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And any musician that isn’t a big time pro won’t have the money for Apple’s foolery.
???
You mean $249 earbuds? Or the Mac hardware?
What exactly do you need "big time" money for?
Don't say this is about the AVP, because that's
not out yet and has nothing to do with
musicians using Apple products.
 
Customers who want to be able to use Lossless Audio with Vision Pro for this audio experience will need to purchase the new AirPods Pro 2, which are available for $249
And unfortunately this is hardware limitation. Can’t be fixed with software unfortunately.
This makes no sense, assuming it's the same H2 chip. Giving new features exclusive to same-generation devices will create a lot of confusion. Not that I care about this feature, but it's a weird marketing move
Nope. This is NOT the same H2 chip that is in current AirPods Pro 2. It’s an updated one that allows the lossless audio. So unfortunately it is hardware limitation that will prevent older AirPods Pro 2 from playing audio losslessly.

It’s also the same limitation that prevents existing AirPods Pro 2 to allow charging on USB-C cases. It requires the updated H2 chip to work.
 
Look at your brain as a CPU with a finite GHz capacity.
Look at your ears as a peripheral with min/max specs. Biologically, the specs of the ear on the average person can't detect the difference between lossless and compressed music (mp3 192/384).
For the 5% that have ears with the better specs, they will need their brain undistracted to really hear it. When that brain gets immersed in visuals, like from a VisionPro, any Hollywood executive can tell you that audio is supportive to visual. You'll loose brain capacity to processing the visuals over using that brain capacity to enjoy the difference between lossless and compressed audio.
If you really want the best sound, I hope you a) belong to the 5% that has super ears and b) have the budget to buy true high end audio equipment.
Enjoy.
 
Makes complete sense.

A15 iPhone 13 lacks Photonic Engine, but A15 iPhone 14 has it.

A16 iPhone 14 Pro lacks HDR5, but A16 iPhone 15 has it.

In 2025, Apple will tell you Vision Pro 2 is only compatible with the new portless AirPods Pro.
 
This is wireless lossless audio ONLY when using them with the Vision Pro. Nothing else. Not the Music app on Mac OS or IOS, an Apple TV, or as the system wide audio output of a Mac.

It´s a very specific use case, and AAC 256 is transparent anyway.
 
A15 iPhone 13 lacks Photonic Engine, but A15 iPhone 14 has it.
A16 iPhone 14 Pro lacks HDR5, but A16 iPhone 15 has it.
Its not uncommon to have revisions for hardware components.
This has been the case since – forever.
Especially in these cases, with one year in between releases,
I find it plausible that the A15/A16 underwent revision development.
If at all, you can criticize Apple's lack of transparent naming.

In 2025, Apple will tell you Vision Pro 2 is only compatible with the new portless AirPods Pro.
I cannot find any information that AVP will only work with AirPods Pro 2v2.
The new lossless audio seems to use a new protocol implemented on the updated H2 chip only present in the AVP and USB-C AirPods Pro. So there is no way that would work with older hardware, is it?
And you can be certain that some future features will only work on newer hardware.
This as well is to be expected and not some sinister conspiracy by Apple.
 
That’s right, I’m not a large corporation composing an official press release condemning Apple. I’m an individual sharing their opinion about a news story. Good observation.

It’s ok. I was finding another way to say that we’re making noise about something minuscule. The upgrade is minute enough such that a company may decide it’s not worth calling it something different. That could be their logic but of course I don’t know.

Carry on ;-)
 
What role does a charging case play in transmitting audio to the receiver device? Their shamelessness is reaching a new high.
I’d be curious for iFixIt or someone else to deconstruct the AirPods Pro 2 and see if the earbuds are different from the older version.

I also don’t know why Apple is being described as shameless here.
 
I don't get it , how is it possible to have lossless on Bluetooth? Thought it wasn't doable ? Also why wouldn't it be possible on Mac?
It seems to be a special protocol implemented on H2 between the updated APPro2 and AVP, perhaps made possible by the very limited range required. The distance between Vision and AirPods is just centimeters.
 
