PUBLISHED ONOctober 31, 2019 7:55 AMByIlyas Sholihyn
So it’s been less than 24 hours since I got my hands on the new AirPods Pro. And judging from the couple of times I’ve lodged ‘em in my ears, these wireless earbuds really are the bee's knees.
My disdain for the regular, vanilla AirPods is pretty known — they just don’t fit my ears well. Plus, sound leaks out from them like a water keg riddled with holes.
But with the pro-grade, premium-priced version, quality audio is finally the focus. Pairing them to my iPhone was a cinch thanks to that H1 chip, and finding the perfect silicone tip size (three sizes included) was actually... fun.
iOS 13.2 has an Ear Tip Fit Test that involves the buds playing a bit of Tycho’s ‘Awake’ to determine if you’ve got a good seal. If not, it’ll tell you to adjust the fit or switch to a differently sized tip. The silicone tips take a bit of tugging to take out, but if you happen to lose it, replacements can be bought from Apple stores.
Putting the in-ear buds on don’t feel like it's totally sucking out the air from your canals — which I personally like for extreme sound isolation, but not everyone is into it. A vent system continually equalises the pressure between your ear and the outside world, so it doesn’t feel too heavy.
As for the sound quality itself, they’re... fine? I haven’t had the chance to test out various music genres on my set, but from what I gathered, the sound’s balanced. Not too bass-driven like Beats headphones and not tinny like how it felt on the old AirPods.
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There’s something called Adaptive EQ that automatically tunes the low and mid frequencies of the music according to the shape of your ear, but I can’t tell if it’s actually doing anything. I’ve experienced richer audio quality on the Sony WF-1000XM3, really.
That being said, Apple’s take on Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode is pretty intriguing. Unlike how other brands might go for a dramatic style (like Bose’s absolute silencing of external sounds for ANC or Jabra’s big amplification of outside noises in Transparency mode), the AirPods Pro goes for a more subtle way of doing things. It doesn’t feel too drastic on either mode.
But all that’s just from less than 24 hours with the buds. Check back after a week or so for our full review.
ilyas@asiaone.com