Apple's AirPods are going Pro.
AirPods Pro are now official, and they're now available to order from Apple's online store for $249. They'll be available in Apple's retail stores starting this Wednesday, October 30.
Apple has packed a few new features into these new AirPods to help them earn their "Pro" title. Active Noise Cancellation uses two microphones along with software to block out background noise so that you can better hear your audio. If you're in a situation where you need to hear what's going on around you, you can switch over to Transparency Mode using the sensor on the stem of the AirPods Pro.
The AirPods Pro also have a new design that includes three sizes of soft, flexible silicone ear tips. These tips will help the AirPods Pro to better fit in your ear and also create a better seal, which will help to block outside noise. Apple says that the Ear Tip Fit Test on the AirPods Pro uses advanced algorithms along with the microphones in each AirPods to measure the sound level in your ear and compare it to what's coming out of the speaker driver. This will determine if the ear tip you're using is a good fit or if it should be changed.
The design of the AirPods Pro is also IPX4 water and sweat resistant, which should help to make the new earphones better workout companions than previous AirPods models.
Of course, since these are earphones, sound is an important feature, too. Apple says that Ambient EQ will automatically tune the low and mid-frequencies of the music to the shape of your ear for more immersive listening. There's a custom high dynamic range amplifier for clearer sound, and the low-distortion speaker drive provides bass down to 20Hz.
Like the second gen AirPods that Apple launched earlier this year, the AirPods Pro include Apple's own H1 chip. This chip handles several tasks, including real-time noise cancellation, delivering sound using 10 audio cores, and responding to hands-free "Hey Siri" requests. This means you can use Siri to play a song, increase the volume, make a call, or get directions using your voice.
When it comes to battery life, Apple says that the AirPods Pro can get up to five hours of listening time, just like the standard AirPods. With Active Noise Cancellation, the battery life will be four and a half hours. The wireless charging case can get you more than 24 hours of battery life and include both a Lightning port and Qi wireless charging support.
The AirPods Pro require devices running iOS 13.2 or later, iPadOS 13.2 or later, watchOS 6.1 or later, tvOS 13.2 or later, or macOS Catalina 10.15.1 or later.
So now that they're official, what do you think of Apple's Pro AirPods? Will the inclusion of Active Noise Cancellation get you to buy a pair?
