Yep, the rumors were true indeed. Apple recently announced its next-gen AirPods, which is called “AirPods Pro” and not AirPods 3. So much...
Yep, the rumors were true indeed. Apple recently announced its next-gen AirPods, which is called “AirPods Pro” and not AirPods 3. So much for conventional naming strategy! Anyhoo, the newest AirPods comes with some interesting features which I’ll talk in more detail, and the ability to drill a bigger hole on your wallet. Huzzah!
AirPods Pro Overview
Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room – the design. The AirPods Pro comes in brand new design, with a smaller stem and silicon tips for a tighter fit, making it visually distinctive from its predecessors. Also making their debut are active-noise cancellation and water resistance.
“Fit” was a major complaint on last-gen AirPods. It would fall off pretty easy and was a tad bit uncomfortable on the ears too. Well, Apple has engineered the hell out of it and made the new AirPods Pro more comfortable and one that will hold on to your ears, even when you’re aggressively headbanging to “हामी पनि नाच्नु पर्छ बीच-बीचमा”. That may not be entirely true, but you get the point; it is less likely to fall off your ears.
To achieve such a level of fit, Apple has implemented “Silicone Tips“. Thankfully, they come inside the box and you don’t have to purchase them separately! You’re presented with 3 sizes of the silicone/rubber tips: Large, Medium, and Small. A neat feature in iOS, dubbed “Ear Tip Fit Test” tests the optimality of the tips for your ears so you get the best performance.
Moving on, the AirPods Pro is sweat and water-resistant due to the IPX4 rating. So, it should protect your AirPods from splashes and slight rain. But don’t go around swimming in your AirPods Pro, or put it to charge in the charging case when wet, because the case isn’t IPX4 rated.
You wouldn’t buy earbuds for noise cancellation, now would you? Particularly because of their form-factor, the earbuds will not be that effective when it comes to filtering out the external noise. But Apple is pushing its new AirPods to feature “Active Noise Cancellation“. The company says that AirPods Pro will “continuously adapt to the geometry of your ear and fit of the ear tips – blocking out the world..” which honestly sounds very promising.
The exterior vent (microphone) on the AirPods catches the ambient sound, which is then equaled out against “anti-noise“, thus cutting out the undesired audio frequencies. But what if you need to hear certain things like announcements, or your mother’s rant about your performance at the school? Well, you can just press the “Force Sensor” for a second or more which toggles on the “Transparency Mode“. This allows for the external sound to pass through the AirPods.
Personally, I feel that the force sensor should’ve been placed vertically below the external microphone. This way, you could just use one finger to get a hold of the sensor, rather than having to use two fingers to comfortably access it. But unsurprisingly, Apple is trading off eased accessibility for clean design.
Audio performance is commendable as well. Apple’s custom high-excursion driver gives you clear sound and decent bass. Its adaptive equalizer, tunes music to the shape of your ear? What? According to the company, “An inward-facing microphone hears the sound as you do. AirPods Pro then fine-tune the audio by adjusting the mid and low frequencies.” Sounds exciting I know, but we’ll know how much of that is actually true once we get to test them.
On the processing front, AirPods Pro has Apple’s proprietory H1-based System in Package. Its 10 audio cores help deliver low audio processing latency. For clearer calls, it has an expanded mesh microphone port.
Now let’s talk battery life. Apple says the AirPods Pro delivers up to 24 hours of battery using the charging case. Compared to the last-gen of AirPods, the new AirPods’ charging case comes in a wider form-factor. On a single charge, it lasts for about 4.5 hours or one Tool album. Similarly, 5 minutes of charge can give you enough juice for 1 hour of playback.
AirPods Pro Specifications
- Dimension (AirPods): 1.22 x 0.86 x 0.94 inches (H x W x D); 5.4 grams; Each
- Dimension (Charging Case): 1.78 x 2.39 x 0.85 inches (H x W x D): 45.6grams
- Chip: H1-based System in Package
- Sensors: Dual beamforming mics; Inward-facing mic; Dual optical sensors; motion-detecting accelerometer; Speech-detecting accelerometer; Force sensor
- Audio: Active Noise Cancellation; Transparency Mode; Adaptive EQ; Custom high-excursion Apple driver; Custom high dynamic range amplifier; Vent system for pressure equalization
- Controls: Force Sensor; Tap once to play, twice to skip forward, thrice to skip backward, and tap and hold to toggle between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
- Sweat and Water Resistance: Yes, IPX4 rating
- Battery & Charging: Single charge – Up to 4.5 hours; With Case – Up to 24 hours; Charge via a Lightning connector or Qi-certified chargers
AirPods Pro Price in Nepal, Availability
Though we don’t have the exact date, our sources tell us that the AirPods Pro will see the Nepalese market in November. And it’ll be priced heavily as well because fair pricing of Apple products in Nepal is like your crush, something you’ll never get.
Retailing at $249 in the US, we expect the AirPods Pro to be priced in Nepal somewhere between NRs. 35,000 and Nrs. 40,000. Similarly, Apple offers “free laser engraving” to customize the AirPods Pro in the US and other markets, but I doubt that’ll be a thing in Nepal.
It is expected to be available from shops like EvoStore, OlizStore, and Daraz (online).
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