Apple AirPods Pro (1st Generation) with MagSafe Charging Case

Wow, these really exceeded my expectations. I’m usually slow to buy new Apple products because mostly I feel my needs are more than met by the iPhone and MacBook Air I own. But I also find myself frequently fumbling with ugly tangled headphone cables, attaching and detaching (and sometimes losing) the obnoxious “dongle” needed to switch from my iPhone’s lightning jack to my MacBook’s headphone jack, and I find the sound quality on the standard Apple earbuds pretty bad for anything but the most utilitarian listening, e.g. a news podcast or a call to the bank. So I’m pleased to report that my AirPods have already become *incredibly* useful in the first week of use for their ability to connect almost instantly, and with fabulous intuition about when and where to connect, to either my two primary devices, transforming my day’s patchwork of Zoom sessions (I’m a therapist and a yoga teacher), phone calls, audiobooks, podcasts, and music into something much smoother and more flowing. The features, and their usefulness, were what surprised me. When I bought these I had assumed, wrongly, that they would basically be the same as the standard Apple earbuds, but made wireless. On the contrary, the sound here is massively better, a gigantic leap from one end of the quality spectrum to the other, and the sound can be shaped in several useful ways: 1) Noise-Cancelling Mode, which instantly sucks the background noise out so well for a moment you’ll think you’ve gone deaf 2) Transparency Mode, my favorite, which beautifully mixes the original sound source (music, podcast, etc) with the sound of your own breath and the outside world. The levels are perfectly adjusted to give you an amazingly crisp listening experiencing while remaining aware of your surroundings. It’s ideal. If in a dystopian Total Recall scenario a microchip were implanted in my head to play music, this would represent the best possible audio mix. 3) Normal Mode/“Off”, which gives the unmixed, untreated effect of standard headphones, allowing the normal amount of bleed between the sound in the ears and the slightly muffled sound of the outside world. This is the only mode I have no use for, because the other two are such big improvements to me. Turning these features on and off, pausing, or switching between music tracks works very well with the old “pinch the stem” technique that most wireless earbuds use. It’s the Morse Code style, squeeze once for this, squeeze twice for that system, and while it occasionally fails to understand what I want to do, it is much more intuitive and accurate than the few other brands I’ve tried. I’d say it following 3/4 of my commands perfectly, which for me is good enough, and again a vast improvement on other wireless earbuds I’ve tried, which usually suffer horribly in this category. I was a bit worried about this feature due to past negative experiences, but there was nothing to fear. Once again, Apple made the best. My strongest area of constructive critique is the voice quality of a AirPod user as experienced by the listener. The sound is crystal clear, and the volume is well-controlled, but it does sound slightly sterile and thin to my ears. I am a therapist and a yoga teacher and I frequently see clients through Zoom or other streaming video, so I was hopeful that these might also double as a solution for a wireless microphone. But I find the sound of a voice over AirPods in Zoom to be too thin and papery to match the sound of a good or even mid-level wireless mic. They sound best-suited to business purposes to me. Your experience may differ! That said, these are about half the price of an average studio or wireless mic, so this is not a crime, merely a point worth noting for other users. They are also a bit distracting visually for me, as their shape is a little chunky and protruding from the ears, and their milk-white color really pops against the skin. They are by no means huge or ridiculous, you’ll feel fine wearing them, but they are large enough that I am persistently aware of them when I see someone over video talking to me or giving some kind of instruction. It also throws me off slightly because I associate headphones with someone being unable to hear me, rather than as a way to connect with me. This is another reason that a wireless mic or a proper studio mic still has its place. That said, connecting a wireless or studio mic to literally any Apple device requires a bit of technical knowhow, plus a receiver and a collection of cables and connectors to get it to work, and with AirPods you just take them out of the case and that’s it, and you’re connected! Great product. These are the droids you’re looking for.

