When Apple’s latest earbuds, the AirPods Pro, hit the stores last Wednesday (Oct 30), customers went crazy, braving long queues patiently to purchase the US$249 (S$338) wireless earphones.
The AirPods Pro is a more souped-up, upscale version of Apple’s popular wireless earbuds. They cost way more— almost $100 more than the standard model.
Are they really that good?
The new earbuds boast a new design, a closer fit, plus premium features such as noise cancellation, water and sweat resistance and higher call clarity.
Apple has improved upon the original AirPods model, focusing on giving users levelled up design and comfort, with a better fit and customisation options.
Interchangeable silicone tips
The AirPods Pro come with silicone tips in three sizes. Until now, Apple has only come out with hard plastic earbuds, so the silicone tips are a first for them.
Choose from among three sizes of interchangeable silicone tips for the AirPods Pro. Users can try on the different sizes and do a comfort test in the Control Center on their iOS device to see which is the best fit for their ears.
During the comfort test, the internal microphone listens and compares what the earbud speakers are putting out in real-time and provides feedback on the fit of each tip size. If necessary, users can even put different sizes in each ear to achieve the best and most comfortable fit.
Equalisation vents
Another feature of the Pro earbuds are a vent on the side of each bud that equalise the user’s ear pressure as they continue to listen through the buds.
According to Apple, it should feel like you’re wearing nothing.
Active noise cancellation
While everyone else has ventured into noise cancellation, this is Apple’s first dabble. The Pro buds are not only easy to wear for long hours of listening, they also have noise-cancelling features.
Finding the right silicone tip size is not only key to being comfy, it is also vital for blocking out external noise. Apple says the AirPods Pro is the first with active noise cancellation, adapting 200 times per second to the geometry of the silicone tip and ear of the user.
With an outward-facing microphone on the buds that detects external sound, the Pro responds with equal anti-noise, virtually eliminating the sound before it reaches the wearer’s ears. There’s also an inward-facing microphone that checks for unwanted sound, which is then eliminated by anti-noise.
If you don’t want to cancel out the surrounding noise, you can choose transparency mode to let in external noise.
Sweat and water resistant
The AirPods Pro are sweat and water-resistant. They’ll keep dry and working for you during non-water sports and exercise sessions. An expanded mesh microphone port is said to improve call clarity during windy situations.
Audio sharing
The AirPods Pro has another interesting feature—audio sharing. Two people who are both wearing AirPods Pros can listen to the same music or watch the same movie in real-time.
/TISG