AirPods Pro 2: Six New Features If You're Upgrading

The new second-generation AirPods Pro will begin arriving to customers on Friday, September 23. For customers still using the first-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ or older AirPods models, there are several new features and changes you can look forward to using.

airpods pro 2
We've outlined six new significant features, changes, and improvements that the new second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ offer compared to older models. Read on to learn more.

Better Active Noise Cancellation

Building on a feature introduced in the first-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌, the new ‌AirPods Pro‌ now feature up to 2x better Active Noise Cancellation. The improvement will mean less ambient noise making its way into the user's ears when using Active Noise Cancellation, thanks to improved noise-canceling microphones, a new driver, and improved algorithms.

Improved Sound Quality With Richer Bass

AirPods Pro Second Generation
The new ‌AirPods Pro‌ feature a custom-built driver and amplifier that works with the H2 chip to provide low distortion, deeper bass, and crisp and clear high notes for music, videos, and more. The H2 chip also powers a new algorithm that processes sound in real-time more quickly, custom-tuning it to your ears for high-fidelity sound.

Adaptive Transparency Mode

AirPods Pro
Alongside Active Noise Cancellation, ‌AirPods Pro‌ feature Transparency Mode, which uses outward-facing microphones to let you hear the world around you. The second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ take this further with Adaptive Transparency Mode, which can minimize loud noises, like sirens and power tools, while letting you hear other sounds.

Better In-Ear Detection

The first-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ feature IR optical sensors to detect when a user places them in their ears. Like the third-generation AirPods, the new ‌AirPods Pro‌ feature skin-detection sensors for even better in-ear detection, longer battery life, and more reliable performance that will prevent the AirPods from being accidentally activated in a bag or pocket.

Longer Battery Life

The second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ get up to six hours of listening time with Active Noise Cancellation enabled, which is one and a half hours longer than the original ‌AirPods Pro‌. With the new MagSafe Charging Case, the new ‌AirPods Pro‌ can get up to 30 hours of listening time with Active Noise Cancellation — six hours more than before.

Case With Speaker, Find My, and Lanyard Loop

AirPods Pro 2 Charging Case
The new ‌AirPods Pro‌ come with a redesigned ‌MagSafe‌ Charging Case that now has a built-in speaker for enhanced Find My, support for Precision Tracking, and an opening on the side for attaching a lanyard for easy carrying. In addition to Lightning and ‌MagSafe‌, customers can now charge the new charging case using an Apple Watch charger.

Related Roundup: AirPods Pro
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Pro (Caution)
Related Forum: AirPods

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
truecaller

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by
Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...
ipad pro 2024

New iPad Pro Reportedly Launching This Year

Tuesday January 21, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple plans to release at least one new iPad Pro model this year, according to a supplier-focused report today from Korean website The Elec. It is likely that the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models would be updated simultaneously. After receiving an OLED display last year, the report said the iPad Pro will receive only "minor" changes this year. Overall, the next iPad Pro is expected to...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...

Top Rated Comments

Koni17 Avatar
31 months ago
All I want are AirPods with a way to replace the batteries. Having to throw away a device that functions absolutely fine except for the battery every 3-4 years is horrible for the environment and expensive.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
infinitejest Avatar
31 months ago
To me, this was actually the highlight of the keynote.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacBird Avatar
31 months ago
Features sound promising but still no USB-C charging case?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GigabitEthernet Avatar
31 months ago

It's meant to be used with an iPhone. So why would they add USB-C to the case when the iPhone doesn't have it? That's just pointless.
Eh?

One of its selling features is switching between Mac, iPhone and iPad.

All but one use USB-C.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thislsmadness Avatar
31 months ago

Maybe it's just me, but I feel more and more disillusioned by Apple releases each year. Everything they do just seems iterative and carefully planned slow drip to maximize profit. I realize they are a business, but they seem to have lost a real innovative spark over the years. Yes, everything is well made, everything is polished and works seamlessly within their ecosystem. But, nothing they release is ever a big leap forward anymore. I guess you could argue that this is the state of a mature industry now, except you see other companies making big leaps, taking bigger risks to release untested ideas, and Apple over here just continuing to roll out incremental enhancements like clockwork, waiting to copy their competitors only if they think something is working in the market.

What we got with this release? Visually, same AirPod Pros as the previous version. So, no shorter stem. No black or other colors. Internally, it apparently has improved battery and better noise cancelling. I mean that's great, but after multiple years since the previous version, and that's all they could do?

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, does anyone else feel like the ANC performance on the AirPod Pro 1's gradually declined with each firmware update over the years? I remember it was REALLY good at first, and now I'd say it is average as far as ANC on earbuds goes. And then, here we are, with a new release of what otherwise is practically the same AirPods with some minor tech upgrades that all of sudden provides double the ANC performance.

In any case, I'll buy the new ones if I'm forced to replace my previous gen, like if I lose an ear bud or something stops working, but otherwise I would call this a dissapointing release considering the amount of time between the release of the previous generation and these.
You just have unrealistic expectations. They improved all the basics (sound quality + battery life + anc) and they address the biggest issues people had with the originals (findmy for the case, physical volume control, smaller tips, and even a layard to make carrying easier.). Its almost the perfect upgrade for this type product. Yes they look the same.. but so what?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kissmo1980 Avatar
31 months ago
For me - none of the ear buds Apple release felt comfortable or secure.
No matter the model I had, eventually I ended up with one or even both ear buds not charging properly in the case, the pins that touch the earbud oxidises.

Sounds quality and features are great, no comment from my side, but these devices up to this point last about 2 years and then they are trash.

I used them in all cases: office work, music and during running.

Other may be lucky but for me, these became waste of money and they have zero attraction.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)