Following is a detailed review of my experience with the AirPods Pro 2 (purchased through Skroutz for approximately €280).
SOUND QUALITY (5/5):
I have tested them with various genres of music and I was pleasantly surprised by their quality. Their strong points would be the balanced sound and the clear bass.
NOISE REDUCTION - ANC (4.5/5):
When I activate the active noise cancelling, it feels like diving my head into the sea. They completely block out mild continuous noises such as fans, refrigerators, or the hustle and bustle of a street. They are less effective with louder noises such as an electric vacuum cleaner. What impressed me is that, unlike other headphones I have tried, the ANC does not bother me at all and I don't feel that characteristic pressure in my ears.
TRANSPARENCY MODE (4.5/5):
For those who don't know, I am referring to the function that allows you to open the microphones and hear what's happening around you. In contrast to other headphones, the AirPods reproduce the surrounding sounds very naturally, and it's about 90% of how you would hear without wearing any headphones. It's not perfect, but it works very well.
MICROPHONES: I don't know what score to give because I haven't recorded myself, but in all the calls I have made, everyone tells me that they can hear me very clearly and without any issues.
SPATIAL AUDIO (4/5):
This is the most difficult to rate. When it works correctly, it is truly an impressive experience. In movies, you feel like you are inside the action, while in music, it feels like you are somewhere in the orchestra. The problem is that this feature is not available everywhere, so you can't enjoy it more often. Also, songs on Apple Music that support Dolby Atmos often sound better with spatial audio turned off. I deduct one star because it's not consistent.
COMFORT (5/5):
This is subjective, but they are very comfortable in my ears. The box includes 4 different sizes of ear tips that you can test to ensure a proper fit through the AirPods settings. Also, in my daily life, I haven't experienced them falling out of my ears. I often forget that I'm wearing them.
BATTERY (5/5):
I don't really pay much attention to their charging. Also, I don't think there are many people who listen to music with ANC ON continuously for 6 hours to deplete their battery. But even if they need charging, they charge extremely fast in their case.
COOL FEATURES:
- They are the first AirPods that allow you to adjust the volume directly from the earphone by tapping the areas where you normally press for play, pause, etc.
- If you have multiple Apple devices, they connect simultaneously to all of them and automatically switch the audio source depending on where you are playing something.
- Their case has a speaker and the AirTag chip, making it easy to find in case of loss.
- On an Apple device, you can connect more than one pair of headphones, so that a second person can hear what you're hearing.
- With the notch camera, you can scan your head and ears to have personalized spatial audio (although I haven't noticed a significant difference).
- They have a feature that senses where your phone is in the room and gives you the sensation that the sound is coming from there, as if you weren't wearing headphones.
- When in transparency mode, they can reduce loud sounds so that you don't strain your hearing.
- You can spy on people by leaving your iPhone somewhere and listening to whatever the phone's microphone picks up from a distance (LOL).
NEGATIVES:
- Price. Objectively, almost 300€ for wireless earbuds puts them in the expensive category. Whether they are worth that much money depends solely on someone's needs.
- Although they can connect to any device and operating system via Bluetooth, to unlock all their features, you will need an Apple device.
CONCLUSION:
If you have an Apple device and find the points mentioned above important, and the price doesn't seem excessively high to you, then you should get them without hesitation. If you don't care about ANC or don't like silicone ear tips, then it's better to consider the AirPods 3, which are also cheaper. Finally, the first generation AirPods Pro have many common features and if you find them at a good price, they might offer better value for money at the moment.