Great New ANC Features and More Personalization

While it may not seem like there are any massive changes in the second generation of AirPods Pro, the hardware has improved, and more features have been added. You’ll find better battery performance, the ability to locate the AirPods case, and new Transparency Noise Canceling audio modes. But is it enough to warrant an upgrade from the other generations of AirPods Pros? Read on to find out.

The AirPods Pro 2 can be customized more than previous models. Ear tip testing, hearing tests, and Personalized Spatial Audio fine-tunes the AirPods to your ears and head.

Four pairs of ear tips come with the AirPods Pro 2. This generation has added an extra small size for narrow ear canals. Ear tips must fit snugly into your ears for the best sound quality—deeper bass, richer low frequencies, and complete noise cancellation. During setup (which can be done later, too), the connected iPhone can automatically test itself to see which ear tips are the best size for your ears. If it’s not a complete seal, the iPhone will let you know that the AirPod needs to be adjusted or to use another size ear tip. It may be that you need to rotate the AirPod in your ear.

Likewise, you can customize the Spatial Audio experience. Spatial Audio creates a virtual surround sound that sounds like the music is coming from different parts of the room. Movies and TV shows enabled with Spatial Audio mimic a home theater experience.

Personalized Spatial Audio uses the iPhone’s camera to create a 3D map based on the size and shape of your head and ears. Set up requires a front scan and holding the phone to the side of your head to see the shape of your ears. The data is used to create a listening experience unique to you.

Also, in the AirPods > Accessibility settings, you can choose if you want the spatial audio to appear from the iPhone (good for watching movies or listening to music on the phone), or turn off the Follow iPhone setting if you want the sound to follow your head movement.

For those with hearing issues, including damage from years of listening to headphones at too high a volume, there are Audio Accessibility settings to boost the sound. If you have an audiogram from your audiologist, you can take a photo of it and upload it during customization.

Even if you don’t have any hearing loss, you might prefer these settings that boost vocals, mid-range, and more. Music is brighter, and there’s a better separation of instruments.

To adjust the audio, go to Accessibility > AirPods > Audio Accessibility Settings > Headphone Accommodations. Turn on Headphone Accommodations, tap on Custom Audio Setup, and then follow the onscreen instructions. First, it will play voices and ask if you can hear them. If you are straining to hear them, tap “No.” It will create a new profile with Balanced Tone, Vocal Range, or Brightness. It will then play a comparison of the original audio and the altered equalization. Be sure to complete the comparisons.

The audio was brought to life when finished; not as dull and muddled.

Along with audio personalization, you can customize different features. Go to Settings > Siri & Search > Announce Calls to hear who is calling before answering a call. Below that setting is Announce Notifications, where you can choose which apps can interrupt you with notifications.

Sometimes you may want to avoid wearing both AirPods but want to hear the music or audio clearly. Turn on the noise cancellation when wearing one AirPod by going to Settings > AirPods > Accessibility and toggle on Noise Cancellation with One AirPod.

Adaptive Noise Cancellation

The AirPods Pro 2 takes noise cancellation to a new level. And the Adaptive Transparency mode is remarkable.

Adaptive Transparency cuts out any noise above 85 decibels, like jackhammers or sirens, but lets you hear the environment, like cars passing or people talking. It’s possible that wearing the Pro 2s at a concert would cancel out the ear-damaging sound from the loudspeakers but let you hear the music.

But the technology is not unique to the AirPods Pro 2. Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, Sony Wh-1000XM5, and the Google Pixel Buds Pro, Jabra Elite Active 75t, Jaybird Vista 2, and Beats Fit Pro also have their version of Adaptive Transparency modes.

Background Sounds

Alpha wave background noise helps you relax or concentrate, and the Pros 2 offer a choice of 6 background sounds, including noise, the ocean, rain, or stream sounds. These sounds are available when you aren’t listening to anything, and can be set up to play in the background when playing media.

After enabling background sounds in the settings, a Hearing ear icon appears in the iPhone’s control center. Here you can choose the sound, check the headphone sound level and make other adjustments.

Conversation Boost

When in a noisy environment, it can even be hard to hear the person closest to you. Conversation Boost focuses its beamforming microphones on the voice of the person in front of you and uses computational audio to distinguish it from the noisy background.

To turn it on, click on the ear icon. Tap on Headphone Accommodations and be sure Transparency Mode is checked. Tap on it if there is no checkmark. Go back to the first menu of the Hearing settings and scroll down to turn on Conversation Boost.

Live Listening

The ear icon is also where you find Live Listening. Live Listening is helpful for hearing others in a noisy environment. Place the connected iPhone or iPod down near the person who is speaking, and their voice will be clear and amplified as if they were speaking on the phone with you. This is also helpful when listening to a lecture or in a business meeting.

The AirPod Pros 2 Case

At first glance, the Pros 2 case looks the same as the first generation, but there are marked improvements. The case has a U1 chip like the Apple Air Tags. This means that it can be precisely located in the iPhone’s Find My app, where it can direct you to wherever it is nearby.

The case also has an added speaker that can play the Find My tune when trying to locate it with Find My. The app can also play a loud sound on each AirPod to help you locate those if separated from the case.

A lanyard connector on the side of the case makes sure you shouldn’t lose the AirPods Pro2 in the first place.

Like the previous case, the case can be charged using a lightning connector or a MagSafe Qi charging pad. The second generation also conveniently works with an Apple Watch charger. And the case speaker will chime and display an error on your iPhone if you accidentally put someone else’s pods in your case.

Audio Improvements

The new low-distortion audio driver and custom amplifier reproduce richer bass and better-defined highs and mids than the previous generation.

The H2 chip not only improves noise cancellation, but it also processes sound quicker, adjusting the sound at the precise moment it is heard. Coupled with new adaptive algorithms, Adaptive EQ uses the shape of the ear, and internal microphones to listen to how the music is delivered into the ear. It adjusts the equalization for each song played and each sound level.

How Well Do the AirPod Pros 2 Perform?

Apple claims that the Pros 2 noise cancellation removes twice the noise of the AirPod Pros. The noise cancellation is exceptional. When it’s turned on, I could stand next to the clothes dryer or the dishwasher and not hear them. While on a phone call, the person I was talking to could listen to my dog bark, but I only saw her mouth open without a sound.

Adaptive Transparency mode worked as Apple claims. I went to a car garage to change my tires and did not hear the whirring of the impact wrenches at 120 decibels. Still, I could listen to the salesperson speaking to me.

Spatial Audio was also remarkable. After completing the personalized setup, I connected the AirPods Pro 2 to my Apple TV 4K. The virtual surround sound was so clear and separate that I had to take out the AirPods to be sure I wasn’t listening to my home theater speakers. Sounds that “came from” the back speakers startlingly appeared to be located over my shoulder.

The sound quality has noticeably improved. The combination of the headphone accommodation setup and the adaptive equalizer brought out subtleties in the music in both the highs and mids, and rich base. Background voices, brushed drums, snapping fingers, whispers, and quiet pauses were clear and added richness to the music.

Should You Upgrade to AirPods Pro 2?

If you don’t own AirPods, the many new noise cancellation features, Personalized Spatial Audio, and audio quality improvements make them the best choice. The extra features and quality of the AirPods Pro second generation will make a big difference compared to the basic AirPods.

Many of the features of the AirPods Pro 2 are also available on the first-generation AirPods Pro. Still, if you want a boost in audio quality, get one and a half times longer battery life, and all the benefits of the new case—including the ability to use Precision Find My—you’ll be glad you chose to upgrade.