New AirPods Pro are music to the ears

Expect a massive boost in sound quality and noise cancellation from Apple’s latest wireless earbuds.

Apple AirPods Pro 2nd edition. Source: Supplied.

Apple’s second generation AirPods Pro are worth the upgrade although Apple could have handled some issues differently.

Their sound quality, their raison d’etre, is so much better. There are also improvements to active noise cancellation and transparency mode which lifts the experience of walking down the street, managing calls and listening to music.

You get a clearer, crisper and richer sound, and bass is solid without sounding distorted. The ability of spatial audio to deliver a sense of direction for voices and instruments brings music to life. Even the older bands I listen to sound great, let alone more recently engineered digital music.

Apple attributes this improvement to a new low-distortion audio driver, amplifier and improved computational audio. It’s a case of the soup is delicious whatever the magic ingredients are. Having a bigger collection of tracks updated to spatial audio quality helps.

Bon Jovi, The Beatles, INXS, Bee Gees, Fleetwood Mac and Crowded House in Apple Music were full of energy with spatial audio support, while old tracks in my library by Mi-Sex, Styx, Dragon, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Queen, and U2 sounded good although I could hear a difference in track quality.

Some people are disappointed that Apple didn’t implement lossless audio on these AirPods. Lossless audio over Bluetooth is an emerging technology with Qualcomm announcing chips capable of it. The NuraTrue Pro earbuds on Kickstarter seem to be the first with it.

LE Audio operating on the Bluetooth Low Energy radio is the next big development in wireless audio, promising not only better audio quality but an ability to stream music to multiple devices.

You could stream from one phone to several sets of earbuds. Users too could switch effortlessly between music sources.

All of this is too contemporary for Apple to implement just yet although some staff are reportedly involved in LE Audio’s development.

Nowadays Apple asks you to perform a “personalised spatial audio” calibration test for use with both AirPod Pro generations, AirPods Max and 3rd generation AirPods.

It’s like an extension of face recognition calibration applied to your ears. Your iPhone examines images of your ears and calibrates sound production to their shapes. It took me a couple of tries to get my iPhone pointing correctly at my ears.

Apple AirPods Pro 2nd edition with Memoji personalisation. Source: Supplied.

It’s hard to say how much the personalisation of spatial audio adds to an already impressive general spatial audio capability.

Beyond audio quality, there’s a marked improvement in active noise cancellation (ANC) and transparency mode. You squeeze an AirPod stem to change between the two settings.

You now hear very little other than music with noise cancellation. Transparency mode can exaggerate ambient sound. My computer keyboard sounds louder wearing AirPods in transparency mode than without them.

There is one issue. I do not hear background noise during voice calls with ANC active but the person I am speaking to does. One friend complained of wind noise when I spoke with her while walking through my local park. I didn’t hear it.

Apple has upped the number of ear tip sizes from three to four. You get extra small, small, medium and large tips in the box. I usually have trouble getting a good fit with tips but this time I had no trouble. There are plenty of third party options for Apple ear tips if you do. Beware of any potential impact on audio quality though.

While pro models have ear tips, non-pro ones still do not. It has always stunned me that Apple persists with one-size-fits-all with basic AirPods. Imagine selling shoes of just one size.

The new charging case has a lanyard loop, so expect to see fashionista devotees walking with their AirPod Pros strung around their necks. The case has a loudish speaker that makes it easier to be found with the Find My app if it goes missing.

You can find the case and each AirPod independently if they are separated. You need decent high frequency hearing to detect the sound from the individual AirPods.

Apple has added volume control to the AirPod stems. You stroke a stem upwards or downwards. It can be hit and miss. My remedy is to balance the stem with my thumb and stroke it with my middle finger which better gets behind the stem.

Frankly, it’s easier to use the iPhone’s control centre, use Apple Watch or ask Siri to turn up the volume. Siri hears you even if the music is blaring. I also use Siri to switch to ANC.

Apple claims 6 hours of listening to music with ANC activated, and up to 30 hours with five charges from the case.

Apple is persisting with a lightning connector for charging the AirPods Pro, rather than the widely accepted USB-C, a standard that will be enforced by the EU.

Some believe Apple will fully embrace wireless charging rather than conform to the EU’s edict. They are on the way, this year adding Apple Watch wireless charging for AirPods Pro, alongside MagSafe, Qi charging and the lightning cable.

The second generation AirPods Pro will cost $399. Apple will continue to sell 2nd and 3rd generation AirPods for $219 and $279 respectively. AirPods Max costs $899.

Add the integrated experience of using AirPods Pro on all your Apple devices, and you have a worthy buy. They are available from September 23.