After the release of the AirPods Pro, Apple is ready to update its earbuds with a second generation. Competition has been intense. Sony's LinkBuds have brought back open back design to the space, while the Pixel Buds Pro have a similar noise canceling feature. Eyes have been on Apple to keep up, and while the Cupertino giant has fallen a touch behind given complaints about the fit on the AirPods Pro, it is finally playing its hand with new features. Most of the 2nd Gen AirPods Pro's new features are powered by the H2 chip. At the Far Out event, Apple didn't give us a lot of information about how it's built, but we're ready to believe the company when they talk about improvements. We know that the H2 chip will include support for a new high bandwidth connection, improved active noise canceling, and a dynamic transparency mode that will continue to cancel damaging high-frequency sounds like jackhammers.
The H2 chip
It's difficult to go into detail on these features without testing them, but given that Apple's already keeping pace with Sony on noise cancellation, promising ANC that's twice as good is a serious "throw down of the gauntlet" The H2 chip can check on incoming sounds 48,000 times per second, making dynamic transparency promising. We think it has something to do with Apple Music's high resolution audio options. The sample rate can be up to 192 kHz after the service is upgraded.
The H2 chip isn't the only one used to power the custom spatial audio profiles. If you take pictures of your ears with the TrueDepth camera, you can get a spatial audio experience tailored to your ear shape. Another aggressive move from Apple is that Sony has adopted a spatial audio solution on some of its own devices.
The AirPods Pro 2nd Gen has the same general look and build as before, but there is a new ear tip option to address fit complaints. Estimated battery life is up to 6 hours without the case and 30 hours with it, and there is a new touch button for controlling volume on each Air Pod.
An upgrade has been made to the case. It has a speaker that plays noises to indicate a successful pair or a low battery, as well as using Find My. A lanyard can now be attached to it. For anyone buying the new Apple Watch Series 8 or SE or even Ultra, it's magsafe compatible and works with the charger included with Apple Watches.
The lack of a price hike is the best part of the news today. Pre-orders for the new AirPods Pro 2nd Gen will be available on Sept. 9 and shipping will start on Sept. 23.
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