With the release of the newer two models of AirPods, the ‘Airpods Pro vs Airpods 2‘ question has been catching some weight lately. Both come with their own benefits, but which one is better?
When the AirPods were first announced in December 2016, they were criticized for their atypical design and hefty prices. Today, however, the AirPods are one of the most commonly used audio accessories. After the original model, the two latest models are the AirPods 2 and the AirPods Pro and if you’re an Apple user looking to buy an audio accessory you’re probably considering one of these two, or maybe you’re still in doubt. If the decision on the Airpods Pro vs Airpods 2 duo is hard for you, we’re here to help. Keep reading on to find out more about the two devices.
Contents
AirPods Pro
Released in October 2019, these were super fancy, upgraded and came at a high price. The AirPods Pro look fairly different from the original AirPods and offer different and multiple upgraded specs. With strong noise cancelling and water resistance, the AirPods Pro also offer customizable fitting for your ears!
Starting with the design…
…which was surprisingly new for everyone, and the internet had to make memes on it
The internet is fast pic.twitter.com/b8gvafgQ5Q
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) October 28, 2019
The Apple AirPods Pro look like mini hair dryers thanks to their silicon tips. Yes, Apple had silicon ear tips on the AirPods Pro and these aren’t just a pair of ear tips offered with a pair of AirPods, buyers get 3 pairs shipped out in one packing. These come in 3 sizes – a small, a medium and a large sized pair. You can try each one to find out your perfect fit, and no, you don’t have to just guess it out because there is a test for that. When trying out the ear tips, you’re supposed to go to the Ear Tip Fit Test on your phone or tablet’s settings and run the test. As the test runs, the AirPods Pro will play music which as it hits the interior of your ears will be observed by the microphones on the AirPods. This observation gets studied by the phone to find, for you, the right fit.
Besides this, there are other great features like hands-free Siri activation for which you don’t need to do the usual tap on the touch sensor and simply saying the phrase “Hey Siri!” will get the work done for you. Users can also activate message reading by the digital assistant, if they prefer to.
The best feature of these, however, is still the ANC or the Active Noise Cancellation system which lets you to shut out the exterior world and focus on whatever you want to listen to, and if you want to let the external world in, all that needs to be done is to long tap on the stem of the AirPods Pro to shift from the ANC mode to the Transparency mode which will let the world in without pausing your music.
On to a very important feature now, which is the AirPods Pro’s price. You can get these premium AirPods from an Apple store, a reseller or from Amazon easily for a price of 249 USD. It is significantly expensive compared to the prices of the AirPods and AirPods 2, but certainly worth it if you’re looking for features that the AirPods Pro offer.
AirPods 2
The AirPods 2 are a whole 90 USD cheaper than the AirPods Pro. These are second generation AirPods which were released in March 2019, 7 months before the AirPods Pro. The AirPods 2 offer a longer battery life and a better sound system than the original AirPods. Still good for the price, these feature some issues with the ear fitting and also do not feature as much on-ear controls. This means that the controls for single, triple and longer taps on the touch sensor aren’t available; the only control tap gesture offered with the AirPods 2 is the double tap gesture which works as your need be. The default action to the gesture is Siri activation; if you’re listening to music you can set it up to either pause/play music, skip forwards or backwards to different songs in the playlist or to stop the music. For calls, the double tap gesture will attend the call for you, if its incoming and if you’re already in a call, the gesture will end it.
These second generation AirPods do not offer any sweat or water resistance officially but some of the testers say it worked well for them. It is, however, still not a good idea to wear them in the shower, during swimming or to dunk them in a water bowl to test for yourself.
The reason behind the loose fitting is the lack of presence of a canal seal (like the silicon tips of the AirPods Pro) on the buds; this may make the user find the ear buds ill-fitting and as if they might drop out of their ears’ anytime. This also impacts the quality of the audio being played.
Despite offering many great features, the AirPods 2 might still be a tad little expensive for the features being offered, given their issues with the fitting.
AirPods Pro VS AirPods 2
While to pick one from between the Apple Airpods Pro vs Airpods 2 might look difficult, it really isn’t and the answer to the Airpods Pro vs Airpods 2 question really just depends on your need and budget.
For a more clear comparison, read details below.
Battery Life:
The battery life of the AirPods 2 is better than that of the AirPods Pro. While both would run for 24 hours when with the charging case, the AirPods Pro run for 4.5 hours when in use and the AirPods 2 run for 5 hours.
Wireless Charging:
To choose from the two different buds, wireless charging might carry some weight for some of the buyers. It is a fairly important difference in the Airpods Pro vs Airpods 2 comparison. The AirPods Pro, being the newer ones offer free wireless charging while for the AirPods 2 you’ll need to pay $40 extra to get the feature included in your device.
The Case:
While not much of a choosing factor, but the AirPods 2 case is 0.20 ounces lighter upon carriage than the AirPods Pro, and likewise it is also smaller in size than the AirPods Pro by more than just a few millimeters.
Sweat and Water Resistance:
Neither one of the two is fully sweat and/or water resistant but the AirPods Pro can definitely officially withstand the liquids to some extent (They are levelled on the IPX 4 level which means they’re totally safe from water splashing, but maybe not from showering). The AirPods 2 aren’t officially resistant but as mentioned before some people who tested the AirPods 2 found them working after slight exposure to water.
Audio Sharing:
Both the devices offer audio sharing with friends’ AirPods and Beats’ devices
Siri-Message Connection:
Both allow message reading by Siri if you choose to activate it.
Noise Cancellation:
Only the AirPods Pro feature Active Noise Cancellation or ANC. This feature can be turned off by turning on the Transparency Mode which lets the external sounds in without stopping the audio being played by the user.
Adjustable Fitting:
The AirPods 2 do not offer it, but with the AirPods Pro, users can adjust the AirPods according to their own ear sizes thanks to the three different silicon ear tips (small, medium and large) included with the packaging.
Price:
The price of the AirPods 2 is fairly cheaper at $159 than the price of the AirPods Pro which can be bought for $259.
So, the Airpods Pro or Airpods 2?
In conclusion, the AirPods 2 are a great option if you’re simply looking for a great accessory to listen to music and are also on a budget as these aren’t too heavy on the pocket, but if you work or travel around busy and loud spaces and you need active noise cancellation, or maybe if you aren’t very careful with your things and often may be dropping them and you’d love a customizable fitted pair or one that is water resistant, and you’re also willing to pay more for your product then the AirPods Pro are certainly what you would want to go for.