Experience with AirPods Pro 2 USB-C: The upgrade may seem small, but it's the most valuable one yet.

 Launched at the Wonderlust event, the new generation of AirPods Pro may have received less attention, partly because they were overshadowed by the "glow" of the iPhone 15 and Apple Watch 9/Watch Ultra 2, or perhaps because people think that just changing the charging port to USB-C is really not enough

However, just one day after this event, I was fortunate enough to be invited to try out the new version and found that it deserves more recognition, especially the new features on firmware 6A301 (only usable when upgrading to iOS 17, which of course had not been released at that time).

Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness - features I've been waiting for a long time

After three generations of regular AirPods, Apple released the Pro version in 2019 with active noise cancellation (ANC). This was considered a significant advancement in Apple's "music playing" system, allowing it to compete with other market rivals.

Moving on to the second generation of the Pro, this headset has improved both noise cancellation and sound quality, and personally, I also rate its performance highly. In terms of seamless connectivity, convenience, and ease of use, Apple's AirPods can confidently beat any other competitors on the market. However, to be fair, the AirPods Pro 2 still lacks something that makes the experience incomplete. The missing element here is "intelligence."

While other brands have adaptive noise cancellation features depending on the environment, Apple AirPods 2 only offers complete noise cancellation or transparency mode. This causes minor inconveniences in some situations, such as when I temporarily turn off the music for a moment, and the noise cancellation is too strong, making me feel suffocated, or when someone wants to talk to me, and I want to communicate back, I have to either remove the earbuds or press the transparency button (usually, out of habit, I still tend to remove the earbuds).

And then on the day I got to experience the Adaptive Audio feature early, I was really surprised at how much more effective it was than I had imagined, even somewhat better than other competitors.

Simply put, Adaptive Audio is a feature that helps balance between active noise cancellation and transparency mode. Therefore, if you go to a noisy environment, the sound in your AirPods will be louder, and the noise cancellation level will also increase but not completely eliminate it so you can still hear the surrounding environment. This is an extremely important feature, especially when you are wearing headphones while running or walking but still want to have external environmental factors "filter into your ears" to avoid potential risks.

The good thing about Apple is that they always bring the most convenience to users and do not want users to have to manually adjust too much. That's why you see they don't have EQ adjustments, but the headphones will automatically analyze and make adjustments accordingly. And this time, with Adaptive Audio, it's the same, there are no levels of choice between transparency and noise cancellation like some other brands, but the H2 chip inside along with machine learning will automatically analyze and do all the tasks for us.

I have used Sony headphones before and have to admit that the sound quality of this brand is very good, but the interface and connectivity with Apple devices are still very... troublesome. Sometimes it loses connection, or even their Adaptive Sound Control feature doesn't work very stably.

Adaptive Sound Control on Sony will adjust according to the four main movements of the wearer: sitting, walking, running, and riding. However, many times when using it, even when I was sitting still working, the headphones still misunderstood and switched to riding mode... This feature was so annoying that it affected my music listening experience at times when I should have been relaxing, and so I turned off that feature completely, never wanting to use it again.

I thought this would repeat with Apple's headphones, but the AirPods Pro 2 completely convinced me. In real-world experience, after the Wonderlust event, I wore the headphones and went for a walk to take photos. Everything happened very naturally, from wearing them while waiting for the elevator at the hotel to going outside, the external environment sounds were balanced very gently and just enough for me to enjoy the music while still being aware of what was happening around me.

As mentioned above, the volume and transparency levels are adjusted very smoothly and sensitively, so I didn't feel a jolt when the headphones "jumped" between these modes. Apple representatives said that the machine learning capability of the AirPods Pro 2 is also shown in analyzing external environmental sounds and knowing what needs to be filtered out and what needs to be brought in for the wearer to be aware of their surroundings. For example, other noises can be filtered out, but the sound of car horns, when necessary, will be brought into your ears by the AirPods Pro 2 to help you avoid dangerous situations.

Additionally, I did not forget to turn on the Conversation Awareness feature, and this is truly a "must-have" feature. The AirPods line, in general, is very light, so wearing them feels like there is no burden at all, which is why it's not surprising that many people wear these headphones all day long.

It can be said that this is a useful feature, previously available on some products from other brands, but in terms of smooth volume transition, quick transparency, and sensitivity in "catching" the right situation, AirPods are second to none.

The "learning" ability thanks to the H2 chip of the AirPods Pro 2 is not only limited to the above two features but also includes automatic volume adjustment (Personalized Volume) to suit the surrounding environment and the wearer's listening habits to avoid affecting hearing.

With these features, it must be acknowledged that Apple is making our lives more hands-free than ever, and everything is handled intelligently and smoothly. Another point worth noting is that this version will support Lossless audio with Vision Pro, meaning its future support capabilities will be more promising than the previous generation.

Goodbye Lightning, hello USB-C

Eliminating the Lightning charging port is necessary as my gear now includes too many types of charging cables: Lightning for iPhone/AirPods, USB-C for MacBook, charger for Apple Watch, and even the battery adapter for the camera. When it was introduced at the Wonderlust event, I was very happy because not only the new iPhone but also the new AirPods Pro were changed to USB-C, and at that moment, I only thought of one thing: From now on, I won't have to worry about checking if I'm missing any cables when traveling for work.

Additionally, using a C to C cable to connect from the iPhone 15 to the AirPods Pro 2 also helps my earphone charging case get a bit of extra power when needed. Of course, the frequency of using this method is not high, but it's better to have it than not.

Finally, and equally important, the USB-C version of the AirPods Pro 2 this year has been upgraded with IP54 dust and water resistance, while last year's version only had water resistance. Based on personal experience, none of my previous AirPods have been damaged by dust, even though they didn't have dust resistance. I've used them for gym, running... but I haven't dared to try trail running or trekking because I was afraid dust would damage them, and perhaps with this year's IP54 standard, I can confidently use them in any situation.

AirPods Pro 2 is priced around $100

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