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I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with wireless earphones.
While it’s brilliant to be able to just pop them in your ears without having to worry about plugging anything in, and many models offer advanced features like active noise cancellation, it’s deeply irritating having to remember to keep them charged up – not to mention the fact that they often seem to be plagued by syncing issues.
But it’s hard not to be enticed by Apple‘s new £249 AirPods Pro 2. Unlike the standard AirPods, the Pro model comes with silicone ear tips – available in four sizes – meaning they fit much more comfortably in your ears and feel secure when you’re running or walking.
They also offer a level of active noise cancellation I can only really describe as mind-bending. This is because, when you put the buds in your ears and the noise cancellation technology automatically kicks in, it feels a bit like being in a rapidly ascending aeroplane.
The new AirPods Pro 2 bring touch controls and spatial audio, while cancelling up to twice as much noise over their predecessors
The sound quality is excellent. Whether you’re listening to classical, pop, rock, hiphop, dance, or dialogue on a radio station or podcast, the audio is clear and rich
It takes a bit of time for your brain to adjust – even if you’re used to using noise-cancelling headphones – but once it has, the effect is really quite profound. Whether you’re walking down the high street or on a busy train, all the bustle and traffic noise just melts away.
Apple claims that the AirPods Pro 2 reduce up to two times more unwanted background noise than the previous generation AirPods Pro. This is possible thanks to the new H2 chip, which ‘unlocks computational audio algorithms that previously couldn’t have run on a device of this size’.
That is not to say that no noise gets through – you can still hear some high-pitched sounds, such as the bleeping of the train doors opening or police sirens – but the lower rumble of background noise is completely obliterated.
It’s also possible to switch between active noise cancellation and ‘adaptive transparency’ mode by pressing and holding the touch control on the stem of the AirPods.
While this is a useful feature, I found it a bit temperamental. Sometimes when you press and hold nothing happens, which is frustrating, as the whole point is that it should be a quicker option than taking the bud out of your ear.
The touch control can also be used to stop and start the audio, skip tracks and to control the volume by swiping up or down with your index finger.
Again, this is great when it works, but several times I found myself reverting to the controls on my phone, after the control panel on the AirPods failed to respond.
The touch control can be used to stop and start the audio, skip tracks and to control the volume by swiping up or down with your index finger.
A dedicated AirPods section in the iOS Settings menu lets you adjust device preferences, like Touch control actions, setting up Personalized Spatial Audio, or taking the ‘Ear Tip Test’ to see which size best fits you
The sound quality itself is excellent. Whether you’re listening to classical, pop, rock, hiphop, dance, or dialogue on a radio station or podcast, the audio is clear and rich – just as you would expect with earphones at this price.
Apple has a new feature called ‘Personalized Spatial Audio’, which strikes me as a bit of a gimmick, but supposedly tunes the surround sound experience to the shape of your ears.
When you’re setting up the EarPods with an iPhone, it asks you to scan the side of your head using the TrueDepth camera – a bit like when you set up FaceID – to create a ‘personal profile’ of your ears.
Apple claims that this allows music and voices to come across clearer, and directional sound elements in video content to be placed more accurately in the space around you.
I watched Dolby Digital’s HD Surround Sound Test video with the Personalized Spatial Audio enabled and disabled and, honestly, I didn’t notice a huge difference – although the directional elements were arguably a bit more noticeable when it was enabled.
Unlike the standard AirPods, the Pro model comes with silicone ear tips – available in four sizes – meaning they fit much more comfortably in your ears and feel secure when you’re running or walking
One slightly bothersome issue, which has cropped up before in previous AirPods iterations, is that the two buds occasionally get out of sync.
For example, on more than one occasion, after taking one bud out of my ear and then replacing it, I ended up with noise cancellation in one ear and transparency mode in the other – which is very discombobulating.
This can usually be rectified fairly quickly by removing both buds, replacing them in the charging case and then putting them back in your ears again, but it’s an issue that shouldn’t be happening with technology at this level.
Having said that, the AirPods are excellent earphones, offering great sound quality, a comfortable fit and very effective noise cancellation.
The fact that they offer up to 6 hours of listening on a single charge, and a quick 5-minute charge inside the case delivers an hour of battery life, even goes some way to alleviating my annoyance at having to remember to charge them up every night.
WHAT NEW APPLE PRODUCTS HAVE GONE ON SALE?
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
The standard model retails for £849 and comes with a 6.1-inch screen, while the Plus costs £949 and has a 6.7-inch screen.
They support satellite connectivity that will let users send satellite SOS messages if they’re caught in an emergency without service.
They also have technology that can detect when users are in a car crash and automatically call emergency services, thanks to a dual-core accelerometer that can detect G-force measurements when vehicles are hit.
They will be available in the colours midnight, starlight, blue, purple and red.
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 14 Pro has a 6.1-inch screen (same as the standard model) and costs £1,099, while Pro Max has a 6.7-inch screen (same as the Plus) and costs a mammoth £1,199.
They have more advanced cameras than the standard and Plus models, and a sophisticated pill-shaped notch at the top of the screen, called ‘Dynamic Island’.
Dynamic Island hides the front-facing camera but also changes size to show important alerts, notifications, and activities, blurring the line between hardware and software, according to Apple.
They also have satellite connectivity and car crash detection technology, and will be available in the colours deep purple, silver, gold, and space black.
Apple Watch Series 8
Apple Watch Series 8
The £419 ($399) Apple Watch Series 8 has an Always-On display – meaning the screen shows a small amount of quickly glanceable information when it’s idle.
It also has a strong crack-resistant front crystal, a temperature sensor that provides estimates of when a female wearer is ovulating and the same crash detection technology as the iPhone 14.
The battery of the Series 8 can also go for longer – up to 36 hours from a single charge – than that of the SE 2, thanks to a low power mode.
Apple Watch SE 2
Apple Watch SE 2
Apple Watch SE 2 delivers some of the Series 8’s advanced features, including crash detection, at a lower price (starting from £259 or $249).
It does have the ovulation feature, but it’s less comprehensive than on the Series 8.
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