It seems to be a special protocol implemented on H2 between the updated APPro2 and AVP, perhaps made possible by the very limited range required. The distance between Vision and AirPods is just centimeters.
Ohhhh true point bout the distance

Yeah some proprietary protocol then yeah?
 
I don't know really, but it would make sense.
Otherwise, why would they leave this off the brand new iPhone introduced on the same day?
It has to be something specific to AVP.

Perhaps is similar to the "default audio output" mode with the Homepods and the Apple TV 4K?.

Which allows for Dolby Atmos passtrough and real time sound (video games, live tv) with no latency. It creates an ad-hoc network between the pods and the Apple TV...

Regular Airplay only support stereo.
 
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I still own first gen AirPods Pro … I would be pissed if I bought gen 2 and then now basically hold back function for a new gen 2 with usb c. I don’t get it … seems so odd. Is there a hardware change beside the port?
 
I would be pissed if I bought gen 2 and then now basically hold back function for a new gen 2 with usb c.
Why? This happens all the time with hardware, not only from Apple.
The APPv2 are a year old, now there is a new version (albeit the name did not change)
clearly indicated by the USB-C port on the charging case and the new IP54 rating.
If you follow MacRumors, you should've known that a revision of the AirPods Pro was coming.

Is there a hardware change beside the port?
The port change is on the charging case, but there is a new IP54 rating for case and pods, so yes, it seems that there were hardware changes. Perhaps the iFixit teardown will reveal more detail.
 
I’m definitely not buying these ear buds for the new charging case or for lossless audio when paired with the AVP or really at all. Not interested. But others could be interested for these reasons.

I wonder too why Apple wouldn’t release the new charging case separately, unless these new AirPods Pro are a silent upgrade in hardware and Apple is hiding that upgrade behind the new charging case?

I don’t know. They sell the Apple TV Siri Remote separately, so I don’t imagine it’s for the planet…Won’t they need to sell it standalone eventually? You know, for people who lose or break their AirPods Pro case or something?
I think it is a stealth upgrade. Apple added or tweaked the AirPods hardware to add two features:
  1. Lossless audio transmission that only works with the not-yet-released Apple Vision Pro
  2. A USB-C Port instead of a Lightning port on the charging case.
Why would they do it stealth? Should they announce the new and improved AirPods 3 with these two major improvements so everyone can know that they should get the latest and greatest? I don't think so. I think they'd be heavily criticized for promoting an "upgrade" that most people don't need and won't/can't use. I think they have a real upgrade in the pipeline that they'll want to save the big announcement for.

Apple does sell replacement cases for AirPods Pro. They just don't sell them as a product in their store. You have to go through service, or buy the replacement from a third party like Amazon. Apple's website says:

You can replace a single AirPod (left or right AirPod) or a Charging Case for a fee. Use our “Get an Estimate” tool to review potential costs if you get service directly from Apple.

I don't see why they wouldn't continue to do this.
 
Although I can appreciate the notion that most of us will never hear a real difference on our AirPod Pro 2s, this highlights the greediness these corporations will stoop to generate more money.

Capitalism sucks.
 
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I still own first gen AirPods Pro … I would be pissed if I bought gen 2 and then now basically hold back function for a new gen 2 with usb c. I don’t get it … seems so odd. Is there a hardware change beside the port?
Just making a general observation:

It's interesting that people can feel pissed (or cheated) when a bit later a model they buy is upgraded to include something extra. It does beg the question: when they bought their product, were they already not satisfied with the existing features? I mean, I do get that sentiment but I also find it interesting that we can feel that reaction. After all, if the product was not upgraded after you bought it, you still remain un-pissed, so to say. I guess this points back to human desire of wanting more and more and not being satisfied with what one already has?

