad the original wired earphones had this and the $250 pro AirPods still do not.

If you go to the airpods-pro section on Apple's website, there's a blurb which potentially adds this feature:

"AirPods Pro (2nd generation) deliver an even more effortless experience than the original model. Touch control lets you manage playback functions from the stem and adjust volume with a light swipe up or down."

You may be able to customize the functions of the Touch Controls on the APP2. Happy Days!

 

[Fandroid killer]

Someone will mention lossless audio and that means they won't buy it. Ignore them, you can't hear the difference. You can't hear the difference on a £10,000 mastering studio setup with golden ears, it's been proven time and time again by the worlds best ears. No one here has the worlds best ears, despite what placebo they think - the upgrades to the drivers and processing are much much much more important and impactful.

If they tell you otherwise, they're wrong.

Just because a deaf person can't hear doesnt mean everyone else can't. I can hear the difference especially on my Polk audio speakers. Lossless is most noticeable on GOOD SPEAKERS. It's like the tech illiterate saying they can't tell the difference of 4k resolution on their 720p TV🤦‍♀️

 

[MrMaxwell]

Put on your headphones and check out this BT encoding demo...if you cannot notice any difference in audio quality between uncompressed and crappy SBC you're very lucky!

Bluetooth Audio Codec Demonstration

 

[Kyriakosss4]

Someone will mention lossless audio and that means they won't buy it. Ignore them, you can't hear the difference. You can't hear the difference on a £10,000 mastering studio setup with golden ears, it's been proven time and time again by the worlds best ears. No one here has the worlds best ears, despite what placebo they think - the upgrades to the drivers and processing are much much much more important and impactful.

If they tell you otherwise, they're wrong.

You could easily be hired (if not already) by Apple in the sales department, you know that?
You keep posting this in every thread related to the AirPods, but admit it, whether it’s a good addition or not, this is NOT for you or me to judge.

 

[Kyriakosss4]

I find it hilarious that people here think they can hear the difference of lossless with a tiny ear bud.

Also another worker in Apple’s sales department?

 

[psimac]

There seems to be absolutely no information surrounding the sound quality of the microphone. Apple doesn't specify if the microphone has any noise cancelations. It's like Apple doesn't even acknowledge this being an issue, yet the support boards discuss it all the time. My Airpods Pro are useless when making a call in a noisy environment--people say I sound muffled and they can hear all the ambient noise coming through the microphone. Seems like a huge miss they don't discuss the sound quality of the mic (maybe because it's lousy?)!

 

[psimac]

Someone will mention lossless audio and that means they won't buy it. Ignore them, you can't hear the difference. You can't hear the difference on a £10,000 mastering studio setup with golden ears, it's been proven time and time again by the worlds best ears. No one here has the worlds best ears, despite what placebo they think - the upgrades to the drivers and processing are much much much more important and impactful.

If they tell you otherwise, they're wrong.

So it's my imagination that when my Schiit Audio DAC is plugged into my Mac sending lossless music to my Grado headphones I can certainly hear more musical information?

 

[M.Rizk]

So it's my imagination that when my Schiit Audio DAC is plugged into my Mac sending lossless music to my Grado headphones I can certainly hear more musical information?

Maybe not but a part of it may also be the drivers. I too hear “more musical information” on the AirPods Max compared to the Pro even though use Bluetooth and same codecs too.

 

[SFjohn]

The volume control is nice, but please apple add the forward and rewind + HOLD controls so we can better control where we are, such as if missed what a podcast said, rather than switching by sections. Sad the original wired earphones had this and the $250 pro AirPods still do not.

Having an Apple Watch makes all these things a breeze, for me it’s better than fiddling with an AirPod… 🤷

 

[CWallace]

I tried to order them while I was ordering the the new crazy watch, but it was grayed out. Could nod put it in the cart.

Orders do not open until the 9th.

 

[bry2k]

Simple BLIND A/B testing with whatever device you want (I have Sennheiser HD800s and a £3000 Violetic headphone amp) will prove you'll never guess which is lossless and which isn't. You can verify you can't with this test http://abx.digitalfeed.net

Just because you're deaf doesn't mean we all are. 😁 (test done on a crappy 5 year old "iLoud" speaker connected to iTrashCan - if I got serious and fired it up on the Manley amp and Magnepan's, I'm pretty sure I'd nail it)

 

[cyrrus]

I've have a pair of Jabra 85T's sitting unopened in the box. The don't integrate terribly well with the Apple ecosystem but the killer feature is having multiple devices connected at a time. I was going to sell them to get these.

Can anyone categorically confirm whether or not these allow for multi-device connection or if they use Apple's horrendous (at least when I last used it) device swap process? I figured it might be a Bluetooth 5.3 feature so not mentioned apart from that?

Would love to know more if anyone has thoughts?

 

[damant]

Apple today introduced the second-generation AirPods Pro, which are equipped with an all-new H2 chip. The H2 is the successor to the H1, and it enables new features like improved noise cancellation, a new transparency mode, and better sound.

• Active Noise Cancellation - The H2 chip in the AirPods Pro 2 cancels twice as much noise compared to the original AirPods Pro.
  
• Adaptive Transparency Mode - The H2 chip allows for on-device processing that reduces loud environmental sounds like a siren, construction work, or loud speakers at a concert without silencing noise entirely.
  
• Improved Acoustics - Apple says the H2 chip provides an "exceptional acoustic experience" when paired with the new low-distortion audio driver and custom amplifier. The AirPods Pro offer richer bass and clearer sound across a wider range of frequencies.
  
• Personalized Spatial Audio - Apple touted personalized spatial audio as an AirPods Pro 2 highlight, with the feature being introduced in iOS 16. This isn't an AirPods 2 exclusive as it uses the TrueDepth camera on the iPhone, but it does work with the AirPods Pro 2.

Other AirPods Pro 2 features include touch controls for adjusting volume right on the AirPods themselves, an improved skin detect sensor that more accurately turns playback on and off, and an improved battery that lasts for a total of 6 hours, up 1.5 hours from the prior-generation model.

The AirPods Pro case also features IPX4 sweat and water resistance along with a lanyard loop, Memoji customization, Find My improvements, and a built-in speaker for locating the case should it be lost.

Notably, the AirPods Pro 2 do not feature support for lossless audio as was rumored because they still use Bluetooth functionality that does not offer the ability to play Apple Lossless Audio Codec files.

Article Link: All the New Features the H2 Chip Brings to the AirPods Pro 2

... question : regarding the "touch controls for adjusting volume" feature, would / could wiping sweat with a towel accidentally change the volume ? ... I hope not. ( I have this issue with the sennheiser momentum earbuds which has touch sensors...).

 

[sirexilor]

Someone will mention lossless audio and that means they won't buy it. Ignore them, you can't hear the difference. You can't hear the difference on a £10,000 mastering studio setup with golden ears, it's been proven time and time again by the worlds best ears. No one here has the worlds best ears, despite what placebo they think - the upgrades to the drivers and processing are much much much more important and impactful.

If they tell you otherwise, they're wrong.

Yes, this is true, you probably can't hear the difference.

Same analogy works if I would say that you wouldn't see the difference in processor speed between iphone 12, iphone 13 and iphone 14, so why would you upgrade from iphone 12 to iphone 14?

Of course, the truth is that you wouldn't buy an iPhone in the first place if you want to listen wirelessly losless audio.

 

[svish]

Adaptive transparency mode seems to be a good addition.