The stuff Hacker News actually recommends.

Headphones · Apple AirPods Pro

Apple AirPods Pro 2

58owners with an opinion
68%of verdicts positive
35/17positive/negative since 2024
3 yrslongest happy owner
1happy after 3+ years

Praised for noise and sound; criticized for reliability and ease of use.

What owners wrote

Likes itOwned 5 years
I've been wearing Airpod Pro 2s for 5 years and had no increase in my tinnitus (caused by many years of playing guitar and drums). I only wore Airpod Pro 3s for 3 days and my tinnitus increased by 3-5x. Thankfully, it went back to normal or almost normal after a few weeks. I now have a brand new pair of airpods I can't use. Googling reveals others with the same issue with Airpod Pro 3s.
Doesn’t like it
Ditto. I loved my Airpods Pro 2 but it was really clear Apple did not want me as a customer of their headphones. In a practical sense, the recent open source work would have mitigated most (all if it supports software updates) of my issues, but I still won't be buying any more Apple audio products out of principle.
Doesn’t like it
have they ever improved the charging system so the charging leads dont get gunked up? I have a pair of airpod pro 2 and i have to scrape the leads almost every day would be amazing if they did it thru induction charging (tho i guess thats really slow)
Likes it
The sony earbuds are about the best I’ve had for sound quality and noise cancellation. Much better than AirPods, but not nearly as nice integration with the Apple ecosystem. I find AirPods Pro 2 to be “good enough” where I gave away my set of XMs to someone who will actually use them. Call (mic) quality in AirPods is better as well, if that matters at all to you. At least that’s what folks on the remote end of calls told me.
Neutral
I happen to have a pair of airpod pro 2 and some Sony's (the airpods being a gift). Nothing about the airpods strikes me as being clearly superior, which is surprisingly rare for Apple products: they tend to all stand out in one way or another, whether that's essential to the experience or not (I have no use for an iPad, but I can tell a good display when I see one, I wouldn't keep a MacBook if one was gifted to me, but I can appreciate a good trackpad, …). Airpods? I have nothing bad to say about them, but nothing good either (I rather take the Sony's with better NC and battery life on a flight, better audio quality and painless equalizer). > Or is it more likely that some consumers judge the utility differently from you? That's possibly the case, so help me, what I am missing?
Likes it
I got airpods (Pro v2) and got the squishy memory foam tips from a 3rd party that are a) comfortable, and b) actually stay in my ears. I hate normal headphones because they make my ears get sweaty and are heavy and uncomfortable.
Doesn’t like it
Does anyone have experience with the Fairbuds and Fairbuds XL? I am DESPERATE to get off this Apple headphone bandwagon but need something reliable that will work with Apple devices. I'm generally extremely happy with Apple products but the headphones have been a money sink. I’m someone who bought three generations of AirPods Pro, as well as an AirPods Max. All four devices have been absolute headaches. The first AirPods Pro had the rattle‑gate issue. I was able to get it replaced under warranty, but it was a pain to deal with until the recall program came out. Ok I chalked it up to a first gen product and I generally liked it when it worked so I decided to upgrade to the second generation because it offered more features and I hoped that it improved reliability. I upgraded, and I immediately got the rattle‑gate problem again, this time right past the warranty period. There was no recall program for second gens, and when I went to the store they told me the headphones were damaged and I was out of luck. I try to maintain these devices extremely carefully, but I guess my use of isopropyl alcohol to disinfect and clean them damaged the ANC microphone. I’ve never dropped the AirPods, yet they still failed. While being super frustrated with the Pro 2 I ended up buying the pro 3 but reconsidered after what I was told about the status of the Pro 2 but I missed the return window by a few days. After these Pro 3 fail, I just don't want to give them any more money for headphones. I sa…
Doesn’t like it
I compared the mic quality of Airpods Pro 2, Airpods 4 ANC (similar), and freebie Apple 3.5mm wired earbuds. The earbuds won. My limited research suggested either 1) compression and transmission take a lot of power, so the Airpods don't do as good of a job as something with a bigger battery can afford to, 2) the mic position is worse, or 3) Bluetooth doesn't have enough bi-directional bandwidth for two good signals.
