When Apple released its first AirPods in late 2016, the tiny white wireless headphones were mocked by many in the tech industry. They might look good, but surely they couldn’t be worth the expense?
When the naysayers actually tried them out, however, many were won over. The powerful audio, simple set-up, impressive battery life, freedom achieved by a lack of wires and super-light earphones — which, against all expectations, stayed in the ear — were hugely appealing.
Earlier this year, Apple was selling AirPods faster than it could make them. The second-gen version — offering better talk time for calls, a smarter chip and a wireless charging case — arrived in March. For those of you who’ve held out, it could be time to join the disciples. Yesterday, Apple announced a third-generation model, AirPods Pro. And it is a marked upgrade.
AirPods Pro boast a wholly new design and a snugger fit thanks to new ear tips. The real selling point, though, is the noise-cancelling feature.
Are they worth the extra money? Basic AirPods cost £159, or £199 with the wireless charging case. But AirPods Pro, now on pre-order and available in store from tomorrow, cost £249. It’s a lot.
So what exactly has changed? They are unmistakably still AirPods, with the gloss-white finish and the stalk that points towards your mouth so the microphone inside can catch your voice for phone calls. But the all-new shape has a chunkier in-ear bud that sits comfortably and stays in place.
Compared to previous models, each bud has a shorter stalk and a silicone ear tip designed to create the perfect seal — the seal is important because of the active noise cancellation. Apple is not the first to put noise-cancelling into in-ear headphones: Sony’s superb WF-1000XM3 earbuds have it, and the upcoming Huawei FreeBuds 3 also feature it.
But Apple’s noise cancellation works well. Testing the earphones on the Tube, the surrounding noises were reduced dramatically. The couple opposite, whose voices I would once easily hear above the music, quickly fell silent.
You don’t always want your surroundings to vanish like that. There’s a Transparency Mode which lets more of the outside world in. Press a touch panel on the AirPod stalk to switch to this mode and a chime confirms it. You can also control playback by squeezing the touch panel.
Battery life is the same as on earlier AirPods — five hours’ playback, or half an hour less, if you have noise-cancelling turned on. The charging case has another 19 hours of charge in: put the depleted AirPods back in the case for five minutes and you’ll get around an hour of playback.
The downside is the earphones are fiddly (and you’re still likely to lose one). Plus, there’s the price. Rivals, like the chunkier WF-1000XM3 and an upcoming pair from Amazon, are noticeably cheaper.
But if you’re prepared to splash out, it’s worth it. Set-up is seamless: open the charging case next to an iPhone and they pair instantly, and you can automatically connect to your MacBook or iPad when needed. Extra features, such as the way the music pauses if you take one AirPod out of your ear, work well.
And the audio quality with noise-cancelling activated is extraordinarily good.
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