Apple AirPods Pro 2 Review

The AirPods Pro 2 are among our favorites to date, boasting notable improvements in sound quality, immersive spatial audio, and wildly insulating noise cancellation. Unfortunately, their full suite of features is only available to Apple users. Sorry, Android fans.

Performance Comparison

Sound Quality

Our panel of audio experts agree — these earbuds are an absolute treat. We tested these earbuds across various genres in a range of environments. What we found is that their sound profile is excellent, if not one of our absolute favorites in the test.

These earbuds deliver exceptional sound with a well-balanced and natural signature. The bass is robust, the mid-range is pleasing and well-proportioned, and the treble tones are smooth.

Folk rock classics like “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young sound fantastic. The mellow bass, percussive broom sweeps, and acoustic guitar are beautifully balanced. When the dreamy pedal steel guitar enters at 0:18, the textural contrast is stunning, showcasing each instrument without compromising the cohesiveness of the track.

The treble range echoes the first-generation AirPods Pro and remains smooth and consistent. In “Harvest Moon,” Young's voice is clear and moving, avoiding the thin or brassy tones that can sound piercing through lesser earbuds. Even the bright harmonica casts a soft, nostalgic hue, never slipping into sharp or keening notes.

The effect works equally well in rock classics like “Tumbling Dice” by the Rolling Stones and dreamy instrumentals like “Dreaming” by Jon Mclaughlin. However, it doesn't ascend to the crystalline brilliance of the best options in the test.

The mid frequencies are comparable to those in the first generation AirPods Pro — pleasing, balanced, and natural. The clean profile sounds great in mid-heavy classic pop like Fleetwood Mac's “Dreams” and 2Pac's “All About U.” Clarity can suffer at higher levels, like Stevie Nicks higher pitched vocals at the 2:19 mark of “Dreams”, but we don't notice any major compromises in sound quality like distortions or blowouts.

While the bass isn't the most robust we've tested, it is more powerful than previous versions of these earbuds. It's fleshed out and full-bodied in “All Eyez on Me” and “Heaven Ain't Hard 2 Find” by 2Pac.

In “Summer in the City” by Quincy Jones, the first 30 seconds before the first drum fill is so effortlessly cool. These earbuds clearly present the organ, keys, bass, and percussion in uncomplicated conversation and maintain clarity as the song grows in complexity.

Soundstage

The soundstage of a set of earbuds describes how the sound is arranged in the room, creating a more live and raw experience. We're accustomed to experiencing sound like a live performance when it's coming from in front of us, with some sound bouncing off nearby surfaces like the walls or floor.

Due to their compact size and in-ear design, earbuds tend to create a more internalized listening experience. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 are an impressive exception. Their immersive soundstage creates a truly awe-inspiring acoustic experience.

These earbuds offer a surround sound feel that puts you in the middle of the music. Apple's personalized spatial audio system also tracks your head movements, which makes it feel like the music is moving with you rather than staying locked into place. We must admit that we enjoy the experience, though a similar feature in the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds is more effective.

These earbud's enveloping audio and well-balanced mix combine to create mesmerizing soundscapes. Lush, ethereal music like “Ready” by Emotional Oranges truly shines. Our musical expert tester Genaveve Bradshaw notes that “Pop songs like Taylor Swift's 'Lavender Haze' swirl around you during the climax at the 0:51 mark, clearly articulating each element from low beats to high notes in the mix.”

It helps that the powerful active noise cancellation drops you right into the mix. We'll cover it in detail below, but it's important to note that the soundstage is more cinematic when the ANC is turned on, and ambient noises fade to a land far, far away.

To add objective rigor, we recruited our Brüel & Kjaer Type 5128 Head Simulator, Darwin, to record the frequency response curve of these earbuds while SoundCheck, specialized audio software by Listen Inc., measures the curve against our GearLab House Curve. The comparison confirms our findings — while the bass is good, it lacks the boom of our favorite options, and the mids are higher in the mix, affecting the balance overall. The treble frequencies are where most earbuds fall short, and while there is some variation, the Apple Pro's track our House Curve pretty faithfully from 5000 to 9000 Herz and sound fantastic.

User Experience

Sure, they sound great, but how pleasant are they to use? Very. Especially if you already live within Apple's extensive and welcoming ecosystem. These earbuds are comfortable and secure in your ear to boot. We had over a dozen folks try them out around town to test their comfort. Our dedicated test team also wore them all over town, from long office days to mountain bike rides.

Comfort

All of our testers were able to get a comfortable fit using one of four silicone tips options. They stay securely in place while allowing our ears to breathe, maintaining comfort during prolonged use. Their design marks a significant improvement over previous versions.

Stability

Their secure fit provides remarkable stability during daily activities. We moved through our day, confident that they would stay in place. We wore them in the office and on sweaty commuter bike rides with no issue. They passed our rigorous stability tests, including headstands and headbanging, with flying colors. With an IPX4 rating, these earbuds can handle those sweaty bike rides and workouts. Dance your heart out, these earbuds can keep up.

Customization

The usability of the AirPods Pro 2 hinges on the device you pair it with. If you use Apple products, it's a dream. If you don't, it's clunky. These earbuds do work with Android devices, but we don't recommend it since some features are unavailable and the sound quality is diminished.

For Apple users, these buds offer all the usual features — an ear fit test to optimize sound quality and noise cancelation, a location feature to help you find lost buds, and touch controls for audio playback and Siri access.

They also feature noise cancellation and transparency modes, allowing you to isolate or integrate ambient sounds as needed. An “adaptive audio” function tries to save you from having to decide, identifying and transmitting ambient noises it thinks you should hear. We didn't notice this in action.