Likes it
This is a more Reddit comment section than I’ve seen on r/headphones in ages. It’s almost nostalgic! I use my wired Sundara (which have dropped in price greatly since I got them years ago!) at my desk with DAC/AMP all the time, of course, and have a very nice set of Etymotic IEMs with a USB-C dongle permanently attached (once I stopped using it for my PC*). For use with my phone I haven’t actually reached for those Etys over my AirPods Pro 2 in years as the latter are significantly more convenient. They also work fine with Windows 11 (which supports AAC over Bluetooth, as can Linux IIRC) if I want to use them there for whatever reason. Maybe I’m blessed in that I don’t require my phone to be a critical listening device? * If you have hissing/interference/etc when plugging headphones into your PC, the Apple USB-C dongle is very good and only 9 USD.
Likes it
I have severe hearing loss in my right ear and no to mild hearing loss in the left. AirPods Pro 2 make it so that I feel like I can hear in stereo while streaming without resorting to setting the balance 90% right and jacking the volume. In that respect I love them. However, they are designed only for moderate loss so they will not amplify the right ear sufficiently to hear well in that ear unless the left ear is uncomfortably loud. For me, I need a real hearing aid to hear a person that is at my right shoulder. If both ears are about the same, I think the hearing aid volume (separate slider from general volume) could be adjusted to get past the “designed for moderate loss” limitation.
Doesn’t like it
I can’t get my Airpods Pro 2 to connect to Mavericks at all for any length of time, this has been driving me nuts for years! They’ll connect and play audio for a few seconds, then cut out, and I’ll have to re-pair to get any audio again. Did you have to do anything special?
Doesn’t like it
I’m trying to connect my airports pro 2 to my old, old 2011 iPod. It’s not going very well. While I haven’t managed to find anything close to an answer using google, chatgpt is quite confident it’s because of Bluetooth versions. Surely Bluetooth 5 is backwards compatible, but then again if the AirPods thinks it’s connected to an iOS device it seems reasonable that it will start using all the proprietary iOS features and then communication breaks down. So to me, liberation of airpods is an on-device issue.
Likes it
What realllly irks me is that Apple did not even make the new AirPods Pro 3 backwards compatible with iOS 18. Features that are available with the AirPods Pro 2 on iOS 18 were not available with the APP3. SAME iOS device, SAME H2 chip, but I was forced to upgrade to (the dumptser fire of a release) iOS 26 to maintain feature parity with the APP2 in an all Apple ecosystem. So f*ing steamed. Still. And Apple support had no clue and kept telling me it should all 'Just Work'.
Doesn’t like it
I have both. Over the ear is better but the earbuds that are 10+ years old are also better than recent APP2. I’ve not tried 3 and probably won’t. The form factor is ridiculous by APP2 standards. There’s a corded stick that I assume has all the components in it as back then they wouldn’t fit in earbuds themselves. That’s apples main innovation. But, honestly, when I’m on a flight I will take a 10% performance boost over a slicker design or smaller form factor. My guess is they’re at least 50% better and only slightly inferior to over the ear ones. All said, I usually just take my over the ear bose on a flight. I got the APP2 specifically for that purpose but they are awful in my opinion. About once a year I make the mistake of trying them out again and immediately regret it before the plane even starts taxiing.
Likes it
I understand. I think it very much depends on the environment. I usually run in parks not on the street. I also trust my eyes more than my ears when doing runs on more trafficked routes. The Apple AirPods have a great transparent mode. I tried bone conducting headphone and it wasn’t for me. I know that the new models are kind of hybrids now. But I also love the fact that I can listen to myself. I had tons of headphones over the years. And I think for me the AirPods Pro 2 are just the most versatile.
Doesn’t like it
