Airpods are, at the time of speaking, the most popular pair of wireless earbuds that one could buy. Either we’re talking about the older model, or even the 3rd, people will immediately recognize what you are wearing. Now, the question comes: What pair should I get?
Well, ignoring the price, I would definitely recommend the AirPods Pro. This is for a small number of good, well-though reasons:
Advantages:
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They have ANC. (Active Noise Cancelling)
Probably the most important and amazing thing that you will feel when wearing these on an airplane. The ANC, although not the best that I have ever seen on a pair of earbuds, certainly does its job well-enough.
In a plane, let’s say, it can almost completely remove the loud noise of the engine, and if music is being played, you are definitely up for some fun, because the noise will be completely eliminated.
Although ANC works well with media turned off, isolating ambiental sounds quite well, Apple recommends using these when music is turned on. And believe me when I say that, even with 60% of volume, you won’t hear anything anymore. If the seal with your ear is acceptable and ANC is turned on, you’re set for a different musical experience, an amazing one that everyone should try.
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Better seal with your ear
They have a better seal with your ear, when compared to the 1st,2nd , and even 3rd generation.
Unlike the other earbuds, the Airpods Pro have a much better seal with customizable ear tip sizes (small, medium and large); This solved a lot of problems for people that had problems in the past with using the previous gen. AirPods because they usually fell out of the ear, or didn’t even fit at all.
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They sound good
Although far from audiophile expectations, these buds can still deliver amazing sound, even with ANC turned off. The bass is far increased when compared to the older generation. It’s not certain if that is because of the better seal with the ear or the new sound drivers that Apple put into these. Nonetheless, these sound good to say the least.
Disadvantages:
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Price
When compared to the old AirPods, these are definitely going to hurt your budget pretty much. They cost 249$ at msrp. and can be found in Romanian stores for as high as 1300 Ron (297$).
There are a ton of different earbuds that can do pretty much the same thing for way less, if you can count out the whole Apple eco-system thing (seamless connecting with multiple Apple devices);
At this point you are pretty much paying for the brand, but not completely.
Although expensive, most people who are apple-heads and have other apple device lying around their houses find AirPods Pro extremely convenient and easy to use.
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Battery
The battery should be, at least for this price, somewhat decent. Well, that is at least debatable, to say the least.
Apple says that AirPods Pro offer 4 and a half hours use with ANC on, and 5+ hours with ANC turned off.
This, for the majority of people is enough, but some people complained that they heard the low battery indicator sound sooner than they would’ve expected.
If you care about the battery more, and you are also an Apple fan, I strongly recommend going for the 3rd generation, which offers 6+ hours of use.
Conclusion:
Although loved by many, 249$ is a bit much to ask for, not to say that in countries like Romania you can find them for even more.
So, from the perspective of price, these are a no-no, for me at least.
My suggestion is, that if you are an Apple fan indeed and want these badly, wait for a couple months, they will definitely lose the price tag of 249$, and you’ll be able to get them much cheaper.
