Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Hands-On With the New AirPods Pro

I'm curious how hard it will be to answer a call wearing gloves. Tapping was trivial with gloves. It's not clear to me how easy having to use 2 fingers to squeeze the AirPods will be walking down the street in the winter with gloves on.
 
I'm a bit disappointed they use a standard driver configuration instead of a balanced armature driver. Their old "Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic" used a pair of balanced armature drivers per ear and it sounded so crisp! With a name like AirPods Pro, you'd think they'd go with a nicer driver.

In fairness, I haven't tried the headphones yet, so I'll hold off on judgement until I can actually listen to a pair. If they beat my other wireless earbuds with plain ol' dynamic drivers, they may get me on AirPods.
 
mcrge said:
...Received the Airpods Pro today.... but already packed the return package.

Unfortunately, I felt something like motion sickness when turning ANC on ("fit" test performed with good fitting before etc.) - a feeling I have had with ANC overear devices before, but hoped it wouldn't occur with in-ear models. With ANC on - my wife talking in the same room - I was still hearing clearly here voice. How should this work e.g. in a train with many others talking?

Transparency mode is unfortunately not like "hearing normal" (as some very early reviews suggested) - you continue to hear that the noise/voice is coming from a microphone...sounds little unnatural, and louder than normal, but ok, there is a clear difference between ANC and TM.

The worst thing: during a 10 min telephone call in a very quite surrounding, with ANC on, I hardly couldn't here my own voice - which made it really difficult to adjust my own voice "volume". After turning transparency on, I heard my own voice louder than normal. My partner in the call wasn't able to here me well during all the call. I then switched back to my Airpods 1, and was able to here absolutely normal my voice as well as my partner had another 20 min normal telephone talk without any problems.

I'll return these Airpods Pro, and already ordered AirPods 2, instead. Never had to return an apple product before, and I'm a really pro user.
Click to expand...

FWIW, I had similar experience a couple years ago with my Bose QC35s when I first tried them on. I immediately got nauseous, which was particularly disappointing because I had just boarded a plane for a 13 hour flight. I took them off and tried later on and the nausea went away. I haven't had any issues since.
 
better than beats studio NC? The price is the same and I've been skeptical of the NC feature with the studio's. Anybody have both and compared?
 
D3xbot said:
I'm a bit disappointed they use a standard driver configuration instead of a balanced armature driver. Their old "Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic" used a pair of balanced armature drivers per ear and it sounded so crisp! With a name like AirPods Pro, you'd think they'd go with a nicer driver.

In fairness, I haven't tried the headphones yet, so I'll hold off on judgement until I can actually listen to a pair. If they beat my other wireless earbuds with plain ol' dynamic drivers, they may get me on AirPods.
Click to expand...

So you haven't tried the headphones but are already disappointed? Interesting.
[automerge]1572627226[/automerge]
iDAQ said:
I'm curious how hard it will be to answer a call wearing gloves. Tapping was trivial with gloves. It's not clear to me how easy having to use 2 fingers to squeeze the AirPods will be walking down the street in the winter with gloves on.
Click to expand...
"Hey Siri, answer."

Not hard.
 
Speaking of differences from the original AirPods, I don’t believe this was mentioned...

For those considering using these with a protective case, please note the lid hinge articulates differently than AirPods 1 and 2. It has a different pivot point and the lid overlaps the lower case when fully opened, leaving minimal clearance for anything other than a skin and detaching thicker case covers from the lid with every opening.

I discovered the hard way with two different ESR case styles available at launch.
 
Main reason I went with Powerbeats pro was because they stay in your ear when moving around for fitness. For example, cycling. If you could describe hot the Airpods Pro are in that regard a little more extensively, that would be great. Thanks
 
iDAQ said:
I'm curious how hard it will be to answer a call wearing gloves. Tapping was trivial with gloves. It's not clear to me how easy having to use 2 fingers to squeeze the AirPods will be walking down the street in the winter with gloves on.
Click to expand...

Does “Hey Siri” work for incoming calls?

It is very responsive to my voice for music/volume changes in a Mall environment.
[automerge]1572630445[/automerge]
PdaRosa said:
Main reason I went with Powerbeats pro was because they stay in your ear when moving around for fitness. For example, cycling. If you could describe hot the Airpods Pro are in that regard a little more extensively, that would be great. Thanks
Click to expand...

They “snug” fit with the silicone tips.