I had a fit issue with Airpods Pro 2 in my left ear. It would always pop out after 20 minutes of rowing. I tried different ear tips, but none of them really worked. ANC is only medium-important to me, so I'm using Airpods 4 with ANC. Concurring with sibling, AZLA does make good aftermarket tips. I have my Airpods Pro 2 in my work bag and still use their "crystal" tips.
Neutral
Same exact experience here and also with the left AirPod. Everything goes well until the AirPods get just a little bit wet or greasy (say, in the rain, after a run, or a few hours into wearing them) — then the seal loosens and I get a painful high-pitched hum when trying to put it back in it is place. I wonder how safe that sound is bc its pretty uncomfortable. The seal also changes with any significant jaw movement (which I also do a lot in-flight normally) — noticeable degradation of noise cancellation, which then goes away (not sure if its the foam or anc adjusting). Tried to use my AirPods Pro 2 earhooks, which partially solved it - although at the cost of that crispy sound. Found best to just wipe the AirPods dry/gently blow around the grills before adjusting (which makes them unusable for running unless you’re willing to stop all the time). Such a shame every APP iteration has some noticeable flaw. And especially when they solved a similar problem between the first and the second gen.
Likes it
I have this happen outside of flights. Cupping your finger over the ANC mic is enough to trigger it. The new tips (that’s my guess, at least) also transmit vibrations into your ears much more than the old tips or third party memory foam tips. This results in a popping noise when walking or moving around, and a horrible thumping sound when running with them in. I think the latter is partially caused by the “reduce loud noises” feature incorrectly identifying vibrations from heel strikes as loud noise. I’m glad I’m apparently not the only one experiencing these issues. I hope they’re software fixable. I filed a bug report, but radio silence on that, of course. I would sing the praises of the second gen AirPods Pro to anyone who would listen, but the 3rd gen have been a huge disappointment. I had to buy a different set of headphones for running, whereas the second gen were my daily drivers. And I’ve been through three pair of the third gen, so it’s not a one-off issue.
Doesn’t like it
100% agree with the required update to 26, I was hugely bummed when I discovered I had to update my devices to pair them. I've had the opposite experience with noise cancelling though, the APP3 feel like magic when I'm working with power tools - better than any other (passive) ear protection I've tried in Noise Cancellation mode, and still enough protection in Transparency mode that I can use my circular saw without any discomfort. I did experience a little of what you're mentioning the other day, but only when my Airpods (and head) were close to the tool. I thought it might be back EMF. I have no complaints with my APP3 other than the forced iOS upgrade. I feel like they fit much better than the APP2, I have had far fewer incidences of them working their way out. And sound quality is a huge leap forward IMO. Best IEMs I have ever heard.
Likes it
Drop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee through a Qudelix 5K. Both are great pieces of kit, the Qudelix especially. The onboard parametric EQ combined with AutoEQ is fantastic. However, after running a hearing test and enabling Hearing Assist, the EQ on the Airpods is incredible and everything sounds very natural. I have no idea how they managed to get this much soundstage and bass out of these things. I also have a pair of Grado SR 80, and have a soft spot for Koss KSC 75. FWIW I got mine at Costco and their return policy is top notch, and I believe they include AppleCare+ with the purchase. I had bought my APP2 fairly recently before the APP3 were released, experienced buyers remorse, but had kept them in like new condition with the box and accessories, and had no problem exchanging them.
Likes it
I feel a bit the same. I rushed out to upgrade for the better noise cancelling, apparently better mic quality and live translation feature. All three have been a miss. Noise cancelling is much the same and seems to leak higher pitch noises more. Mic is more or less still bad and the live translation only works in doors in a quiet room. And I resent the upgrade to 26 and all of the bugs like phantom notifications. They’re still good ear buds and the noise cancelling is valuable but I shouldn’t have made the upgrade from the 2 pros. Ahh lastly, it seems the case battery depletes much faster now too.