AirPods Pro 2

Monday, 28 October 2024

TLDR; I bought some AirPods Pro 2 and I love them.

Earlier this year I was looking to upgrade from my 3rd generation AirPods to something with noise cancellation. At the time I was having a sort of existential crisis around being so embedded in the Apple ecosystem so I was railing against getting a set of AirPods Pro (they were also the most expensive option at the time), so I opted for a set of Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.

They were good ...ish. I experienced some connectivity issues - oftentimes related to the Bose app on iPhone. But the sound (and active noise cancellation) were decent, and I stuck with them.

Fast-forward to September. I was wearing the Bose less-and-less - despite the mostly superior sound quality, connectivity gripes forced me back to using my older AirPods when going out walking. I just couldn’t deny the fact that Apple products just work within the ecosystem, and switching between my phone, iPad and two MacBook Pros (one being my work machine) was seamless.

The iPhone 16 launch event didn’t introduce a new version of AirPods Pro - the fact that Apple did not iterate on the hardware told me they had peaked, and the model was dialled in (based on current technology). The new soft / firmware features for hearing health are very compelling - as someone that had hearing issues when I was a young child, and am now moving into my late(r) forties, my hearing health is something that I am starting to pay attention to.

Whilst I didn’t need a new set of earbuds (the Bose ones are still pretty immaculate), I was sold on the AirPods Pro 2. So when Costco had them on special for $110 (AUD) less than Apple I took it as a sign and picked up a pair.

I’ve got to say, unboxing and setting them up was fairly anti-climactic - but in a good way. The fact that they just work, straight out of the box with no messing around, is Apple through and through. Plus, they sound great.

I’ll still be keeping the Bose earbuds as a backup, but expect them to gather dust.