PBP’s latch onto your ear so they take almost a car accident to knock them off.

I’ve shaken my head to Motley Crüe with the AirPods Pro in. They did not budge.

It’s all about getting the right silicone ear tips on.

I thought the medium size tips were perfect, then tried the Large. They worked even better than the medium for holding power.
 
Only been listening to my AirPod Pro’s for about an hour. Fit for my ears is only slightly better than the first version. Still get a much better fit by wearing them upside down. Placed a small foam insert in each eartip for a more secure fit And improved isolation. Certainly like them better than first version. Sound quality seems an improvement all around. But my original Kickstarter Bragi Dash, which i can continue to use, are still light years ahead of the Apple AirPod Pro’s!
 
Last edited:
I hate the standard “well, you’re paying so much, because of the Apple logo.” sentiment.

yes, Apple products generally cost more, but not just for the sake of costing more. You’re paying for the inherent expectation of quality, customer service, ease of use, compatibility within the ecosystem, convenience, comfort. Apple didn’t secretly become as successful as they’ve been by secretly duping people into liking their products. They’ve built a trust with many, including myself, that I am paying for an experience that will generally make me happy and without regret.

I sincerely believe these wonderful AirPod pro’s of mine are worth their cost. It’s amazing “next-gen” feeling tech.

“hurrr durrrr similar products have already existed!”

Apple is almost NEVER first, but they really understand the ENTIRE vision and package. Some products might be an A+ in some aspects and a B or C in others, where Apple is an A- or A across all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nikkisharif and Abazigal
Tried them today in the local Apple store and they are good, really, good. I then thought, I have QC35s for noise cancellation, BeatsX for running and they are OK and regular AirPod 2s for that moment when I just want some headphones - maybe in the shops, when walking or when the office gets a bit noisy.

Excellent as they are, and I think the price is great, I'll be waiting until the batteries start to give out on the AirPod 2s or some similar event.. definitely a contender for me when that happens and I seriously recommend giving them a try.

One thing I didn't test was the convenient 'watch pocket' (the small pocket on jeans etc.) fit for the new case. This has been a really great thing about AirPods for me up until now, knowing that they aren't going to get dinged on keys and coins.
 
I got mine yesterday. The last few earbuds I've owned were:
Sony WF-1000MX3 (similar price point)
Bose Soundsport Wireless (cheaper)
Noble Kaiser K10u (much more expensive)

In terms of sound, they aren't a match for the K10u, but they are on a par with the Sonys. The Bose feel like they miss some frequencies.

In terms of isolation, thanks to ANC, the Sony and Apple are ahead of the K10u and way ahead of the Bose, especially in a Tube train.

I'm quite pleased with the sound of the Airpods Pro - much more balanced than the Airpods (my son has a pair) and the Beats Pro (which I returned as too spikey in treble). Sounstage is quite shallow and narrow, it's a little more in your head than I remember the Sonys (sold yesterday) and way less expansive than K10. Nice tone though.

Edit: further listening and there's something missing in comparison to the Sonys, they aren't as rich and detailed. But they work all the time which can't be said for the Sonys and they feel lighter in the ears. I'll keep.them.

They obviously don't compete with over ears WH-1000MX3, Audeze LCD2, or Mr Speakers Ether Flow, all of which sound bigger everywhere, especially the LCD and Ether.

Practality is a win for the Airpods Pro though - the Sonys fail to automatically connect on iPhone 11 all the time and have a bigger case. The Airpods just work. I'd still take my WH-1000MX3 over ears for the plane though.
[automerge]1572771007[/automerge]
DrJeff said:
My only complain is getting them out of the case.... they are too slippery :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, especially with the large tips on. Speaking of which, the app gives me a good seal on all 3 tip sizes, but bass and mids are noticeably thicker with the largest tips in my ears - I have small ear canal but these are a very shallow fit and large seems to seal a bit better and more consistently.
 
Last edited:
I’m pleased with overall sound of the pros. Don’t want it that loud where my hearing will go later on life
 
I cannot wait for aftermarket foam tips! Any idea when we can expect those?
 
iamasmith said:
Tried them today in the local Apple store and they are good, really, good. I then thought, I have QC35s for noise cancellation, BeatsX for running and they are OK and regular AirPod 2s for that moment when I just want some headphones - maybe in the shops, when walking or when the office gets a bit noisy.

