INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
&These $250 earbuds are nice.& That the first thing I wrote to a co-worker after unboxing and trying on the new AirPods
After wearing them around the New York City streets, the subway and into a couple of cafes, that pithy review stands
Here are a few more words: They&re super comfortable
I&ve used a lot of different Bluetooth earbuds
It a weird perk of my job
The AirPods Pro (baffling pluralization aside) are probably the most comfortable, with the possible exception of the Powerbeats Pro, another
Apple-manufactured joint venture
That one, however, relies on a lot more plastic to get the job done, with a full over-the-ear hook system.
Apple announces AirPods Pro with
noise cancellation
The new AirPods, on the other hand, just hang comfortably
This is a big win for those who&ve experienced ear discomfort from all sort of different designs
[Sheepishly raises hand.] Granted, every ear is like a beautiful, unique snowflake, and not everyone will have the same experience
That said, the company clearly done a lot to correct for the complaints about the original AirPods, using both a more ergonomic design and
finally giving in to the sway of silicone tips.
Why Apple waited this long on the latter bit is beyond me, but the company has finally
Each Pro box ships with a total of six tips (a right and left in small, medium and large), with the medium on by default
These, however, are not your standard, run of the mill silicone tips
A firm yank will pull them off to reveal a hard outer edge that snaps into the bud [picture above]
The company says this is part of ensuring a better fit
Another benefit is that the attachment is much more secure
This is a definite plus, speaking as someone who has accidentally littered the streets of New York with earbud tips
These are far less likely to fall off while getting them out of your pocket
If you do lose one, Apple will be selling replacements for probably a buck or so
Along with an enlarged body, you&ve no doubt noticed that the stems are notably shorter
That because the company has been able to consolidate more of the electronics into the top
The stem remains as a way of handling the earbuds
It also now houses a haptic button that replaces the standard AirPod tap interaction
Instead, you give the stem a squeeze, triggering a subtle clicking sound in the process.
By default, a single squeeze pauses and plays a
track, whereas a squeeze and hold cycles between noise cancellation and transparent modes
All of this can be adjusted in iOS, once you&ve downloaded version 13.2
Setup on iOS is as easy as ever, requiring you to simply open the case near an iPhone or iPad
Android and desktop pairing, meanwhile, involves the more standard Bluetooth setup.
From there, click into Settings > Bluetooth > and then
tap the &i& next to AirPods Pro
From here you switch between noise control modes, assign different functions to the button on the individual AirPods and fire up the Ear Tip
Hit &play& and it will start a quick snippet of a song used to test the fit
If you have the right tip on, it will display &good seal.& If something is wrong, it recommends trying a different tip or adjusting the bud
Not only is every ear different, but some folks have a deal of differentiation between right and left
The mediums worked well for me, right out of the box
Results may very.
Amazon Echo Buds review
The Pros sound great
They&re among the best-sounding earbuds I&ve tried, up there with the similarly priced Sony WF-1000XM3
As such, they&re in pretty rare air
Unlike the Echo Buds, you can&t adjust the levels in settings, but Apple buds are tuned well out of the box for a wide range of genres
So far, I&ve listened to Ryuichi Sakamoto, Danny Brown, The Hold Steady, Electric Youth and Sunn 0))), for a pretty diverse sampling
It all comes across rich and full — much as one would expect/hope from a $250 pair of earbuds.
The noise canceling, too, is up there
Apple works adaptively, similar to what it offers on its over-ear Beats headphones
That means the microphones are constantly listening to your surroundings and adjusting accordingly
It not quite a full immersion, like you would get from over-ear headphones, but with a tight seal, it does a pretty terrific job drowning
out your surroundings when needed
For those times you need to be more alert, there transparency mode, which uses the on-board mics to beam in ambience
Once again, it a good mix, letting in sound without completely overwhelming the music
That was one of my issues with the Echo Buds, which tended to overamplify things like an air conditioning unit
Though again, unlike the Echo Buds, you can turn transparency on an off, versus adjusting levels
Bit of a side note here, but like their predecessors, these new models will probably go a ways toward shifting societal norms in terms of
keeping your headphones in while engaging with others
These are the sorts of things that make me want to go all Andy Rooney on kids today, etc., etc.
Noise canceling and transparency have
similar impacts on battery, knocking about half an hour off of the Pods& built-in five hours
With the charging case factored in, total listening time should be about 24 hours in standard mode, per Apple estimates
I&m excited to push that to the limit as I board a plane to Asia early next week
Ditto for the comfort level — but after several hours today, all is still well
The case is a little larger than the original AirPods, but is still carried comfortably in a pocket, unlike, say, the Beats or Sony models
The orientation has shifted, as well
It not wider than it is long, owing to the shortening of the AirPods& stems
The new design means they&re slightly more difficult to maneuver into the case, but you&ll get the hang of that after a couple of
tries.
Like the AirPods 2, the case can be charged both through the Lightning port or wirelessly
Tapping the case while charging will light up the LED, which will display as either yellow or green to let you know how far along your are
So, yeah, thumbs up after half a day
No surprise there, of course
The $250 price tag will almost certainly make these cost-prohibitive for many, but after a few hours, it going to be hard to go back
Look for a longer write up soon