After owning my air pod pros for nearly two years now I feel that I am qualified to give an accurate and in-depth review over this popular product. I originally bought them due to my right original air pod dying, so naturally since I liked the first once I decided to go onto the next ones. I have used them for all the most common activities that the average headphone user does such as: working out, traveling, studying, and general use to listen to music or podcasts. Considering my time of ownership and widespread use of them I feel that I am qualified to tell you the pros and cons as well as why I think you should pick up your own pair of air pod pros. If you have owned the previous generation of air pods or any other apple product, then you will find that the pros come in the typical apple packaging which keeps the headphones and accessories secure and in good condition upon opening. Out of the box you will have the air pods themselves inside the portable charging case, as well as a usb-c charging cable (an upgrade from the usb-a in the original air pods), instructions, an apple sticker, and a few interchangeable sized silicon ear tips to fit best into your ear. To set them up simply open the case (the air pods will already be partially charged when you get them) and open you iPhone and a button will pop up to connect them. Next apple will take you through a sizing test to get a crisp and comfortable fit in your ear. As mentioned, the pros fit differently than the original air pods which is great for those who found the plastic design didn’t cater to their ears. Now with 3 different sized silicon tips buyers can find a snug personalized fit. The silicon tips also help introduce the new and biggest feature of the pros being Noise cancellation and transparency mode. The noise cancellation works very well when you need to tune out outside noise to focus, study, or are trying to sleep on an airplane. Sometimes I find myself putting them in without playing anything simply to make the surrounding are quieter. The transparency mode conversely also works well to help you hear the surrounding area which is great if your study buddy needs to talk to you, or you want to hear things around you on a run or bike ride. Now that we covered some of the highlights let’s review some of the negative. The sound quality is good, however, if you are a self-proclaimed “audiophile” then they made not be the earbuds for you as there is better quality out there. I found that it lacks some of the base that I personally prefer, but the mids and highs both sound good. Additionally, I found them to be just good and not great for working out. When trying to wear them to run I found that sweat often caused them to fall out and I even lost one in a stream once while running and had to replace it. There are aftermarket tips you can put on them to fight this, but I think something like the Beats powerbeat pros suit an active user needs more with the hook around ear design. Finally, the price for these is a bit steep at $250 although right now they are on sale for $180. Overall, I think that these are the best earbuds on the market right now and worth your money.

For reference I purchased the item 'Wireless Earbuds made in China' E10 $20 after coupon (left, white, smallest case), Air Pods Pro $175 (2nd left, white), Pixel Buds Pro $200 (2nd right, black), Bose SoundSport $109 (right, black, wired). All tested using a Pixel 6 to play the music. I received Google Pixel Buds for my birthday this month. I will say they had excellent touch controls, better than Apple's and Google assistant was always on point. I'd imagine best wireless battery life too, marginally better than Apple. Probably the best noise cancelling I've ever had plus transparency mode is nice and easy to switch between. Even better than my, albeit older, Bose Quiet Comfort 25 over the ear wired headphones. Just can't stand how quickly these come out of my ears, the fit is like the tip of an adult thumb to the first knuckle shoved vertically in your ear. Also noted as the best bass. Pixel buds did connect easily to a Pixel 6 phone, a littleore difficult to connect to a laptop but they did. I bought my wife AirPods Pro for her birthday earlier this year. AirPods are definitely more comfortable than the E10 knock offs, but E10 are close with minimal activity. Airpods aren't perfect, and will still fall out running or jumping for kids... I'd rather drop the E10s for the price. Sound quality is better than Google but not as good as my Bose, not as much bass as the pixel buds but Apple has far superior overall sound quality than the Pixel Buds. The touch controls do work, I do have some issues squeezing the right spot but I'm getting older and have fatter fingers than when I was in my 20s. I found Pixel Buds touch controls to be a little better. My wife uses these with her laptop (windows) at work for meetings more than her phone. They connected easier with her iPhone 13, but I did connect them to a Pixel 6 and her laptop fairly easily. AirPods charging case feels the most durable with a metal hinge, plus wireless charging works good. Noise cancelling is good and it has transparency mode, I think Google may be a tad better. Bose SoundSport have the BEST fit of any ear buds I've ever worn. So tight, I've actually pulled the cord loose from my phone instead of out of both my ears. Also the most comfortable since it's all a rubberish material touching your ear that sort of forms to your ear. Plus Bose have the best overall sound, but AirPods are very close. I will admit pixel buds have the most bass of any of these 4. Actually these 2015 released ear buds have the weakest bass of any of the 4 being reviewed. These are wired and still expensive, and now hard to find reasonably priced in 2022. I have used them hard and they keep on trucking. I will continue to use them if the battery is dead in my E10s. More and more devices are lacking an auxiliary port to connect to, I currently have an adapter for auxiliary to USB-C to use with a Pixel 6 phone, which also does work on my laptop. These E10s have better overall sound than Pixel Buds Pro. More bass than my (very old) Bose SoundSport headphones. Smallest charging case for wireless, also cheapest feel and the hinge wouldn't stay open when laid down. Touch controls also suck the most, I did get volume up to work, sometimes volume down. Non existent noise cancelling. Only says noise cancelling in the name on the manual, no where in the manual. Mic must work fine, Google assistant heard me clear. I haven't tested a call. These are the only headphones to come with a charging cord, no brick to plug into the wall, but USB-C to USB. My Pixel 6 charger with the official Google brick did charge this. Bottom line. I'm returning $200 Pixel Buds Pro for the $20 E10s... And I will settle for my wired Bose if these don't have battery. I couldn't justify buying currently priced $179 AirPods at the time of this review for my Pixel 6. Plus my wife won't let me keep her birthday gift. Time will tell if the upcoming Pixel watch is a success or a failure. I may be converting to Apple if the watch flops. I can't stand my Fitbit versa 2 compared to any apple watch (series 1 included).

