For a long time, the AirPods Pro 2 were my favorite pair of earbuds. They beat out the competition in sound, fit, and ANC, all while bringing that wonderful Apple interoperability. They were great.
While they're still a good pair of earbuds, the competition has stepped things up a notch, or even two. Some options sound better, others are more comfortable and some earbuds offer better noise cancellation.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have shown that there are key areas that Apple needs to better the AirPods Pro when it makes the incoming AirPods Pro 3 model — and it's going to take a lot to impress me if they launch at the upcoming Awe Dropping event.
Improved ANC
When I first tried my trusty AirPods Pro 2, the ANC was one of the most magical parts of the experience. Hold the touch-sensitive stems, and the outside world disappeared to my music. It was the first time that in-ear noise canceling had really impressed me, and it lent them a fairly permanent spot in my pocket.
That was until the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds showed us just how good noise canceling in earbuds could get. Suddenly, harsher sounds that ANC had generally struggled with became a thing of the distant past, and an improved in-ear seal improved the passive noise canceling. They're the best noise canceling earbuds as a result — and utterly destroyed the AirPods Pro 2's attempt.
If Apple wants to keep up, the ANC is going to have to either match or better the ANC in the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Sony and Bose are now leagues ahead of the Apple-shaped curve, and the AirPods Pro 3 are going to need to be a big ANC step up.
Improved fit
The AirPods Pro 2 have generally been the most comfortable buds around, but I've always found issue with the way Apple approaches the silicon in-ear style. They're less invasive in your ear canal. That makes them more comfortable, but introduces an issue — they can be pretty loose.
Compared to the Bose buds and Sony WF-1000XM5, the AirPods simply don't stay in your ear as well. I've found that shaking your head can dislodge the buds, and I've nearly lost them to the depths of train and bus seats as a result. God forbid you turn your head and they touch a seat headrest. If you're not careful, they're gone forever.
I'd like to see some improvement to the fit of the AirPods Pro 2. We've already seen updates to the silicon eartips before, but I think they need to be completely refreshed so that there's no chance they fall out of your ears.
Sonic improvements
Apple's approach to sound is one that I really appreciate. As opposed to focusing on the low-end to blind users into thinking that mediocre earbuds actually sound really good, Apple works on the entire range for a more neutral sound profile. The AirPods Pro 2 had that lovely profile, and when they came out, they were a refreshing alternative to the bass-heavy competition.
Since then, some sonic holes have been found in the AirPods Pro 2's sails. Earbuds that have launched since, like the WF-1000XM5, have revealed a softness to Apple's detail retrieval, and some issues with the lower-mid range. They still sound good, but there are plenty of options that sound better.
Given that Apple Music offers lossless audio and the Vision Pro headset works with AirPods for even better sound quality, I'd like to see some attention paid to Apple's Pro in-ears. Improved detail and a continued focus on providing a neutral sound signature are where I'd like to see Apple go with the AirPods Pro 2.
More battery life
The AirPods Pro 2 have... some battery life. The six hours that the buds provide is about the same as Bose's buds, but they fall short when compared to the Sony WF-1000XM5. Battery life development in the upper echelons of noise-canceling earbuds seems to have stalled at about 8 hours, which is much better than the AirPods Pro 2.
I'd like to see the AirPods either match or better the Sony earbuds — although I'm not sure I'm going to be happy with the specs that Apple will reveal at the event. Given that the AirPods 4 with ANC actually had less battery life than the AirPods 3, there is precedent for downgrades in returns for an increased feature set. Which actually leads on really nicely to my next point:
Don't forget they're earbuds
There's a "thing" happening in earbuds land. Not content with just playing music and blocking out the noise of your commute, earbuds now want to provide you with a bunch more features. The AirPods Pro 2, for example, can become hearing aids, and the Beats PowerBeats Pro 2 can measure your heartbeat through the blood vessels in your ears.
Nothing has built AI into its Earbuds, and Google has packed in instant translation. They're not just for listening to music and podcasts anymore — they're nearly as smart as your smart watch.
And to me, that feels like a problem. Remember, earbuds are tiny. They have to fit in a small charging case that goes into your pocket, while packing in a decent battery, a Bluetooth module, a bunch of circuitry, and then all of the actual audio hardware. That's a lot to ask of something small enough to fit inside your ears.
The more feature creep we see in buds, the worse things could get for the core features — like sound and noise canceling. There are concerning rumors of heart rate monitors and temperature sensors coming to the AirPods of the future, and I'm just not sure if that's the right way to go.
If those features don't come at the cost of them 1. sounding good, 2. blocking out loads of noise and 3. offering decent battery life, then great! The more the merrier. But given the AirPods don't seem to have nailed those three down quite yet, I'm not sure we should be packing them with extra "things."
But who am I to tell Apple what to do? Stay tuned for more AirPods stuff as the awe-dropping event rounds the corner.
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