Monday, July 6, 2020

AirPods vs. AirPods Pro

Adam Engst:

Wearing the AirPods Pro doesn’t hurt, but I notice them constantly and breathe a sigh of relief every time I take them out.

[…]

I’m torn here—the AirPods Pro have significantly more flexible controls than the AirPods, but they require more manual dexterity than I often have when I’m exercising or doing yard work. But if forced to choose, I’d go with the simple double-tap on the AirPods. It’s just easier.

[…]

I’m sure this varies depending on your hand size, but I find that the AirPods case is almost an addictive fiddle—it’s like that smooth stone from the beach that you just can’t put down. The AirPods Pro case, on the other hand, is a little large in my pocket and just doesn’t have the same addictive feel.

Similarly, the cover of the AirPods case snaps shut with an absolutely compelling little thunk at the end, whereas the AirPods Pro case cover… well, it just shuts. There’s nothing wrong with it, and you probably wouldn’t notice unless you were switching back and forth as I’ve been doing. But it’s not as good.

Finally, and you can probably guess where this is going, the AirPods fit into their case so smoothly and with a tiny magnetic assist that makes it seem like they’re happy to jump back in and get a charge.

He came to many of the same conclusions that I did.

Previously:

11 Comments RSS · Twitter

I cannot go running with the regular AirPods. They fall out too easily. I was told by a coworker that the AirPods Pro don’t fall out and she exercises with them regularly. Can anybody confirm this?

I have used regular AirPods for years, and they fit and work great. I tried the Pros but they fell out constantly, tried all the different tip sizes and all. Those inner ear things just don't work for my ears, never have, Pros no exception. Hoping Apple continues the shape of the regular AirPods as well as the Pros.

I wear my Pros when exercising - running, biking (yay, transparency mode!), treadmill, etc - and never had a problem.

Before getting the Pros, I used a pair of AirBuddyz with my AirPods and they worked great, too. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M7LRQ5F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Last evening one Airpod Pro slips from my ear straight into the grill, so I've got slightly fried ear piece.

Both the AirPods and AirPods Pro stay in when I run. Despite being looser, I think the regular ones are less likely to fall out.

I understand the appeal of completely-wireless stuff like AirPods, but given the above falling out / getting lost discussion, not to mention the price tag (just from the sheer engineering complexity), I really feel like necklace-style earbuds should be more popular. Yet somehow they're not. I keep hoping there will be a new version of the Beats X, and… it just isn't coming.

One thing with necklace-style earbuds, is that the "string" actually pulls the earbuds down by gravity, and the friction with the neck or shoulders keeps transmitting vibrations that contribute to the earbuds not staying in place. This certainly depends on each user, and it's easy enough to put it back, but it's surprising how well AirPods can actually stick to your ear for users that are lucky enough to keep them in (I am one of them). Anatomy :)

+1 to what @Charles said. I had the BeatsX, and while I really liked them at the time, the downsides he listed mirrors my experience.

I'm surprised by what a difference it makes to simply have no wires whatsoever. There are a lot of situations where I'm juggling things, and not having a cord getting caught or weighing them down makes them both far more versatile and less likely to fall out.

I would often have the standard wired earpods or the beatsx fall out of one ear with just a light touch of the cable or when I'd move my head to certain positions. (And the cable noise could be annoying at times too.) I've never had the Pros fall out of their own accord.

One other thing: ironically the reason I stopped using the BeatsX was because I lost them. I thought the cable would make them less likely to get lost. I didn't think about the fact that while wearing them, the cable makes them more likely to fall out. And when not wearing them, all earbuds are relatively small and easily lost 😳

@Matthew - While I loved the original Airpods they never sat well in my ears and would always slowly fall out just lying in bed. When I was running I would have to jam them right up in my ear and then eventually 5 minutes later would be pushing them up in my ear again.

With the Airpods Pro they go in first time and never move a millimetre out of place even on an hour or two run. Plus the noise-cancelling is great to keep my music sounding like music rather than a mix of all the outside noise.

Mine have unfortunately started to get the death rattle in the right ear but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone...even thought they cost $399 here in Australia, which was hard to pay.

My two biggest complaints about the AirPod Pros are the button instead of tapping (a year later I still try to tap and am annoyed it doesn't work) and the case is too big.

But it is worth the noise canceling.

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