products8.7
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)
Best-selling earbuds with incredible noise cancellation—but are $249 earbuds worth it when excellent alternatives cost half as much?
Apple AirPods Pro 2 are the premium tier of Apple's earbud lineup, offering active noise cancellation (ANC), spatial audio, adaptive transparency, and deep integration with Apple devices. Released in September 2022 with continuous software updates through 2025, they're the most popular premium earbuds in the world—walk through any airport, gym, or coffee shop and you'll see the telltale white stems everywhere. After using them daily for 18+ months across workouts, travel, calls, and deep work sessions, they've become the earbuds we reach for first. But at $249, they're not cheap, and excellent alternatives from Sony and Samsung offer comparable features at lower prices. The question isn't whether AirPods Pro 2 are good—they absolutely are—but whether they're worth the Apple premium for your specific use case.
The core strength is the Apple ecosystem integration. If you use iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, AirPods Pro 2 offer seamless device switching, automatic pairing, spatial audio with head tracking, Find My integration, and Siri hands-free voice control. You pull them from the case near your iPhone and they connect instantly. You start a video on your iPad and audio switches automatically. You accept a call on your iPhone and audio transfers seamlessly. This "it just works" experience is where Apple justifies the premium—no pairing menus, no connection dropouts, no manual switching between devices. If you live in the Apple ecosystem, this alone might be worth the extra cost over competitors.
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is best-in-class for earbuds. We've tested Sony WF-1000XM5, Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro, and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II side-by-side, and AirPods Pro 2 consistently rank at or near the top. The noise cancellation effectively blocks low-frequency rumble (airplane engines, air conditioning, traffic), mid-range chatter (office noise, conversations), and high-frequency sounds (keyboard typing, fans). They don't match over-ear headphones like Sony WH-1000XM5 for absolute isolation, but for earbuds, the ANC is impressive. We use them on flights, trains, and in noisy coworking spaces—they reduce ambient noise enough to enable focus or sleep.
Adaptive Transparency mode is the feature we didn't know we needed until we had it. Traditional transparency mode passes through external sound so you can hear your surroundings (useful for walking in traffic, ordering coffee, quick conversations). Adaptive Transparency takes it further—it reduces loud, sudden noises (sirens, construction, door slams) in real-time while preserving conversational volume. This is genuinely useful for urban environments where you want awareness without being blasted by jackhammers or honking. Sony's transparency mode is good; AirPods' adaptive version is noticeably better.
Sound quality is very good but not audiophile-grade. The tuning is balanced and pleasant—clear vocals, decent bass, good separation for pop, rock, electronic, and podcast content. Apple tuned for mass appeal, not critical listening. If you're coming from cheap earbuds or older AirPods, the quality is a significant upgrade. If you're an audiophile with experience listening to high-end IEMs or studio monitors, you'll notice the limitations—soundstage is narrow, detail retrieval is good but not exceptional, and the bass is punchy but not deeply extended. For most people, the sound quality is more than sufficient. For critical listening, wired IEMs or over-ear headphones offer better fidelity.
Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking is a novelty that becomes genuinely useful in specific contexts. When watching movies or TV shows on Apple devices, spatial audio creates a virtual surround sound experience that tracks your head movement—turn your head and the sound stays anchored to the screen. It's impressive the first time you experience it. For most music listening, we turn it off (it makes music sound distant and processed). For movies, especially action films or immersive content, it enhances the experience. For Dolby Atmos-mastered music (available on Apple Music), it can be enjoyable for certain genres. Sony WF-1000XM5 offer a similar feature with some Sony TVs; Samsung Galaxy Buds integrate with Samsung devices. The feature is ecosystem-locked—you need Apple devices to experience it.
Fit and comfort are excellent for most ear shapes, though not universal. Apple includes four silicone tip sizes (XS, S, M, L) and an in-app fit test that uses audio feedback to confirm proper seal. We tested the fit test—it works well, accurately identifying when the seal is poor. With the right tip size, AirPods Pro 2 are comfortable for multi-hour wear. The shallow insertion depth (compared to deep-fit IEMs) makes them less fatiguing for extended sessions. However, people with very small or very large ear canals may struggle to find a secure fit. The stems provide a convenient handle for adjustment and controls but stick out visibly (some people find this less sleek than the stemless Sony or Samsung designs).
Battery life is good but not class-leading. Apple rates AirPods Pro 2 at 6 hours per charge with ANC on, 30 hours total with the MagSafe charging case. In real-world use, we get 5-6 hours depending on volume and ANC usage—sufficient for most days, tight for long international flights. Sony WF-1000XM5 offer 8 hours per charge (better), Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro offer 5 hours (similar). The case charges via USB-C (finally, after years of Lightning), MagSafe, and Qi wireless charging. Fast charging provides ~1 hour of listening from 5 minutes in the case. Battery degradation is real—after 18 months of daily use, we're noticing slightly shorter battery life, typical for all lithium-ion batteries.
Call quality is excellent. The microphones handle background noise suppression well, isolating your voice even in moderately noisy environments (cafes, streets, cars). We take dozens of calls per week on AirPods Pro 2—colleagues and clients consistently report clear audio. They're not perfect in very loud environments (construction sites, busy airports), but they're among the best earbuds for voice calls. The beam-forming microphone array and computational audio processing make a noticeable difference versus cheaper earbuds.
Controls are simple but limited. You control playback and modes via force sensor on the stems—press once to play/pause, press twice to skip forward, press three times to skip back, press and hold to switch between ANC and Transparency. Volume control requires Siri voice commands ("Hey Siri, volume up") or your device. There are no physical volume controls on the earbuds themselves, unlike Sony (which has swipe gestures) or Samsung (which has tap controls). Some users find this limiting; we adapted quickly. The Siri integration works well if you're comfortable with voice commands.
The MagSafe charging case is a meaningful upgrade from the first-generation AirPods Pro case. It includes a speaker for Find My pings (helpful when you misplace the case), a lanyard loop (useful for attaching to bags or keychains), and more precise Find My location tracking. The case is compact, pocketable, and premium-feeling. Wireless charging and MagSafe support are convenient if you have compatible chargers. USB-C charging (new in the 2nd gen case as of late 2023) finally standardizes the cable.
The limitations are worth acknowledging. At $249, AirPods Pro 2 are expensive. Sony WF-1000XM5 offer better sound quality and longer battery life for similar or slightly lower price. Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro offer excellent ANC, good sound, and tight Samsung ecosystem integration for ~$150-$180. If you're not deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem, the seamless integration advantage disappears, and you're paying a premium for good-but-not-best sound quality. The lack of physical volume controls annoys some users. The battery life, while decent, isn't class-leading. And like all Apple products, repairability is non-existent—when the batteries degrade in 2-3 years, you'll likely replace the entire unit.
Compatibility is technically universal but functionally Apple-optimized. AirPods Pro 2 work with any Bluetooth device (Android phones, Windows PCs, non-Apple tablets). However, you lose most of the premium features—no automatic device switching, no spatial audio, no adaptive transparency tuning, no Find My, no Siri integration, no in-app controls for EQ or fit test. On Android, they function as basic Bluetooth earbuds with ANC. If you're not using Apple devices, buy Sony or Samsung instead.