They offer “conversation awareness,” which turns the music down when you start talking, and “personalized volume,” which uses AI to adapt your volume preferences to your environment. They'll also customize the sound profile to your ear and head shape with the iPhone's “TrueDepth” camera. We found the process frustrating and didn't notice much of a difference in sound quality.

Apple touts “personalized spatial audio” that tracks head movements to provide a surround-sound sensation. This feature supposedly pairs well with Apple Vision Pro goggles to offer lossless audio quality. We haven't tested this feature, but it sounds cool.

These earbuds lack a manual equalizer option, relying instead on “adaptive EQ.” This feature records the music inside your ears, adjusting it in real-time to account for the earbud's position and fit. Although it's convenient, we miss the ability to adjust settings manually. We don't want to leave everything up to AI.

Connectivity

We did not have any notable connection issues during our in-house testing, especially when using the earbuds with another Apple device. To find the frequency of connection issues among a larger group of users and supplement our own experience with these earbuds, we surveyed Amazon User Reviews, specifically noting all 1-star reviews where users mentioned connectivity troubles. When comparing rates of connectivity issues among our tested earbuds, the AirPods Pro did impressively well, with an issue rate of 0.27%, which is well below average.

Noise Cancellation

“Holy moly,” said one tester, “the ambient noise-blocking for these buds is amazing!” The AirPods Pro 2 earbuds offer excellent passive noise isolation and active noise canceling. We found new levels of peace at the climbing gym, a respite from the tyranny of the office microwave and background conversation, and a break from the whir of a space heater at home. These earbuds significantly reduce the need to crank up the volume, even when you need to stay alert to your surroundings. Only a few options do a better job.

These earbuds block so much sound that we leave the volume low when we need to be aware of our surroundings. While the adaptive audio function works to balance noise cancellation with environmental awareness, we don't trust it in high-consequence situations. It does reliably help us maintain spatial awareness without overwhelming distractions though.

The full transparency mode is exceptional, allowing you to hear surrounding soundings, but it adds a layer of white noise to your music.

Noise isolation and cancellation significantly enhance your listening experience by letting you focus fully on the music. Noise isolation blocks physically, while active noise cancellation (ANC) counteracts ambient noise with opposing soundwaves.

As demonstrated in our noisy dimer test above, simply inserting the earbuds diminishes auditory chaos. Turning on the ANC dampens it further. The interaction between the two functions is illustrated in the chart below.

High-frequency sounds, which have shorter wavelengths, are often blocked effectively by passive noise isolation. These earbuds dampen the treble range by 20 to nearly 27 decibels. They knock the mid-tones down a notch as well.

The long waves of low-frequency bass notes work their way past the earbuds themselves. That's where ANC comes in, blocking between 20 to around 30 decibels across all frequencies. The combination works well.

Battery Life

While the AirPods Pro 2 don't have the longest battery life in the test, the 8.5 hours we measured is more than enough for most. It is a bit less than the 8 hours and 50 minutes that Apple claims you should expect, though. To double-check their claims, we played music at 75% volume until the earbuds stopped. If you have extra features turned on, like ANC, the battery will drain even faster.

The charging case holds an additional four charges, extending total entertainment time to 34 hours before you need a full recharge. That takes time, but a quick 5-minute recharge in the case will give you another hour of listening.

Call Quality

When it comes to making crystal clear phone calls, the AirPods Pro 2 earbuds are among the top performers in the test, even with significant background noise.

To test this, we played the recorded script of our testers speaking through a speaker and assessed the audio quality on the other end of the call. These earbuds delivered excellent voice clarity across a range setting, including a quiet room, amidst typical office noise, and against a backdrop of loud subway sounds.

What really blew our socks off is how well we could understand the recordings over subway sounds. Despite the challenging environment, the voices remain clear, and the surrounding chaos effectively fades to the background, demonstrating the earbuds' ability to manage and isolate sound.

The AirPods Pro 2 has standout performance during the office noise test, where the earbuds managed to suppress background typing and chatter, making both voices sound more clearly and distinctly than most competitors.

Most of the earbuds tested are able to transmit a clear call from a silent room, but this recording is crystal. It's one of the best examples in the test, working well for the high tones of the woman's voice and the lower register of the man's recording.

Should You Buy the Apple AirPods Pro 2?

If you're a dedicated Apple user and can afford the steep price tag, these earbuds offer the best overall experience in the test. They sound great, with top-notch noise isolation and cancellation that allow for a fully immersive experience. Comfortable to wear, they also boast solid battery life, provide more case-based recharges than most competitors, and feature impressive call quality for clear phone calls. Apple's dedication to the latest and greatest tech provides a number of useful features. We suggest Android users look elsewhere as it's not worth the high price tag with limited features they'll see in their diminished version. There are also other options that sound as good or better, are just as comfy, and work well with non-Apple devices. If noise cancellation is a secondary consideration, you may be able to spend less and still get the sound quality you're craving.

What Other Earbuds Should You Consider?

If you're an Android user, the Google Pixel Buds Pro buds offer a seamless integration with your device. For those looking to spend less, the Jaybird Vista 2 earbuds provide comparable audio quality for significantly less money. While they aren't as comfortable and lack impressive battery life or ANC capabilities, we still enjoy their sound quality. If budget isn't a concern, and you prioritize superior audio over advanced ANC and call quality, the Jabra Elite 10 offers both exquisite sound and exceptional comfort. For a slightly lower price, the Jabra Elite 8 Active outperform the AirPods in sound quality and durability, making them one of the toughest earbuds we've tested.