Excellent as they are, and I think the price is great, I'll be waiting until the batteries start to give out on the AirPod 2s or some similar event.. definitely a contender for me when that happens and I seriously recommend giving them a try.

One thing I didn't test was the convenient 'watch pocket' (the small pocket on jeans etc.) fit for the new case. This has been a really great thing about AirPods for me up until now, knowing that they aren't going to get dinged on keys and coins.
Click to expand...
The case fits in my watch pockets (I generally wear pants by Nau).
 
RLRabb said:
I'm not sure the noise cancellation is working on my pair. Can anyone who has a pair that notices their noise cancellation try snapping their fingers about a foot from one ear and tell me what they hear with moderate sounding music playing? With mine, I hear the snap with no problem. I can also hear the click sounds from my Apple Magic Keyboard while music is playing.
Click to expand...

Someone may have replied already (I can’t sift through all the posts at this point), but that’s exactly how I tested mine when I first got them, in a quiet room. I was unimpressed. It wasn’t until I tried them in a noisy environment that I realized how much better (than I originally thought) the ANC is. They don’t seem to work that well with sharp sudden noises, especially in an otherwise quiet environment, but they seem to do very well with droning or continuous noises, and absorb the sudden noises better when the background noise level is higher.

I’ve now tried them in environments where the background noise would leave the original AirPods unusable, and I think they’re fantastic. I’m sure they’re not as good as on- or over-the-ear types, but the trade off is portability. I have no regrets about buying these now whatsoever.
 
Toratek said:
Actually, you do NOT want a tap functionality on something actually inserted into your ear with an acoustic seal. The resulting momentary pressure change inside the ear canal can be extremely unpleasant.

The Sony WF/M3 works that way, using a touch pad, and I can tell you from experience, it’s not comfortable at all to be tapping on those.

It’s slightly unpleasant even lightly touching the controls, and it’s a little too easy to change settings just from a light touch.

They are also completely useless under a helmet, hat, etc, because of their narrow nozzle outputs and relatively large size- any external pressure on the device shuts off the sound port, which isn’t a problem with Apple’s new stemless configuration.

That is actually a real innovation for an IEM.

Apple did the right thing with this. They obviously tried more than one way and came up with a superior solution.
Click to expand...

It's not like you're tapping with a hammer. Tap > squeeze, Siri, AW when wearing hoodies/hats/gloves/mittens.
 
zerolight said:
I got mine yesterday. The last few earbuds I've owned were:
Sony WF-1000MX3 (similar price point)
Bose Soundsport Wireless (cheaper)
Noble Kaiser K10u (much more expensive)

In terms of sound, they aren't a match for the K10u, but they are on a par with the Sonys. The Bose feel like they miss some frequencies.

In terms of isolation, thanks to ANC, the Sony and Apple are ahead of the K10u and way ahead of the Bose, especially in a Tube train.

I'm quite pleased with the sound of the Airpods Pro - much more balanced than the Airpods (my son has a pair) and the Beats Pro (which I returned as too spikey in treble). Sounstage is quite shallow and narrow, it's a little more in your head than I remember the Sonys (sold yesterday) and way less expansive than K10. Nice tone though.

Edit: further listening and there's something missing in comparison to the Sonys, they aren't as rich and detailed. But they work all the time which can't be said for the Sonys and they feel lighter in the ears. I'll keep.them.

They obviously don't compete with over ears WH-1000MX3, Audeze LCD2, or Mr Speakers Ether Flow, all of which sound bigger everywhere, especially the LCD and Ether.

Practality is a win for the Airpods Pro though - the Sonys fail to automatically connect on iPhone 11 all the time and have a bigger case. The Airpods just work. I'd still take my WH-1000MX3 over ears for the plane though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comparisons. I have a lot of different IEMs and full sized cans, so I have another followup question.

When you describe balanced, is it closer to the Noble Kaiser (or Sony?) or to the Bose? Do you find it flat or still V-shaped? Just trying to get an idea of what to expect.

I generally find Beats to be muffled with an emphasis on V shaped patterns and the Bose to be overly synthetic
 
rich6490 said:
So you haven't tried the headphones but are already disappointed? Interesting.
[automerge]1572627226[/automerge]

"Hey Siri, answer."

Not hard.
Click to expand...
As I said, I'll hold off judgement until I have a chance to try them. If they sound good, they sound good. As for the disappointment I voiced, that was more in their driver choice than in the product as a whole. I'm happy for Apple to prove me wrong :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back