Design & Construction

Apple finally did it, they have created a Pro version of the ever-popular Airpods. They say third time's the charm. But just how good is it? Let's dive straight into the design. Once again just like its predecessor, Apple stuck to the iconic tiny glossy finish on the earbuds and case themselves. The earbuds also come with 3 different sized silicone ear tips to ensure a tight seal and secure fit. All controls for music playback and calls are controlled via the force sensor on the earbuds themselves. A single squeeze on either bud play/pause your music, a double squeeze skips forward, and a triple squeeze skips backwards. Holding it down will activate Transparency Mode which allows you to hear an announce or traffic for safety purposes. There is however no way to control the volume on the earbuds. Throughout long listening sessions, I experienced no wearing fatigue in my ear canal due to its small size, in fact, I do forget that it's in my ears after a while. The earbuds are water-resistant with an IPX4 rating. Since the earbuds have a gloss finish, it does pick up fingerprints smudges really easily. The force sensors are highly responsive and respond to my tap rather accurately. Moving on to the case, it is a wider version of the original Airpods, however, it is still rounded and fits right into my palm of my hands. A Lightning port can be found on the bottom of the case. In fact, this is one of the smallest true wireless buds and case. It fits very well in tight jeans front pockets and doesn't add a noticeable bulge. There is a single LED indicator on the front which tells you the current charge of the case and the earbuds. Green LEDs indicate fully charged, red LEDs indicates low charge or charging in progress and The case is a magnetically attaches the earbuds to their charging points and also magnetically shut close. The structure of the case and the hinge is durable and survived a couple of accidental drops and over the period of time I have used them. The Airpods Pro, however still only come in White.

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Sound Quality

Apple delivered some impressive yet balanced sound. The Airpods Pro produces an extremely bright, clean sound signature that creates a very immersive sound experience. Although the bass is not boosted, it is clean and detailed while not bleeding into the mids. Mid-range is rather natural and crisp. Highs have character and are fun to listen to. This makes the Airpods Pro great for all genres of music ranging from slow jazz to fast-paced EDM tracks. The soundstage is decent with some instrument separation. Based on user experience, the noise cancellation is top-notch, I could not hear much of my surroundings even when I had no music on and when I am using it at a low volume level. There was no sound leakage even at full volume and no high-volume distortion. Call quality was great as the caller on the other end could hear me even in a noisy environment. In a quiet environment, the caller heard me loud and clear. Sound will come out from both earbuds so taking calls is easy and normal. Transparency Mode is another new feature which allows us to talk to someone without removing the earbud, You can also permanently enable transparency mode with music playing.

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Connectivity & Portability

The earbuds support the standard AAC codec together with Bluetooth Version 5.0. Users can choose to use only one earbud if desired and either left or right can be assigned to be the master earbud. The battery life peaks at 4.5 hours per use and a total of 24 hours with the case. The case features fast charging that will give you about 1 hour of playtime with a 5-minute charge. The package also comes with a Lightning to USB-C cable for charging and the case can also be wirelessly charged via a wireless charging pad. Lastly, if you are planning to watch videos or movies with these, I am glad to report that they do not suffer from any latency.

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PROS​

• Durable Construction

• Small & Discreet

• IPX4 Water-Resistant

• Bluetooth 5.0

• Clean & Balanced Sound Signature

• Transparency Mode

• Strong Noise-Cancelling Performance

• 'Hey Siri' Voice Command

• Controls For Music Playback, & Calls

• Wireless Charging

• Fast Charge

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CONS​​

• Only One Colour Available

• No Volume Controls

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The Bottom Line

The Airpods Pro is an obvious contender for Apple users looking for a true wireless in-ear headphone. With a small and sleek build, Bluetooth 5.0, clean and balanced sound and strong noise-cancelling performance, it is definitely worth its rather high price.