I think it is a stealth upgrade. Apple added or tweaked the AirPods hardware to add two features:
  1. Lossless audio transmission that only works with the not-yet-released Apple Vision Pro
  2. A USB-C Port instead of a Lightning port on the charging case.
Why would they do it stealth? Should they announce the new and improved AirPods 3 with these two major improvements so everyone can know that they should get the latest and greatest? I don't think so. I think they'd be heavily criticized for promoting an "upgrade" that most people don't need and won't/can't use. I think they have a real upgrade in the pipeline that they'll want to save the big announcement for.

Apple does sell replacement cases for AirPods Pro. They just don't sell them as a product in their store. You have to go through service, or buy the replacement from a third party like Amazon. Apple's website says:

You can replace a single AirPod (left or right AirPod) or a Charging Case for a fee. Use our “Get an Estimate” tool to review potential costs if you get service directly from Apple.

I don't see why they wouldn't continue to do this.

I think I see it close to what you're seeing it too. This is a relatively minuscule upgrade and perhaps that's a reason not to name it as a whole new version. I also mentioned in another post (responding to someone else) that there are many products out there that are called the same thing/model year after year in spite of upgrades made to it over the years. Many European cars, at least in the past, are like that such as those from Peugeot. Actually, come to think of it, so are most cars! How many Toyota Corolla versions have we had over the years? :)

What I would find confusing is if contemporaneously the company sells different product with the same name: e.g., if Apple were selling AirPods Pro 2 gen 1 alongside with Pro 2 gen 2 when both models have different features but call them the same thing. But Apple's not doing that. They no longer sell Pro 2 gen 1. Yes, other parties will continue to sell older versions.

Also, yes I think Apple will continue to provide replacement cases, but I doubt they would provide USB-C AirPod Pro cases to gen 1 models. I have the AirPods Pro 2 gen 1 version and I don't expect to be able to replace it with a USB-C case if I ever needed Apple to repair/replace the existing case.
 
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Although I can appreciate the notion that most of us will never hear a real difference on our AirPod Pro 2s, this highlights the greediness these corporations will stoop to generate more money.

Capitalism sucks.
I'm not sure how this highlights the greediness of corporations though.

I do agree corporations tend to be greedy and yes, I agree too that capitalism sucks.
 
If lossless audio will only be available "for now" with a $3000 device with no release date, I am not that concerned about my already 1 year old AirPods may even need replacement at that time.

It would appear that an AirPods Max 2 will most likely be USB-C with a potential for lossless audio. So far this is much to do about nothing.
 
Nope. This is NOT the same H2 chip that is in current AirPods Pro 2. It’s an updated one that allows the lossless audio. So unfortunately it is hardware limitation that will prevent older AirPods Pro 2 from playing audio losslessly.

It’s also the same limitation that prevents existing AirPods Pro 2 to allow charging on USB-C cases. It requires the updated H2 chip to work.
Do you have a source for that? If they are really different, they should have been named differently
 
If lossless audio will only be available "for now" with a $3000 device with no release date, I am not that concerned about my already 1 year old AirPods may even need replacement at that time.

It would appear that an AirPods Max 2 will most likely be USB-C with a potential for lossless audio. So far this is much to do about nothing.
I was thinking the same thing. By the time I do end up getting the vision pro, my AirPods Pro would be close to 2 years old already. About time to upgrade to AirPods Pro 3 or whatever the next model is called.
 
What the heck is Apple doing? Just call them AirPod Pro 3 and be done with it
Then we would have a whine thread in here whining about that the changes are so miniscule that it does not warrant a new version number... ;) Only thing people outside in the real world will care about is that "hey, I can charge this with usb-c"
 
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This makes no sense, assuming it's the same H2 chip. Giving new features exclusive to same-generation devices will create a lot of confusion. Not that I care about this feature, but it's a weird marketing move
What’s worse it’s it makes NO sense and pure nonsense we can’t listen to lossless audio from Apple Music from iPhone to AirPod Pro 2’s !!
 
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