I use my AirPods Pro every day at the gym, and they’ve been perfect. The fit is comfortable, the sound is great, and they stay in place during workouts. Even after a couple of years of regular use, the battery life is still surprisingly good.

I've owned A LOT of Bluetooth wireless headphones and especially earbuds over the last 10 years. Many of them were quite good despite being fairly economical in price and from lesser or no name brands. However most of the true wireless earbuds were just not very good at all except for the Samsung and these. I have to admit, while I was very anti-Apple for a long time and enjoyed my Samsung earbuds for a few years, when they finally broke, I decided to give these a shot and so far I am VERY pleased with the following: Signal: Only rarely cuts out in the gym where EVERYBODY has Bluetooth headphones on, and combined with the local WiFi there's probably a lot of 2.4GHz spectrum noise in the area, but they fair quite well. Battery life: Individual bud battery life so far has been long enough to be at the gym for an hour from 100% charge and leave with something like 80 to 85% charge even after a year. Sound quality: While these are earbuds and so bass will never truly compare to bigger over the ear headphones, they still sound great with great sound balance overall despite their limitation as earbuds. Controls: The touch "clicky" feature of the stems or stalks actually works quite well, and it's easy enough and reliable enough to use that I like it just as much as the equivalent feature the Samsungs I had prior had. Noise Cancelling: Works surprisingly well, quite well actually, probably due to actually being in the ear canal and with the rubber cushion it blocks out an astounding 90% or so of the sound maybe more. This is even more than my Beats over the ear units! Some other things only these earbuds have, is the ability to tell you the charge of each individual earbud, and the case as well. The integrated Siri functionality to read aloud your messages as they come in, or announce an incoming call without even having to look at your phone is REALLY nice and appreciated, you can even supposedly reply back for some added functionality, but I can't seem to get that to work in the noisy environment at the gym which is where I typically use these the most. Also the FindMy location detection, while I've never needed to use it as I don't normally loose my things, must be a life saver for those that do! Very highly recommended, no real complaints other than the fit might not always work for every ear (but that's common to ALL earbud designs), and I have to constantly fiddle with them while at the gym so they don't fall out, and if your ear starts to get sweaty or greasy, they will just fall out that much faster.

AirPod pros are probably my favorite earbuds I ever owned. And I have owned all types and brands of headphones. However My first pair that I purchased at the Apple store was also the most troubled earbuds that I have ever owned. The sound is amazing. I use these earbuds before any of my other ones, until the battery runs out. I own a Shure earbuds(prob the best sounding earbuds out there and still on the top of my list) and although I can’t say that AirPod pros beats the Shure, but I still reach for my AirPods Pro’s first. The noise cancellation I think it’s better than the Bose QC 15 or the QC 20. They are very comfortable to wear for hours. Recently I purchased a foam earpiece to replace the plastic ones. I like how the upgrade seals the earbuds in my ear and is more comfortable than the original that’s provided. Now the cons, The first pair I purchased from the Apple Store had a lot of problems. The left ear bud started to make funny noises, squeak and the noise canceling started to wear off. I was very disappointed confused and reach out to the Apple Store for troubleshoot. Lucky for me it was still under warranty so they replaced the left earbud, Not so long after the right earbud started to act up. Apple also replaced that one, however after that I still have problems with them. At this point Apple sent me a new pair of AirPod pros for replacement. Unfortunately these new pair didn’t last any longer than the first pair. As disappointed I was with the performance of these earbuds. I ordered it again from Amazon and purchase the AppleCare to make sure that I would have extended coverage. I am a feeling that the first generation of the AirPod pros that came out of the factory may have been lemons. It turns out that they were others complaining about the same issues. (Knock on wood )So far the ones that I ordered from Amazon had been working fine. I surprised that they haven’t updated them to AirPod pro 2 or 3 by now, I would like to see update, however these earbuds are pretty good and may not require an update other than quality control. 1 Star subtracted for all the troubles I had.

These were my go to gym and plane travel pair. They worked well. Noise cancellation is fantastic so long as you can get a good seal. Now some folks might have a hard time with fitment but they do have multiple size ear pieces. Music wise? This had clean clear vocals, the bass is not as heavy as beats are. Worked great for my music library. Now I lost my set, but for the year i used it it held charge for the gym week. 1-1.5hr a day / 4 days a week before i needed to charge it. I also paid for a $50 protective waterproof case for it haha so im even more annoyed i cant find them. Anyways the new gens are probably better but this generation i liked a lot.

Purchased about one year after it was released. It has been an excellent product Would definitely recommend.