AirPods Pro Vs AirPods 2: How Apple's Wireless Earbuds Are Different

By the beginning of the season of Christmas sales, Apple, without a special event or announcement, launched the new branded AirPods Pro headphones, which are equipped with active noise cancellation and adaptive equalizer systems. What is the difference with ordinary AirPods - we understand the material below.

Positioning

Apple is very fond of using the "Pro" prefix in the names of their products, but if such positioning is really justified for Mac, MacBook and iPad, then in the case of the iPhone and, moreover, AirPods, such naming raises certain questions. However, the developers have more or less intelligible answers to them - the functions of double active noise cancellation and "transparent" mode, for example, are quite capable of making the new headphones suitable for professional use in some areas. And of course, the new product has a real Pro-price of 20,990 rubles.

AirPods Pro and AirPods 2 design and dimensions

AirPods Pro Review: 2019 Apple Wireless Headphones

AirPods Pro design

AirPods 2 design

AirPods Pro are the first in-ear earbuds from Apple, which are quite easy to visually distinguish from previous generations, not only by the presence of ear tips (which, by the way, are put into the box at once, three pairs of different sizes), but also by the shortened “leg”, which is now located at an acute, rather than a right angle to the center axis of the body.

At the same time, both the headphones and the charging case have slightly increased in size, and the weight of one "ear" has increased by one and a half grams.

We should also mention the ergonomics of the AirPods Pro earbuds. They have a special conical cavity inside and technological holes in the silicone coating, which allow to minimize pressure on the user's ears and make the device as comfortable as possible.

Water resistant

When developing the design of AirPods Pro, the developers paid attention to protecting the microphones and electronic filling of the accessory from external influences. In particular, the grille of the external microphone has been redesigned, which does not allow unnecessary noise in the wind, as well as protection against ingress of water and sweat into the housing in accordance with the IPX4 standard (IEC 60529). That being said, Apple recommends that you refrain from water sports with your headphones on, and wipe them dry before charging.

Noise suppression

When making calls or using Siri, a dedicated 2nd generation AirPods accelerometer recognizes the user's voice and activates a dedicated filtering mode for microphones, in which they focus on speech and cut out third-party noise. This system works quite well, but it does not compare with the dual noise reduction technology used in AirPods Pro.

It uses a sophisticated algorithm to analyze extraneous noise, convert the received data into a single sound wave, and generate a backward sound wave. That is, AirPods perceive ambient sound in the form of waves and damp it with similar waves, inverted (reflected) vertically, if you look at the conditional graph of such a wave.

Then, an internal microphone located in the housing and picking up sound in the same way as the user's ear does the same operation. In total, the headphones produce such an analysis of ambient noise 200 times per second, which should provide ideal (by the standards of in-ear devices) sound purity.

"Transparent" mode

Previously, as a sign of respect, they took off their hat when they met, but now they take out one earpiece from their ear, however, no one will do this with AirPods Pro. It is enough to use the pressure sensor on the “leg” to switch the accessory to “transparent” mode, in which the third-party sound penetrates the ear almost unhindered.

This mode can be useful for conversations, playing sports, at work and just on the street, allowing the avid music lover to hear the signals of cars at the transition, the barking of an attacking dog while jogging, or extraneous noise when working with a traumatic tool.

AirPods Pro sound vs. AirPods 2

With the Active Noise Cancellation and Adaptive EQ features described above, Apple AirPods can offer users noticeably clearer, better sound.

In addition, an amplifier is integrated into the system, which optimizes the processes of suppression of external noise and volume control, as well as a driver with wide amplitude and low distortion of sound waves for rich low frequency reproduction.

Adaptive equalizer

Another feature that only new AirPods Pro users will get is the adaptive equalizer, which adjusts the sound to the shape of the user's ears, allowing goblin-type hearing holders to stop hearing echoes during a conversation.

Processor and performance AirPods Pro and AirPods 2

Despite a host of new features, AirPods Pro are powered by the same Apple H1 processor as the 2nd generation AirPods. The 10-core chip provides excellent audio sync speed when connected via Bluetooth 5.0, and also enables near real-time active noise cancellation.

Control

To switch tracks and answer calls, AirPods users use short taps on the “leg” of the earphone, while the developers have implemented a press recognition module in the Pro model.

Both AirPods have the same priority, and you can press on either of them with your currently free hand to control. The Siri voice assistant in both models is always active and invoked by voice commands.

Autonomy of AirPods Pro and AirPods 2

The battery life of AirPods Pro remains unchanged in normal music listening mode - up to 5 hours on a single charge and over 24 hours using the entire resource of the case. At the same time, the use of noise reduction or "transparent" mode reduces the operating time to 4.5 hours.

The main differences between AirPods Pro and AirPods 2

AirPods Pro and AirPods 2 price

The cost of AirPods Pro in Russia is 20,990 rubles by pre-order, while the 2nd generation AirPods can be purchased in two options: with a wireless charging case (16,990 rubles) and an ordinary case with charging via the Lightning port (13,990 rubles).